RE: [seul-edu] Linux community support for education

[Chris Hedemark <hedemark@bops.com>]

I can respond to this from the LUG point of view.

Last year we had a guest at one of our LUG meetings who represented a
charter school that was starting up in our area.  This fellow was interested
in having our LUG help establish a Linux-based network in the school and
maybe help get the teachers up to speed on how to use it day to day.  We had
an enthusiastic group of about a dozen people who had a track record of
doing hands-on volunteering in the past so all looked promising.  We were
ready to pull wires, build servers, train people, and have a real first
class Linux network running in this school.  The problem is, the interest
from the school waned.  First day of school came and went and we still
couldn't get any kind of real status on when the equipment and wiring would
arrive.

This left a really bad taste in my mouth.  I spent hours putting together
quotes with the best prices I could find on routers, servers, X terminals,
you name it.  All designed to fit within or below the $$$ budgeted for said
hardware.  And I was prepared to help with the installation and
configuration myself, along with many other able folks from the LUG.

It seems clear that there is a lot of untapped potential in the LUGs to help
get schools up and running or retrofitted.  But the schools themselves do
have to play an active role in terms of actually spending the money with the
quotes are put in front of them, communicating to the LUG what their needs
are and their target dates for different goals, etc.

Chris Hedemark
Hillsborough, NC

-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Loss [mailto:dloss@suscom.net]
Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2001 12:04 PM
To: seul-edu@seul.org
Subject: [seul-edu] Linux community support for education


As most of you know, I write fortnightly reports on Linux in
education.  My next report is due on Monday, and I have very little
to write about.  For that reason I'm trying to "prime the pump" and
generate some interesting and useful discussion.  If you can think
of any questions you'd like to ask the list, now is the time.

Here's my question.  We've talked before about how the Linux
community can get involved in education through advocacy and support
of local schools.  That was useful information for those of us who
are primarily Linux techies but not educators.  What I'd like to
find out is if any of us who are teachers or school administrators
have received or tried to enlist the help of local LUGs or other
Linux community resources in their efforts to use Linux in school.
If so, how successful were you?  If you were dissatisfied with the
help you received (if any), why and in what way was it lacking?  If
you haven't tried to locate and avail yourself of local Linux
resources, why not?  Is there anything the Linux community can or
should do to help you in your efforts?

I'll be on a panel dealing with Linux use in education at the
LinuxWorld Expo in New York City in a few weeks, and your responses
will very likely become part of what I say to the attendees.  Here's
your chance to speak to the community!

--
Doug Loss                 God is a comedian playing
Data Network Coordinator  to an audience too afraid
Bloomsburg University     to laugh.
dloss@bloomu.edu                Voltaire