Educational Software - Ubuntu. Existent?

[KSoD]

The Educational software is not controlled by Microsoft. Microsoft has their own software that they use for educational purposes and none of it is for what is used in school.

So to make any difference you have to get those developers to get the software coded for Linux or get them to drop the price. Microsoft has done its part. It has done what it can. The cost of the educational software is out of their control just like driver development for their OS, just like game development for their OS. They do not do that part.

As i have said trying to get people to switch to Edubuntu for educational software wont help them. How many places aside from where you work do you know of that use Ubuntu for business? Now how many use Windows?

Jayce we have had lots of chats about the differences between the OS's themselves and how different they can be. To teach kids in school how to use Linux will hamper them more than help.

Yeah it will be great. The District can save millions of dollars by going with Edubuntu. Money that can be spent else where. But once those kids graduate and they dont know Windows (The current versions) and the software that companies use (Office not OpenOffice) how are we to expect them to get a job and be contributors?

This problem goes way beyond saving a school district some money. It goes way beyond trying to find a alternative to educational software. Cause even if you did get them on Edubuntu, in the long run you are hurting them cause they are behind the curve against other canidates for a job cause they were trained on Windows while your students have to learn that and the job.

Who will get the position when you seriously think about it? Someone who not only has to learn to do the job but the OS in use as well or someone who just has to learn the job.

I am not trying to say that Microsoft is the end all solution. I am not trying to defend their business practices. I am not trying to say that Open Source is not a viable alternative. Honestly i am not.

What i am trying to say is that Windows is the main used OS for businesses. Be it Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista some may even get onto Windows 7 when it gets released. Using Office XP, Office 2003 or Office 2007. That is the main software used. It covers about 90% of the companies out there. Maybe more maybe less.

While i do think that Linux is great and very powerful, i still think that given the choices of someone who would jsut have to be trained on the software vs someone who needs to learn the OS and software there wouldnt be a comparison.

Yeah it stinks. Yeah things need to change. But trying to get kids off of Windows to try and save a district some money wont help them. It will hurt them in the long run. Cause they will have to catch up to others who already learned this stuff on Windows.

 

[Jayce]

The students do not need to learn how to use Linux in order to use educational software. In Linux, you can have links on the desktop which open programs, just like you do in Windows. That's as far into the OS as they would get. I'm not insinuating I want to push Linux on kids and have them suddenly running rsync commands and setting up samba servers. I'm just simply trying to look at other options here. So, say I would add Edbuntu to this lab... students wouldn't care. In fact, I promise you they wouldn't even notice. This isn't high school we're talking about here. This is kindergarten through 5th grade. There are specific classes where they learn Windows. So in no way could running Edbuntu in 1 computer lab where the students do nothing EXCEPT double click a desktop icon will in any way hinder their ability to learn other operating systems. In fact, if anything, it'll help.


To give you an idea of how in depth the students in the elementary schools get with Windows, let me explain an example...

We have dual core Dell Optiplex 740's in the one lab. They're running Windows XP Pro SP3. They log in with our generic "student" account on the domain. Their desktop appears, which is identical to every other computer in the room. On the desktop are a specific amount of icons... such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, then 2-3 educational programs geared towards reading and math. To open these, they double click. Once they double click, up appears a login screen for the student to log into the program with his/her account. This login screen routes the student's accounts to their personal data folders, in which it'll track scores and progress on each student so the teacher can see how well they are doing.

Where's this data located at?

*drum roll please*

A Linux server.

This isn't about me trying to push personal beliefs on students. It's simply me trying to look out for the best interest in student's learning as well as the financial status of school districts. If we can save money by moving to a product that does as good of a job, that's the goal. If in any way shape or form the students learning environment can be made greater without sacrificing substantial funding, then we have a winner.

