Alex - Very nicely stated.
=20
I know this list is geared towards independent schools and I
find that
- as a whole - they're much more willing to try new things and
be a
little more daring than the public schools, and there's been so
many
layers of bureaucracy in the public schools that it's been
difficult to
get an answer why there isn't more interest in free and open
source
software.
=20
I see our public schools in Frederick County, MD advertise that
they
have 4.5 students per PC. Talking to some of the kids, it's
most likely
that the number includes a good amount of unusable PC's - but
they're
making the numbers for the state. I talk to school educators
and 4.5
students per PC roughly translates to a little less than an hour
of PC
time a week for each student due to scheduling and other issues.
By the
way, =EF=BB=BFwe are considered one of the better county schools in=
our
state.
=20
I look at Mike Hoffman, CIO of Indiana Public Schools, who
decided to
take his whole state over to open source software because they
too had
4.5 students per PC. He felt that the time was so short, it
amounted to
typing class with no real computer skills being learned. In
addition,
he saw that the children from disadvantaged homes were falling
further
behind with the digital divide getting wider.
=20
With the change, he was able to get a PC for every student with
no
increase in funding. It's still early - they're two years in
and are
working on getting all the high schools done first - but it's
been
pretty amazing. Schools that have switched are seeing dramatic
drops in
disciplinary actions. He's angling for a study - he believes
it's
because the students are no longer bored, have a sense of
ownership in
their PC's. They're now planning on hitting the middle schools!
=20
I know change is difficult, but at what point does a school
system or school
decide that the change would be good for schools, the students
and the
community? Who ultimately would make that decision?
=20
On Fri, 2008-07-25 at 22:04 -0500, Inman, Alex wrote:
=20
> It's almost 10pm and I'm still at school trying to get things done before=
a short vacation but this post brings up something I think should be discu=
ssed more in schools. Bill makes a few points in his last two posts that I=
think are common.
>=20
> His points about choosing technology that will prepare our students for t=
he next level, such as Adobe on Macs for design work, makes sense. You are=
building a schema to complete specific tasks.
>=20
> However, I want to push a little on staying with Office 2003 because it's=
good enough or Photoshop because it's comfortable. These are both common =
arguments and not wrong. However, we are preparing our students for the ne=
xt level. That's college and the world. If Mac's and Adobe is what is nee=
ded to prepare kids for college, then Office 2007 is what's needed to prepa=
re them for college. But it actually goes beyond that. It doesn't stop wi=
th the "next step" because the "next step" never stops coming and each new =
step comes faster than the one before.
>=20
> Though there is certainly a point of infinite regression, I think we need=
to look for change in tools, when that change makes sense, and push for it=
. Our students need to get used to new systems, new tools, new processes. =
That is the only certainly for which we can prepare them. Today it is Off=
ice 2007 or GIMP. Tomorrow it is something that hasn't been written...and =
maybe by one (or several) of our students.
>=20
> We have to take cost, culture and migration issues into consideration, fo=
r sure, but we need to be seeking change. I'm not advocating change for th=
e sake of change. It needs to be calculated. However, I am most certainly=
advocating that we don't avoid change because it is not comfortable or out=
side of existing norms.
>=20
> Bill, I don't think you were making such bold assertions either. I am no=
t trying to make a Straw Man. I've just been thinking about this lately an=
d this was close enough for me to tie my rant. :-)
>=20
> Take care,
> Alex
>=20
> Alex Inman
> Director of Technology
> Whitfield School
> St. Louis, MO
> 314.434.5141
Matt Burkhardt, MSTM
President
Impari Systems, Inc.
=EF=BB=BF401 Rosemont Avenue
Frederick, MD 21701
mlb@imparisystems.com
www.imparisystems.com
(301) 644-3911
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