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Re: [school-discuss] Nashuatelegraph.com: Forget the apple; surprise teacher with open-source software



SMatt Oquist wrote:
 > But this transition is something that must be understood before it is
undertaken, and I worry that many schools don't take the required
changes in personnel (either the existing personnel must change, or
new personnel must be hired) sufficiently into account.

Even so, as we all work to get the world to recognize the viability
and benefits of Linux and FOSS in education, we can change these
perceptions and thereby increase the number of "good" Linux admins in
the long-term.

I reacted the same way you did when I first read that sentence in the
article, but then I realized that he's right. He's not talking about
would could or should happen, but about what *does* happen, all too
often.

Sobering thoughts Matt. I propose that as we consider how to reinvent the SchoolForge web site, and add teacher specific resources, we not forget the school IT department. Links to TCO studies, and we add a list of consultants who can help school IT departments reinvent themselves. Steve Hargadon (CA), Jim Kinney (GA) come to mind immediately (Jim is helping the Atlanta Public Schools system move to Linux) and I bet a bunch of others are out there. If SchoolForge is about helping schools move to OSS, this is clearly a component of it. Thoughts?


Daniel