This thread wasn't about Microsoft in any way shape or form. I know how cheap we get XP licensing. That's not the problem at all. My concern is how much the educational software (again, non MS related) costs. If Edbuntu can offer us a free OS (Ubuntu, saving us... say 20 bucks per license) along with offering us a substantially rich educational package (which is what Edbuntu sounds like it offers) then... why in the world are we still with XP and this other software?

That's why I want to test it out for myself. Maybe I could take a few 2nd grade math tests and learn something. Ya never know.

The bottom line is this... in elementary school, they are to be learning reading/math. They don't learn specific computer schools, except for typing, which is done in the library on Windows computers. In middle school, they begin other types of computer classes, including learning the ins and outs of the operating system, MS Office, basic education of computers (history, etc), and so on...

So, considering that we have Windows labs in place and that'll never change, along with Macs in the graphics/music oriented labs, I am completely failing to understand how or why adding a Linux based OS to aid in educational learning practices would hinder their ability to learn in any way shape or form.

There's 3 main OS's out there.
We have 2 of them.
If we drop Windows where it isn't necessary and would add Linux, it makes no sense that it would 'hurt them in the long run'. Besides, as I said before, they're simply double clicking the icon for reading/math quizzes to begin with. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[KSoD]

I didnt realize you were working with kids so young. You only said kids.

To me that include High School since, well I'm old....

But you are right with what you said. I fully agree. Kids that young dont need to worry about it cause they will have plenty of exposure. My apologies for taking the thread so far off course.

 

[Jayce]

I didnt realize you were working with kids so young. You only said kids.

To me that include High School since, well I'm old....

But you are right with what you said. I fully agree. Kids that young dont need to worry about it cause they will have plenty of exposure. My apologies for taking the thread so far off course.

Hahaha, it's all good Mak.

I'm assigned to 2 elementary schools and 1 middle school. But at the same time, my office is in the HS... and even though I'm not assigned to the HS, I often get asked to help out here... so in a way I see EVERYTHING the district offers... There's not a Mac in sight in the lower schools... come to the HS and they're littered in music and art related courses.

It's just... when I heard what kind of prices that are paid for the software we get, it just makes me think that there has to be something else out there. And me, being a Linux guy, I thought Vista was expensive! Man... that's pocket change compared to this software with a rabbit running around and 2+7 being flashed across the screen.

 

[KSoD]

You dont know how bad i want to quote that post in all the topics about Vista being expensive now. :laughing:

 

[Kharn]

Jayce I fancy doing it anyway as i am missing it in my VM collection but if you can get some use from it you may aswell.

This is a thought jayce, you have Windows an OSX base computers in your school district why don't you say ok we have two of the major 3 OS's coverd let's give the kids a opertunity to learn the 3rd. You can come up with all kinds of valid reasons why it's a good idea an float it infront of the school board, an hey a strong IT based education will look good for the schools brocure.

 

[Jayce]

Yeah, that's a good idea. The thing is, I don't want to go into this blindly. I know Ubuntu, I know it's great, I know how it works... but what good is it? Something like Edbuntu has more potential use in the district system, but I need to learn it so I can "show it off." Otherwise, I'm just like O HEY YEAH THIS IS GREAT BUT... oh, you wanted to do this? I don't know how...

So yeah, I need to play with it a bit. Maybe tonight I can get around to it.

 

[Kharn]

Well if you need any help getting the proposal together I will give you any help you need, I know one of the guy's from the local linux user group got permission from his school to dual boot a number of systems as a trial I will ask him how he did it.

 

[Jayce]

Yeah. The sad thing is, Linux isn't really existent with our current setup... we've always been so pressed to get things done (we're really short staffed) that we make the changes needed to get things going faster, add more storage, run new wires, etc...

But now that I'm assigned to specific buildings, my opinion seems to weigh a little heavier now... so if my idea is favored, maybe we can make some magic happen?

 

[Kharn]

Magic is possible mate, I am willing to donate my time to help you with it I cant do it in person (UK - USA is a bit of a commute) but Ideas an time I can.