Teachers Need an Open Source Education 440
palegray.net writes "Teachers are sorely in need of an education in what open source software is, what it isn't, and how it can benefit their students. A recent news story at the Reg discussed the case of a Texas teacher who accused those distributing Linux to students of committing criminal acts. A HeliOS blog entry exposes a 'higher education' culture of apathy, lies, and fear of open source software. Things have got to improve, and that improvement needs to start with misguided teachers getting their facts straight."
citations please .. (Score:2, Insightful)
Citations please, does 'Karen' really exist, is this even true or just someone looking for hits to his blog.
Lack of knowledge not an excuse (Score:5, Insightful)
What?! (Score:5, Insightful)
Things have got to improve, and that improvement needs to start with misguided teachers getting their facts straight."
Getting their facts straight?
The first improvement must be raising the bar for the teaching community.
This includes, among other things:
- Raising salaries: It won't work to appeal only to the rejects.
- Firing for gross incompetence. As works with just about everyone else.
- Requiring a higher level of knowledge and teaching abilities.
Also, it would be nice to raise the public awareness about the importance of the teaching profession. One of the main pillars of the future of a country is currently seen as just a simple job anyone can do.
Just my humble opinion, and I'm sorry if I offended you.
Frist psot? (Score:5, Insightful)
The use of F/OSS software in education at ALL levels would be a total boon for IT education across the board. Interest in alternative licensing, for example GNU Public and Creative Commons would be tremendously beneficial in this age of free information sharing and distribution.
I distinctly remember a question on a sample IT GCSE paper from when I was at school, related to anti-virus software:
Q. Your friend tells you that his computer has a virus, and wants help. What do you do?
A. Tell him to purchase an anti-virus product.
B. Tell him to send you the virus so you can scan it with your anti-virus software.
C. Give your friend a copy of your anti-virus software.
D. Tell your friend to download a "cracked" anti-virus program from the internet.
I selected C and got it wrong. I spent 25 minutes arguing with my IT teacher about AVG and free software. He agreed, and told me that the paper was wrong. However, the mark scheme said A. and that's how it was marked.
No idea if they used that question, or similar, at any point.
Re:Helios Blog Entry Is Crap! (Score:5, Insightful)
Remember OSX, based UNIX, said that they had no virii. Ooops, not that OSX is becoming popular it seems that there are a few security loopholes. The same thing would happen to Linux since hackers are a determined lot.
Linux needs to stop the smug attitude because users don't care about smugness. They just want things to work!
Please, don't use the word "virii" anymore.
And, as you said, Apache is very popular as a web server, and still isn't as vulnerable as Microsofts IIS.
So no, vulnerability does not always rise with popularity.
Do they ever! (Score:1, Insightful)
Do they ever! I know far to many teachers & profs in Canada that spout non-sense every time i even suggest OpenOffice" ...
If I suggest gnu/linux (even ubuntu) ... I get some crap like "well at least I use a Mac" ... to which I can only respond "Good for you! You make too much money!"
The ignorance of teachers on basic technology as boarding idiocy ... and half the ones I know (even close friends) are mindless technological drones!
Open source has reached a tipping point ... and whether people want to admit it or not ... it is totally ready for prime time ... as a matter of fact IT IS PRIME TIME!
Priorities (Score:4, Insightful)
You could write a list several pages long about what teachers 'need' to know or the teach, each of them is a huge deal to someone somewhere. Schools teach HTML using tags that would make the W3C tear their hair out, few schools teach proper web safty or how to more effectively use search engines, there's only ever a narrow range of programs taught etc.
Each of these things is a big issue but all these things can never be resolved. You only have so many school hours in a day to teach people. Yes learning CSS alongside HTML would be good, but that takes time and is harder to teach. Yes teaching OO alongside Office would be beneficial but again that takes more time.
There's only so much you can teach classes before students either get overloaded with too much info in too little time or you have to push something out.
It's why so many places force teachings of things like slavery or the holocaust. You can't cover all of world history in a history class so you have to prioritise some things at the expense of others.
Why should this be different? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why do we expect this to be different than everything else? New things are initially feared and only approached slowly. It's the way we've done it since the dawn of time.
Techies are on the bleeding edge of everything and keep themselves informed constantly. But just like I don't follow car news, most people don't follow computer news. They don't have any clue what 'open source' really means and they don't care!
The solution isn't to call them names, the solution is to just keep educating people about it... Slowly.
Open Source has been gaining momentum lately. It used to be it was 'free and able to be modified, but poor quality'.
