Linux in Education

[Paul Osman]

On 25-Jun-06, at 3:06 PM, Walter Dnes wrote:

> On Thu, Jun 22, 2006 at 01:26:02AM -0400, Marc Lijour wrote
>> Hi
>>
>> back in December we had an interesting thread about Linux and more
>> generally FOSS in high school. It happens that I have an opportunity
>> to discuss these topics at the Ministry of Education within a couple
>> of days. I would appreciate if you had some links you would like
>> to share.
>
>   For any English and/or literature classes, consider the cost of  
> copies
> of Dickens' or Shakespeare's works.  Now imagine being able to pass  
> them
> out on CD for free, and it's perfectly legal, too.  Project  
> Gutenberg to
> the rescue.  See http://www.gutenberg.org for details.  There are lots
> of cash-strapped school districts that would love those cost savings.

First off, that would require every student to have easy access to a  
computer, which isn't realistic (especially in cash-strapped  
schools). Secondly, a lot of people would react negatively to the  
idea of reading an entire book on a computer (believe it or not, the  
choice of a typeface, proper type setting, kerning, etc *does* matter  
when you're reading for long periods of time). If I was required to  
read Sophocles on a computer for my English class, I'd poke my own  
damn eyes out. Finally, if you're lucky enough to be in an area like  
Toronto (or any major city I'd presume), most popular "classic" works  
can be obtained easily at 2nd hand bookstores for a couple dollars  
(not necessarily as cheap as a CD, but could approach the cost of the  
CD + Labour time to burn the necessary data). At the secondary school  
I went to, the first day of my 20th Century Lit class was spent  
compiling a list of such stores and their whereabouts. A better  
solution I think.

Then there's always the public library.

Cheers,
--
Paul 
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