I would like to propose to my school that we switch to Ubuntu

[nutz]

Check out this thread, too:
The Governments and Schools moving to Linux Thread

You may want to contact some schools in the US that have switched to Linux. Testimonies from other schools would be a great help in convincing the school board that Linux is a viable option for schools. They may also have tips for you on how to get this implemented.

+1

That will be your most powerful argument. Use the many instances of other schools doing the same thing as an example.

Also try to convice them of the benefits of exposing students to Linux. Such as what they will be able to do and learn with it...

[aysiu]

By the way, if they try to use the whole "Oh, we need to teach people applications that people are using in the 'real world'" argument, ask them what applications they learned when they were in high school.

Seriously.

I'm not that old, but when I was in high school, I used Windows 3.1 or Mac (God, who knows what version) in school, some VAX computers that were all terminal. We had no internet (dial-up or otherwise). We did not use web browsers. We did not use Microsoft Office. We did not use Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, or Illustrator. Our computer science classes taught Pascal.

In other words, anyone who learned "applications" or "operating systems" in my high school would have had no directly applicable knowledge that would work for them fifteen years later in "the real world."

Education, especially when it comes to technology, is not about memorization or familiarity with what's current. It is about concepts and flexibility.

[tentwelveeight]

What High School do you teach at? I'm in SD as well and I'm moving our charter school over to Edubuntu this fall. I just finished the move to Google Apps for Schools on Friday. It's FANTASTIC! I can't believe how we trudged through last year (my first year at this school). I'll be blogging my experience with the changeover to linux if you're interested in using it to persuade your admins. Let me know if there is anything I can help you with. jhartman(at symbol)aeacs.org. Cheers! -joe

[UbuWu]

2) I need to make a killer presentation.

Lots of presentation material can be found here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Presentations

[matthewboh]

It seems that the San Diego school district is moving towards open source already - here's an article from June 2007

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/show...ArticleID=7178

My company is focused on bringing open source to schools, so if there's anything I can do to help, let me know