[nzlug] OSS in Nz schools

[Nevyn]

On 2/8/07, Simon Bridge <corwin at ihug.co.nz> wrote:
> On Thu, 2007-02-08 at 08:02 +1300, Vik Olliver wrote:
> > On Thu, 2007-02-08 at 01:43 +1300, Nevyn wrote:
> > > Does anyone here actually work in the education sector? (and more
> > > specifically a school?). The first question, disregarding the OS
> > > question entirely for the time being, is what are the requirements? An
> > > Office Suite is a no brainer. It's the other stuff that'll either make
> > > or break a project of this type.
> > >
> > My brother-in-law teaches IT in Matamata. If you need input from him,
> > I'll put you in contact.
>
> I've been a secondary teacher...
>
> Most schools I've been involved with have liked to have computers so
> they can say they have them. They like to be able to point out how
> advanced they are in a way that their patrons can understand.
>
> Teachers use office type applications, occasionally power-point.
> However, there is usually some school oriented software around for
> working out timetables and to aid planning lessons.
>
> There will also be some demonstration software for students where
> computers actually make it to a classroom.
>
> I found that schools with the greatest on-paper commitment to IT
> actually use it the least on a day-to-day basis. Networks and so forth
> are usually staggeringly unreliable (then add students) and so gets
> factored out by folk who actually have to do the teaching. However, they
> don't think of this as "unreliable". They think of this as "normal". But
> if you try to tell them that this is not normal and that things can be
> better, nobody wants to know.

This was certainly the situation when I was at school (It's only been
around 10 years). Two labs filled with Acorns at different sides of
the school with what was apparently supposed to be a wireless link
between them. Think I remember 1 instance where it was working... the
next time I went in it wasn't working again.

For the life of me I can't remember why we had labs fill of Acorns...
there were also 3 closets that I knew of packed with PC's.