Re: [seul-edu] [Fwd: College]

[Jan Hlavacek <Jhlavacek@sf.edu>]

On Sat, Dec 11, 1999 at 09:37:52AM +0200, Ramin Miraftabi wrote:
> * Doug Loss (dloss@suscom.net) [991211]:%y34Fri, Dec 10, 1999 at 03:14:15PM -0500]:
> > I got the following message from a professor at Northern Michigan
> > University.  This isn't exactly the niche in the Linux ecosystem we've
> > taken for our own, but I don't know of anyone else who's working on
> > Linux higher-education advocacy.  If anyone has any suggestions for him,
> > I'd appreciate it if you'd send them along to both the list and to him. 
> > This may also be something for the advocacy task group to discuss on
> > their mailing list (hint, hint).
> 
> Ah, it's the niche I've been waiting for. 
> I'd say that as long as
> there isn't a major group of people thinking of using Linux in
> University education, SEUL/edu could be accomodated with the
> discussion. Then if there are enough, set up a Task Group for the
> University interests. In any case the majority of discussions of
> software and educational content apply to all levels of
> education. And, in many cases even the programs can be used in ways
> that would benefit all levels of education.

I actually think that it concerns us more than we would like to.  Most
teacher preparation is done at education departments of colleges and
universities,  and how many of them use linux?  I think it is mostly
windows and macs there.  Having teachers coming to school already
prepared to use linux would be a major advantage.  I also believe that
with linux,  future teachers can learn more about computers in general,
instead of the "computer = microsoft word + excell" equation lot of them
learns today.

> probably speak of the various ways on how to promote its use in
> environments which already use Linux a lot. My department has
> dual-boot machines for all computers used by the students and most of
> the faculty uses Linux or Unix primarily (and even Macs more than
> Windows ;).

When I was at Ohio State math department,  I didn't realize how
sheltered environment it was.  I seriously doubt there was a single
windows machine in the whole department.  The network was based on
solaris,  and desktops were either spark stations or macs. 

Now that I am at a small college, I have the only linux machine on
campus, and except few SGI's and macs at the art department it is all
microsoft.  I suppose that most of small colleges are like that.   There
is a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done!

-- 
Jan Hlavacek                                            (219) 434-7566
Department of Chemistry                               Jhlavacek@sf.edu
University of Saint Francis               http://199.8.81.3/Jhlavacek/