Should schools be using linux?

[xtnsgo]

I'm less concerned with which OS students use, and more concerned with many young users' "magic box" approach to tech. I'm often surprised at how competent young people can be with applications and devices, yet have so little idea of what happens behind the interface. They sometimes think they know a lot more than they actually do, and that kind of ignorance-based confidence troubles me.

[darkstarbyte]

At my school district they are using windows xp i personally do not like windows because its always down. The reason they have this on almost all the computers is, because they say we are going to use this for the rest of are lives at what ever we are working at. Personally I don't see my self using it in 2 years. I am promised a job as soon as I get into college a job working as a scientist assistant and they use Linux for programming and I am learning programming c to be exact which is a very nice programming language.

[Johnsie]

I want my kids learning software that will get them jobs. Most companies use Windows so I want them learning that. A little Linux is ok, but they need to be employable.

[AlphaMack]

I want my kids learning software that will get them jobs. Most companies use Windows so I want them learning that. A little Linux is ok, but they need to be employable.

Twenty years ago: I want my kids learning machines that will get them jobs. Most companies use typewriters so I want them learning that. A little word processing is ok, but they need to be employable.

I've watched people accustomed to Windows XP freeze up when they see a Vista or a 7 machine. Likewise Office 2007 vs. Office 2003. Never mind that both are word processors and are functionally similar in concept. But that darn ribbon sure makes things confusing! And that's just within the decade.

When your kids grow up, are they still going to even be using Windows or MSO? Or is a Windows XP workstation going to be sitting in the Smithsonian right alongside an electric typewriter?

[aysiu]

I want my kids learning software that will get them jobs. Most companies use Windows so I want them learning that. A little Linux is ok, but they need to be employable.

At my current job, I use Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2007, FileMaker Pro 8, Firefox, Chrome, Dropbox, and Adobe InDesign.

None of these things were in existence when I was in high school or college.

And there's no guarantee these things will be in existence or popular by the time current high school and college students get out into the workforce.

We recently upgraded at work from Microsoft Office 2003 to 2007, and it's left a lot of both faculty and students confused (the new ribbon interface). Even if people stick with Windows, the new Windows operating systems will be increasingly different from the older ones.

Rather than teaching people programs (which change), you should teach them concepts, which they can apply to any operating system and any program.

[whiskeylover]

Rather than teaching people programs (which change), you should teach them concepts, which they can apply to any operating system and any program.

What you say is true; we do need to teach people concepts rather than programs. But on the other hand, most people are technically retarded. They need to be spoon fed every time a new version of a program comes out. They simply throw their hands in the air and give up if you don't guide them every step of the way. For example, the receptionist at the front desk in our office had to be trained on validating parking tickets because they changed the system. You and me, on the other hand, would be able to read the instructions printed on a single sheet of paper and figure it out by ourselves in minutes. Unfortunately, it isn't true for most people.

[aysiu]

What you say is true; we do need to teach people concepts rather than programs. But on the other hand, most people are technically retarded. They need to be spoon fed every time a new version of a program comes out. They simply throw their hands in the air and give up if you don't guide them every step of the way. For example, the receptionist at the front desk in our office had to be trained on validating parking tickets because they changed the system. You and me, on the other hand, would be able to read the instructions printed on a single sheet of paper and figure it out by ourselves in minutes. Unfortunately, it isn't true for most people.

That reinforces my point, though. If someone is technically challenged and needs to be retaught every new version of the same program, why is it important for schools to teach that person a particular program? The program will change by the time old "tc" gets a job, and then "tc" will have to be retrained.

[Roasted]

As somebody who works in a school district, yes absolutely I think Linux should exist somewhere. I think it's important to realize the tech world is not a Windows world. It is an Apple world. It is a Linux world. Knowing the differences out there, I believe, is important. While I would love to see Linux on every darn PC here, I know it's maybe not the most plausible thing. However, I would love to see more of them, perhaps a Linux lab or something of the like, etc.

[kaldor]

I want my kids learning software that will get them jobs. Most companies use Windows so I want them learning that. A little Linux is ok, but they need to be employable.

Is the point of computers at school to learn how they work or is it to be used as a resource?

Unless it's in a computer tech class, it's not meant to teach people computer skills.

[SeijiSensei]

I think there's another important goal than simply exposure to Linux, and that's exposure to free software. I see too many young people who think that the only way they can create a graphic or edit a photograph is to first obtain an illegal copy of Photoshop. I want everyone to look first to open software when they have a task that requires a computer. Need a graphics editor? Download the GIMP. Need a word processor? Download Abiword or OpenOffice. Need a spreadsheet? How about Gnumeric or, again, OpenOffice? A drawing program? Try Inkscape.

It's not even an issue of OS platform. Many of the most significant pieces of open software have Windows and Linux binaries available. That's true for all the ones I've listed, and for other lovely items like SMPlayer. OS X has more spotty coverage, but more and more free programs are ported to Macs every day.