[nzlug] open source in NZ schools

[Mark Foster]

On Wed, 31 Jan 2007, Richard Thomas wrote:

> On Wed, 31 Jan 2007, Mark Foster wrote:
>
>> My time in Polytech included papers that were specifically about the Microsoft
>> Office suite.  I'm quite competent at most tasks in MS office as a result, but
>> the principles also allow me to get around OpenOffice (etc) when I need to.
>> So again, its not allllll bad, as long as there is no one-track-mindedness
>> about it.
>>
>> (Had I been trained in OpenOffice back-in-the-day, i'd probably be in an
>> inverse situation now; able to navigate MS office based on a 'derived' set of
>> knowledge applicable due to 'enough' consistency between platforms.)
>
> My partner often gives students from the local college and other
> educational organisations work experience jobs in our office.  We are
> completely Linux based and these students have no trouble coming to our
> office, logging into our network, using our browser based CRM software
> (SugarCRM), Thunderbird for e-mail, Firefox for browsing, OpenOffice for
> other work etc.  Mostly the college sticks to MS based software including
> MS Office.
>
> Conversely, older workers we have had in often have trouble with
> OpenOffice. It doesn't look the same therefore it isn't the same is the
> nearest I can get to how they think.

I find that older people are more likely to learn IT practise by rote (eg, 
i know that if I go file -> new, it'll start a new document...)

  - So when 'File' changes to 'Menu' they get bamboozled.

Younger people generally are more flexible to changes.

Gross generalisation, with exceptions, but accurately reflects my 
experience coaching older people in the use of a PC... its a bit like 
navigating. People regularly get stuffed when they come across a 
roadblock, etc, because suddenly they can't do it the way they've always 
done it. (a simple detour can cause rediculous amounts of consternation 
amongst drivers, even in their home neighbourhood, coz they've come down 
this road every day for the last 26 years and never bothered finding out 
how to get there any other way...)

Mark.