Re: [seul-edu] Easy to use educational software

[Ben Armstrong <synrg@sanctuary.nslug.ns.ca>]

On Thu, Mar 21, 2002 at 10:01:04AM -0500, dcsmpayne wrote:
> Now I do not consider myself a duffer when it comes to setting up and
> running a system but I have tried on numerous occsions since 1998
> (usually in christmas break) to install LInux and have worked non stop
> for days 18 hours per day and ended up with somethihng that did not
> work under Linux. Either cd was not recognised + whole range of other
> probs.

While it is true that many Linux distributions still have a way to go before
they meet people's expectations for ease of installation, I have attended
installs by people who, like you, are smart, but lack the background in
Linux to deal with things when they run amok.  I think a big strength of
Linux is a large and enthusiastic community of people behind it who can help
newcomers get started.  Draw on that.  If at all possible, get someone to
sit by your shoulder and help you through the tricky parts of the install.
(Trying to relay detailed technical help over the phone is painful at best.)
I have started off many people this way, always aiming to bring them up to
the skill level with Linux where they are self-sufficient at least to the
point of knowing the appropriate channels to go thru when they get stuck and
how to convey information about the problems they are having to others in a
way that is likely to get results.  I have had a fair amount of success
doing this.  While there is the occasional person who just doesn't "get it"
and probably never will, by and large, I find that it is not that difficult
to teach Linux, provided you get some personal attention when you get stuck.

> To me Linux must learn from this if it is to attain wide acceptance

But Linux has already attained wide acceptance, and I do believe that
distros everywhere are conscious of and working on these issues.

> In class I allocated two machines one with win 2K and the other for
> year 12 students to load Linux and use Samba to get them talking - 2
> weeks later nothing - just a waste of time, couldn't configure the
> workstation and couldn't install samba.  And these students claimed
> to know how to use Linux!

Knowing how to use Linux and being an application expert for something as
complex as Samba are two different things.  I think your expectations for
the students are too high.

Furthermore, you are critical of Linux being hard to set up, and then hold
up Samba as an example of the kind of problem you are having.  Samba is not
Linux.  This application runs on a whole host of different platforms, not
just Linux.  Also, it happens to be an application which is widely used, and
therefore should be easy to find help for.  If your first attempts at
getting it set up properly have run aground, seek help from the community.

> THIS cannot happen if Linux is going to be anything more than
> a fringe OS.

But you see, it can, and does happen.  And Linux is still alive and
thriving.  While I can understand and sympathize with your frustration at
not being able to get things set up properly on several different occasions,
I assure you that once you catch on to how to best make use of the rich
resources (people resources, not just system resources) that Linux has to
offer, you will be hooked and will never turn back.

Now, when I say people resources, I don't mean to randomly pick people
around you who say they "know Linux" and lean heavily on them for help.  I
mean rather to find the right people for each problem, both in the Linux
community at large, with all of its many facets, and the local Linux
community around you.  Hopefully you are in an area where there is a nearby
LUG (Linux Users Group).  If so, why don't you see if you can get some LUG
members to take an interest in what you are trying to accomplish in your
school?

In spite of all of Linux's "rough edges", particularly evident when you're
just getting started, it is still remarkably easy to figure out, given
enough context, because of its transparency.  All that new users tend to
lack is that initial context upon which they can leverage all of the rest of
their learning about Linux.  Once the fundamentals of exploring, configuring
and troubleshooting Linux are established, all of the rest follows fairly
easily.  But to gain this context, many people need a hand up.  They need
someone to help see them through their first struggles with the system and
help them to accomplish their first successes in identifying and solving
those problems, using whatever system and people resources are available, to
the point where they are confident enough to tackle subsequent problems on
their own.  There comes a point at which, like learning to ride a bicycle,
they suddenly realize Dad isn't holding on to the back anymore.

Linux is designed to be community-supported, and "getting" the community
support aspect of Linux is every bit as important as mastering it
technically.  Even if we (speaking as a member of the developer community)
were able to bring Linux to the point where you can stick in a CD, check off
a few checkboxes and away it goes, installing and configuring automatically
a system that does exactly what you want it to, you would be very ill-served
if someone pressed such a CD into your hands, sent you off with it alone,
and you subsequently never discovered how to interact with the Linux
community.

Ben
-- 
    nSLUG       http://www.nslug.ns.ca      synrg@sanctuary.nslug.ns.ca
    Debian      http://www.debian.org       synrg@debian.org
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