On Tue, 1 Oct 2013 10:52:42 Petros wrote: > I only see one way to establish open education in a school. > > You have staff that believes in values, as creativity, curiosity and > privacy. Staff motivated to put some effort in it. Then you can back > them by providing support. > > Economical values, usability etc. shouldn't be at the heart of the > discussion. They follow if the motivation is there.
The problem is that this is almost entirely lacking in the school system. If a school was to persue such goals then they would need to do it across the board, every teacher and every subject. > My daughter has Apple instead of Windows. Caged farming compared to > Windows. At least you can easily transfer data from/to a Windows > system. Some of the iPad apps suck soo much that I would throw them > out after an hour. I disagree, I've read some good reports of teaching being done with iPads. The ability of an iPad to store writing (EG a blogging client) and take pictures and videos is enough to add significant educational benefit if used correctly. I read about one school that had kids make videos explaining what they learned and also prepare training for younger kids and it apparently worked very well. > It also prepares the next generation to send their data feed directly > to the spies. Who would save or exchange data via USB stick? Apple > makes it so much easier. Just use iTunes. Or Windows Live. Or Google.. > whatever the product and the cloud of the day is. Android is much better than iOS in that regard, but I don't think that the difference is immediately relevant to a school. I think that a school which used iPads effectively could transition to Android tablets much more easily than a legacy school. > There are free alternatives but I guess there is no way to counter > that. Apple is seen as cool and it fits into the image of a "modern > school". Well, we are living in the age where the image of a school is > more important than education itself. Because we have a school market, > parents shop around. We do not have schools simply to educate kids. I > had endless hours, week by week, month by month, parents talking about > "the best college for my child". It simply sucks. When has education ever been more important than school image? > But they do not stand a chance against a whole society brainwashed to > believe in brands. They do, it's just difficult. You could just as easily ask yourself what chance do you have to raise children to not be racist in a society that's as brainwashed to believe in racism as Australia. While you probably won't be as immediately successful as you wish, it is possible. > Imagine another approach: Some Linux computers for teachers at the > school, and the school starts with kids building their computer from a > Raspberry Pi, and then install Linux on it, learn how to understand a > computer works, how to make a case etc. > > The teachers in the class room can add Scratch, Audacity, GIMP etc. Not all kids are interested in hardware work. I think that a well run school would allow some kids to learn to solder and start on computers from the engineering side. Some would start with a Raspberry Pi or some other embedded device, and some would just start with a PC and an install CD. You can be quite good at driving a car without knowing a lot about how it works. When the IT industry is as mature as the car industry you'll be able to say the same about using computers. -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/ _______________________________________________ luv-main mailing list [email protected] http://lists.luv.asn.au/listinfo/luv-main