Recently, I've seen a change. It's now 'free and able to be modified, and almost as good as commercial software'.
I believe it will soon be 'free and better than commercial software'. I certainly like Kubuntu better than Windows and OS X, and I used to really hate Linux because it was such a pain in the ass all the time. I just wanted to do things, I didn't want to constantly reconfigure the system and deal with all the broken bits from the latest update. Kubuntu still has a lot of that, but it only happens every 6 months, instead of every few days like it used to. (Debian Stable was -not- stable. And Slackware was much worse.)
Open source has definitely taken over for anyone who 'gets it'. At this moment, I've got Firefox, OpenOffice.org, Aptana (based on Eclipse), VLC, and Kate running on OS X. The only commercial apps I run now are ones that don't really have a replacement, like Pages (company requirement for internal docs), and a few that are just plain better than the alternatives, like VMWare. (I've fought and fought with VirtualBox, and I'm done.)
But to expect non-techies to know all of this all the time is absurd. Most of the advancements that make my system possible came in the last couple years. That is a -short- timespan for learning about new things that aren't in your realm of knowledge.
In fact, I see posts on /. all the time talking about how someone put OO.o on a family member's computer and just didn't tell them it wasn't Office because they couldn't explain the difference. If techies can't explain it to their family, why do we expect teachers to know automatically?
And 'sorely in need' of an education in open source? That a personal agenda and not something that is necessary at all. Kids will learn about open source on their own, no matter whether a teacher says it is bad or not.
Why is it all about teachers? (Score:3, Insightful)
This seems to be alarmingly biased. It's more about bashing teachers than anything else. Are teachers, as a whole, any less informed about Open Source than the general public? I don't think so.
This is just taking a couple of alleged incidents, with no real proof that they happened, and turning it into a political screed. So why is it that the teachers bear all the responsibility, when it is not even part of their curriculum?
Re:Helios Blog Entry Is Crap! (Score:4, Insightful)
Linux needs to stop the smug attitude because users don't care about smugness. They just want things to work!
I agree. Most teachers simply do not have time to learn about Linux, FOSS, etc. they're too busy trying to keep up with all the paperwork, requirements, and BTW teach to worry about that stuff; and they're not about to spend money on a continuing ed class that doesn't get them either con-ed credits or a higher qualification
In addition, most districts are very restrictive about what can be loaded on district machines, so most teachers won't even try FOSS for fear of getting in trouble over IT rules. It simply isn't worth the hassle.
OTOH, you can make it easy to show teachers how FOSS can benefit student. If a teacher want's students to do presentations, providing a clear set of directions on how to install OpenOffice and set it up to save in an Office compatible format, so they can offer that as an alternative to parents buying Office, helps them at minimal effort on their part and generates awareness for FOSS.
Instead of assuming teachers are the enemy look at things from their perspective and see what you can do to make things easier for them.
expose them (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't see why people are letting teachers like "Karen" remain anonymous. These people are paid for by tax dollars and are responsible to the public. If they promote commercial software to students and write nasty letters to non-profits, the public has a right to know.
Rather than getting into a pissing contest with her, he should just have said thank you, posted the letter on his blog, and sent a copy to the pta.
Re:What?! (Score:5, Insightful)
Frightening hypothesis (Score:5, Insightful)
You make some good points but I am a bit frightened about your hypothesis that paying people a good salary to do a job they love is risky, and if you only pay people a poor salary then you'll gte higher quality staff as only the highly passionate will apply to do it.
My personal opinion as a university researcher who works alongside teachers in a local secondary school is whatever they get paid, it isn't enough! :-)
And seriously, pay high, then lots of people will compete for jobs, then the school gets to choose a high quality teacher. I'm afraid I don't buy the line that if you want really high quality staff, pay really low wages.
Children are the future of society, the people we'll depend on when we're old and need to rely on others. Surely we want to spend as much as possible on their education, it's what they do for most of their waking life for ten years...
Re:Helios Blog Entry Is Crap! (Score:3, Insightful)
What a load of garbage! Open Office can send and receive those documents so long as they are not that complicated. And therein lies the issue.
Microsoft Office itself has serious interoperability problems between versions. As a result, you're no worse off using OpenOffice than you would be using Microsoft Office.
You are nervous to use OpenOffice because an translation error could hit you at the wrong moment.
I'm not. I'm nervous to use Microsoft Office because its file formats and user interface keep changing haphazardly, because it is buggier than OpenOffice, because it is prone to viruses, and because it is horrendously expensive.
