[NBLUG/talk] OpenOffice 1.1 ISO has arrived; time to gear up for the schools!

[Lincoln Peters]

>From: Bill Kendrick <nbs at sonic.net>
>Reply-To: talk at nblug.org
>To: talk at nblug.org
>Subject: Re: [NBLUG/talk] OpenOffice 1.1 ISO has arrived; time to gear up 
>for the schools!
>Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 10:28:18 -0700
>
>On Tue, Oct 07, 2003 at 06:20:14AM -0700, Lincoln Peters wrote:
> > Unfortunately, the problem seems to be that
> > the way that they teach the classes is dependent on the software, and 
>most
> > students will enter a work force where Microsoft Office rules.  Of 
>course,
> > if they go to work somewhere that uses anything else, the skills they
> > learned are useless.
>
>Yeah, and when MS changes Office, and they haven't upgraded to the latest
>version?
>
>Or god forbid the student graduates, and then 2 months later a new version
>of Word is out.
>
>THE HORROR!

Good point.  I'll try to remember to bring this up when I see them again.

>
>
> > I'm sure that they could instead teach the principles behind the
> > application, so that students could leave that class with the ability to 
>use
> > *any* program of that type (word processor, spreadsheet, etc.).  
>However,
> > most of the teachers would probably have to be re-trained.
>
>Man, I'm getting SO sick of hearing this.  I don't remember my teachers
>being so lazy and stagnant when I was in high school.  Maybe I wasn't
>paying attention.  Maybe I was lucky (I somehow doubt it).

Unfortunately, I've been hearing it from the teachers themselves.  I suspect 
that the problem may be beauracratic red tape and/or lack of appropriate 
textbooks (yes, most ROP classes have a textbook although most students 
never use it).

>
>
>How hard is it for a teacher to sit down, look at something 'different'
>like OpenOffice.org, and say to themselves "hrm... this doesn't look
>harder to use compared to MS Office"!? :^)

First, I have to get them to install it.  There is a lot of beauracracy 
involved there, but I just talked to the superintendent of the 
Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District.  As was the case everywhere 
else I went, she was quite interested in a free, open-source, full-featured 
office suite.  Now all I can do is wait for the CD's and flyers I left to 
trickle down to the level where something will happen (unless I can talk to 
some of my other educational contacts and bypass them entirely).

>
>
>I have yet to write up my little letter to the schools in Davis, but I'll
>hopefully do that tonight (LUGOD meeting, though) or tomorrow evening.
>
>I'll introduce my LUG (LUGOD here in Davis), and try to _briefly_
>explain Open Source.  I'll offer our help, if they have any questions,
>and suggest they take a look at software like OpenOffice.org, or for the
>K-6 schools (or whatever they go up to these days), and even invite them
>to come to my little hands-on demo & CD give-away of Tux Paint later this
>month.

Excellent work!

<snip>
> >  What low-income family that needs a computer could refuse such an 
>offer?
>
>Another way LUGs can help.  Usable used hardware floats around all the 
>time.
>There's a training center near Sacramento that occasionally donates a stack
>of Pentium IIs to people who want them (esp. if they take the whole load
>at once, rather than picking pieces here and there).

Very good.  That would bring the cost down even more!

>
>
>Of course, at that point, though, not only will they be getting OOo,
>they'll _probably_ also be getting Linux, too, since I can't imagine
>Windows licenses being cheap enough.  (Nor can I imagine LUG folks wanting
>to push Microsoft ;) )

I recall that the Computer Recycling Center installs Windows 98 on most of 
its computers because most of their donated hardware comes with an OEM 
license.  On the other hand, I don't see any reason that they couldn't 
install RedHat 9 (which I find is easier than installing *any* version of 
Windows).

And, of course, if their customers have any problems with their Linux 
machines that are not hardware-related, they could easily refer them to the 
nearest LUG.

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