Intel builds $400 laptop for school desks worldwide

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Isn't everything in life about propoganda?

"The article is about an ideology being enforced on students. The results sought do not seek to advance eductation or to increase knowledge of computers."

Ummm ideology has been forced on students WAAAAYYYY before Linux, Windows or even the Macs were in classrooms, it's called nationalism and every nation does it. So I don't really think your assertions about the ideology of open and free computing hold much value. Nice try though!

?Take the sentence before the paragraph you quote first:
"Rushton said cost is important but likened vendors that give away educational software to McDonald's giving away free food, 'that's a short-term gain'."?

You have skillfully left out important pieces of his statements. Nice way to try to twist the truth as written.

From the article: "Our reason for going to Linux was predominantly philosophical, then for quality, and third was the cost - we wanted the best option," he said. "We bought the Mandriva PowerPack to get the manuals and to support open source companies. Often we download free stuff but the latest version was purchased. We're interested in free as in freedom, not that you don't have to pay for something."

Notice the word bought? Then the last sentence, how is this evil or wrong? It's not and what they are doing is smart in more ways than one.

?In his ideology, McDonald's is no doubt a shorthand for evil. So free educational software might give credence to evil if the software is intended to make money, and so it must be rejected so as not to conflict with the purity of the only correct view.?

What the hell are you talking about?

?And look at the first sentence you quote, LU:
"School education should be about cooperation and sharing knowledge..."?

And what is wrong with that? It's a simple concept that has many ramifications, the majority of which are beneficial all around. Are you against the betterment of mankind all in the name of profit for a few? Sorry but to quote a movie: ?The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few... or the one.?

?Worthy ideas. Not what school education is about, unless of course inculcating an ideology is the school's first goal.?

Every school uses this method, and for those that are not familiar with the word inculcating, from Merrian Websters dictionary - to teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions so by definition every school does this already. It's part of the teaching / learning process. Remember learning the multiplication tables? See the definition of your word, so yes it is the goal of a school to impress an ideology.

?I can see how your recollection of using open source in your CIS studies would make you positively disposed toward the idea. But how old were you? What backgound did you have?

34 year old
13 years as a Mechanical Power Plant Engineer (US Navy), prior to that, construction, hot rod builder (power trains and suspensions) before that, dishwasher, ranch hand. As for PC skills, about 2 years with Microsoft Windows 98 / NT and 3 years with a green screen system called SNAP II that was used in the Navy, all as a user and about 9 months with Linux.

?And is this school teaching anything about computer computer languages, about how code works, about how programs are structured??

Yes it did, it taught the history of each language we learned as well as it's strengths and weaknesses. We learned how to structure the code for each language based on the rules. We learned how compilers work and why they are needed. In debugging class we learned how the code works and by having access to working code I was able to take what I learned in the classroom and see it in a live production piece of software. Then I could see everything I was taught in a large scale project. Most of the code / programs were small in scale.

?Or is the lesson only: see, you can look at the code, and that shows the software is good. If you could not see the code, that means the author wants to make money from software, and that's bad, that's very very bad.?

People make money from Open Source and the message is not bad. Again you are trying to deny the chance for people to have a fair and level field of learning in an environment that is cost effective. With closed source what can a student really learn? Not a whole hell of a lot and too top it off, IF they do get to see the source code it's going to be with an NDA which now binds these future programmers and prevents them from innovating and using their creative perspectives. So you are basically asking for a Marxist approach to teaching.

?Not saying that this transcription is reported, but do you see anything in the story that makes such a "lesson" unlikely??

Nope all I see is a school system that is seeing the massive beneficial uses and fallout from Open Source and Linux.

?The other quote shows what may be another primitive attempt to manipulate children.?

How so?

?Quoting:?
"The tinker value of Linux is brilliant and kids love to tinker so they organize their desktop in a way most people couldn't understand it."

?That sounds like he is carefully avoiding saying it's possible to organize the desktop with Windows, so the students will feel their software is more capable. The Soviets used a similar propaganda approach to try to persuade Russians that the economic system was as advanced as that in the West.?

Nope, too me that means these kids can expand beyond the limitations of their desktop. You can try all you like to denounce the goals and and results of this school and others, but the bottom line is everybody except Microsoft wins. Teachers win because the limits to what they can teach and how are now all but gone, schools win because the cost of licensing is mitigated, maintenance can and is done in house by the teaching staff and in some cases the students as part of their academic learning. Again schools because they can now take hardware donations without the restrictions that come with Microsoft systems and use them till their end of life then from there those systems can be used as physical models to display components without the fear of damage which equates to expense.

?He heightens the approach by implying to the children that they have access to inside knowledge not available to ordinary people, but only because they know Linux. That's similar to the puported advantages of Party membership.?

The inside knowledge he is speaking of is inside the system and that means the OS and the hardware, the guts and how does it really work. Access to the code if a student REALLY wanted to go to that level. I see nothing insidious about this. What about the purported advantages to our party memberships? It can be turned around ya know.

?And the effects would be lost if he pointed out that many people are not well educated about computers because they do not want to be or are unable to afford the equipment.?

How? If learning about something is cost prohibitive as well as restricted by NDA's then how is what they are offering bad? It's not, again they are giving ALL people a fair and equal chance to learn what would could very well be out of reach of many of the students affected. You fail to realize that 60% (a rough guestimate no facts to back it other than observation) of public school populations are from families that are cash strapped. I remember when I was in junior high that in order to attend the computer classes in the public school I was attending, my family had to pay an admission fee above the normal school fees required for public school. I also remember my dad was pretty ticked off about it too!

?The real world reduces Linux's uniqueness and attractiveness compared to the vision of utopia that he is trying to sell.?

Huh? What they are trying to do is educate students. From there each student will take that knowledge and use it based on their personality and beliefs.

?After reading that claptrap, I see your summary describing some good and important things people can learn at school. Though they're not the subject of a computer class.?

Again... HUH?

?You've persuaded me that despite an excessive attachment to Linux you would have both the understanding and the fairness to teach rather than propagandize. But these children, these victims, do not have the advantage of your tutelage.
Instead they have a zealous apparatchik of a discredited ideology who will only mislead and gull them while denying them exactly the good instruction you would provide.?

These children are more the victims of modern corporate influence via advertisements than these scholars teachings. What I see is an administration that is taking the beneficial nature of Linux and Open Source and using it like it is meant to be used. The school is saving money for other things and on top of that the kids are learning. What you again fail to realize or at least bring into the conversation, is that IF these kids have access to a PC it will probably in all likelihood be a Windows machine, so they can take what they learn from Linux and apply a lot of it to Windows. On top of that they can do their own comparisons and from there extrapolate their own preferences.

Posted by: Linux User 147560   Posted on: 05/04/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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