This is the least of teacher's worries... (Score:5, Insightful)
What teachers really need is :
- Basic computer training. You would be amazed as to how many still can't figure out basic things like email, powerpoint or other similar 'basic' applications
- Updated material. I was talking with a friend who is still in high-school, and his civics book still has no mention of the 42nd or 43rd President. Oh, yeah, and his European Culture class still has a chapter about the Berlin Wall -- an object that hasn't been apart of European culture since before he was born.
- More salary. Many of the bankers went before congress defending their massive bonuses and payouts to employees using bailout money in order to retain the best talent. How are we ever going to get the best talent into teaching if we pay them slightly above minimum wage?! Show me a teacher that hasn't reached tenure who isn't struggling, and I'll show you a person who must have married rich.
- Better Student/Parent relationships. If teachers wouldn't be spending all their time baby-sitting, they could actually teach relevant stuff. School isn't a place where kids learn, it's a place kids > age of 5 go for the day while mommy and daddy are at work.
Once these issues are fixed, then maybe teachers could spend some time learning about the latest FOSS craze.
Re:Lack of knowledge not an excuse (Score:4, Insightful)
I've worked with them too, here in the US.
And guess what, they're not different from the vast majority of people, either.
Incompetant School IT Pathology (Score:4, Insightful)
In my current work, I actually train school IT staff and administrators on the use of an automated phone calling system and batch database synching tool. Some are competant and professional. Some are clearly the office secretary in a little school who has sadly had this thrust upon her. Many fall into the following category:
This profile, while a stereotype, is a significant portion of the "IT Professionals" in primary and secondary ed field today. They're adequate for performing the basic day-to-day tasks in front of them, but when you get outside of their comfort zone they're lost. They get hassled and/or blamed for any surprises that come along, and as such are extremely gunshy about anything unfamilliar.
Their approach is calcified and overly cautious, as any changes, even beneficial ones, tax their time to the limit. It may well be that major inroads of F/OSS into education will either have to be mandated from the top down, or wait until most of these people retire and are placed by people who have a modern IT background.
Re:citations please .. (Score:3, Insightful)
I agree. It was one thing when this story was first discussed because it was an interesting case in point. But at this point "Karen" has been discussed enough that either she should come forward, the kid should come forward some witnesses should come forward or we should stop treating this as anything more than a questionable tale.
Re:Lack of knowledge not an excuse (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes.
to hell with teaching OSS. How about teaching basic computer use.
I used to manage an IT team that did support for several schools. Teachers are some of the Dumbest people when it comes to computers.
Honestly, our education professionals are incredibly under-educated about the tools they use. They should be at least proficient in using a PC and understand the basics of them. Most do not at all.
This is 2009 for Cripes sake, There is zero excuse to call the monitor the computer and the computer the "hard drive" most certainly with our supposed highest educated people we should expect them to not talk like the typical uneducated user.
Re:Lack of knowledge not an excuse (Score:4, Insightful)
I am a network engineer for FWISD, and not only is this a fact, but it is much worse in reality than any of these posts even infer to. Most teachers do not understand the basics of technology, much less trying to get them to use an open source product, they refuse to read help files for simple apps. How do you propose to get them to peruse through "Open Source" blogs written for Geeks. The problem lies in the fact that teachers are some of the hardest people to teach anything to as many believe they are so educated that you couldn't possibly have anything of value to teach them.
MCSE+I, CCNP, NT-CIP, N+, A+
Re:citations please .. (Score:3, Insightful)
And isn't that the whole point of questioning the blog in the first place?
Re:What?! Teachers shouldn't have to suffer - (Score:5, Insightful)
You said:
Paying enough that teaching appeals to people in it for the money is risky.
I'm sorry but at best this is silly. Its the logic that has been used for years to underpay teachers. I live with a 4th grade teacher, my mother was a special ed teacher, my sister was a music teacher and their salaries were/are all horrible. They all had/have Master's degree and I make 2x what they make/made. I personally would teach but the household can't afford the salary cut.
If we are going to apply the principle that you espouse - that people need to suffer to teach to the teaching profession we should do the same thing to others such as doctors, lawyers, and engineers of all kinds. Surely we want them to be passionate about their jobs just like teachers!
Re:Lack of knowledge not an excuse (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Lack of knowledge not an excuse (Score:5, Insightful)
I always hated that quote. How about "those who do can't teach".
The thing that people often forget is that teaching itself is a serious talent/skill. Just as often, as a twit teacher, you'll find the knowledgeable people who can't communicate an idea if their lives depended upon it.
Ideally, you get someone who knows their subject and has a passion for teaching. Unfortunately, those people are quite rare.
try to make life easier for your teachers... (Score:3, Insightful)
I think the problem is that most people have such painful memory at school, so much that the last thing they consider is to go back to school and teach for the rest of their lives. Besides the perceived bad work environment, many people also consider the salary too low to be a viable career option. But if you can't increase the salary, at least improve the work environment to make it better. This will attract more qualified candidates and cause a competition to increase the teachers' knowledge level.
Fortunately, making the work environment better for teachers is something you can do as a student. Try to build a good relationship with your teachers and make them feel appreciated for what they do. This increases your chance of getting better teachers. Maybe one day you will consider teaching as a career, making a change to education in order to address the things you criticize now.
Re:What?! (Score:4, Insightful)
- Firing for gross incompetence. As works with just about everyone else.
- Requiring a higher level of knowledge and teaching abilities.
So...abolish the NEA?
Re:Frightening hypothesis (Score:4, Insightful)
The big issue (at least in the United States) is with the teachers' unions. Due to union regulations, most salaries are dependent on time spent teaching, and not important criteria such as competence or subject matter. Good teachers should be paid more than bad ones, to promote incentives, and people who teach tougher subjects should be paid more than those who teach easier subjects. i.e. if there are fewer people qualified to teach math than English, math teachers should fetch higher salaries. Good luck with that, though!
Re:Lack of knowledge not an excuse (Score:4, Insightful)
I did that, and got caught with a copy of it...
We had a very good chemistry teacher, who thought it was good i was taking an interest in chemistry.
She gave us a lecture about how dangerous these things could be, and how we should only follow the recipes in controlled environments and small quantities, ie chemistry class... Then she demonstrated a few of them, and regularly demonstrated more in other lessons.
The fact the class was teaching something many of the kids were actually interested in meant that attendance to her class and resulting grades were way above the average for the school.
Just try to teach the teacher (Score:3, Insightful)
Back about 1985, I had a job training teachers at a school how to use a PC. It was supposed to be an intro class on DOS, how to format a floppy, copy files, list files. It was one hour, twice a week, and I don't remember how many weeks, but not a great number. There were a couple of people there that honestly wanted to learn about computers. But, there were some that came in with a closed mind and an attitude problem. One woman was determined to be as unpleasant as possible.
The program was run through a local Vo-Tech school, not the school system, as a pilot program. So, when the teachers wanted to learn DBase and whatever the word processor of the day was, instead of the intro stuff, the Vo-tech rolled over for them. It was a disaster. The ones that "knew" they were smarter than anyone else monopolized the computers, argued with everyone that tried to help them with problems, and made the class a living hell for all.
To their credit, the Vo-tech backed me when the cast-iron bitch complained, pointing out that she was the one that wanted the advanced material in an intro class, but when asked to teach again, I declined. I stuck my finger in the fan, I am not going to put my head in the meat grinder.
There are some good teachers in the system, but they are overshadowed by the egotistical head-cases. These people are on some kind of power trip, and they pick teaching because they can abuse the kids emotionally and the kids don't have the tools to fight back effectively. Most kids just know how to get mad, and when that happens the teacher has won. These same teachers pull this crap on IT people out of habit, because most IT people are younger than the teacher in question. I don't like having my buttons pushed, so I try to stay out of educational IT.
Re:citations please .. (Score:5, Insightful)
You having a black sheep is one thing. You saying you have a black sheep is another. And you saying that someone else (that I've never met or heard of) has a black sheep is yet another.
Re:citations please .. (Score:4, Insightful)
Uh, why? Some of the best known hoaxes have been elaborate, detailed lies similar to this (some on much broader scales). So the whole argument that it was elaborate, so it must not be a hoax is just nonsense, based on actual real-world hoaxes as well as simple logic.
Re:citations please .. (Score:3, Insightful)
Actually, most elaborate journalistic hoaxes have fallen apart not because of internal inconsistencies, but because they are too successful, draw lots of attention, and then get people to follow up on them and find out they aren't true. (e.g., they fail based on external, rather than internal, inconsistencies -- the fabrications of Stephen Glass at The New Republic, for instance.)
But, at any rate, even if we were to accept that was an established fact that elaborate lies tend, more often than not, to fall apart due to internal inconsistencies, that would require us to assume that elaborate lies occurred often enough for such a tendency to be observed, so it would not be a rational basis for disbelieving, as you claim to, in the existence of such lies.
Because its humanizing, adds depth to the story, and gets people to believe in it more.