Letter to the principal about linux!!

[blithen]

I'm writing a letter to my principal at my high school about switching to linux. My english teacher is actually behind me on it , and to my surprise knows what linux is! What do you guys think about it? Bad, good idea? Think it will work if it is well written?

[svtfmook]

probably not something they will go for since most schools use business class software that's not compatible with linux without severe configuration. ie, if they use SAP, they would have to run it through wine, and since programs like that are so large, it may not be a good idea or worth it.

also, they buy the software for the support. then, there's reteaching a whole lot of "older" teachers how to use linux, when a lot of them don't even know how to use windows correctly.

also, they probably buy their computers through dell or another mass supplier, so the OS is preinstalled/configured. so there's really no cost savings since they don't buy their OS separately.

but again, i'm speaking generally, since i don't know how your school is ran, i don't know exactly how it would fly for your school.

what you should go for, is the school offering linux integrated into their CIS course (if they have them). i had CIS in highschool, but in my day, it was DOS and we programmed in QBasic.

[professor fate]

Better off sending a letter to the Board of Education in your district. A friend of mine works for the BOE in my state and is in charge of developing and implementing software applications state wide. I can tell it's a MS world here. There's millions of dollars involved, not to mention careers, so a decision to change OS's would not be made lightly and not without a lot research and arguing along the way. If you want to make a change, become a programmer and get a job with the Board of Education in your state.

[Derek Djons]

probably not something they will go for since most schools use business class software that's not compatible with linux without severe configuration. ie, if they use SAP, they would have to run it through wine, and since programs like that are so large, it may not be a good idea or worth it.

also, they buy the software for the support. then, there's reteaching a whole lot of "older" teachers how to use linux, when a lot of them don't even know how to use windows correctly.

also, they probably buy their computers through dell or another mass supplier, so the OS is preinstalled/configured. so there's really no cost savings since they don't buy their OS separately.

but again, i'm speaking generally, since i don't know how your school is ran, i don't know exactly how it would fly for your school.

what you should go for, is the school offering linux integrated into their CIS course (if they have them). i had CIS in highschool, but in my day, it was DOS and we programmed in QBasic.

I actually agree with you.

blithen, if you actually want to achieve a listening ear (more you won't get in the first few times... if you do it really well) than you should go in depth and start researching how your school's infrastructure is working, how much they are paying, if support is really essential etc. You'll have to do this all by yourself since most system managers / network managers at school don't feel like doing all that research for you.

[aysiu]

I disagree with svtfmook.

Yes, some parts of schools run business class software that's not compatible with Linux, but teachers, students, and some staff can definitely use Linux, OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Inkscape, GIMP, Scribus, F-Spot, and Rhythmbox and be happy with it. As a matter of fact, most of the work done by students and teachers is word processing and web research, at least in the schools I've worked in.

It's true that the registrar and business office may need certain applications that Linux can't run natively, but that shouldn't stop any school district from considering Linux.

And the whole point of a move to Linux would be money savings. They wouldn't need to buy new computers from Dell or a mass supplier. They could install it on the old computers they were going to throw away anyway because they're too old to run the latest version of Windows.

Here are some tips to having a successful campaign: Do not propose or insist on anything too radical. If it's only a partial migration, fine. If it's a migration to only open source applications for Windows, fine. Do not come across as a zealot. Do not preach about open source ideology or the freedom that Linux offers. Focus on the bottom line: cost. That's all school administrators are going to care about. Find as many advocates as you can. It's great you have an English teacher on your side, but keep looking for other adults and students who can side with you. There is power in numbers. Do research and see if other schools in your district or state have switched to Linux or open source solutions and talk to them about how that's been going or how they made it happen. You may even want to bring someone from that school district to speak to your school board.

[svtfmook]

I disagree with svtfmook.

Yes, some parts of schools run business class software that's not compatible with Linux, but teachers, students, and some staff can definitely use Linux, OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Inkscape, GIMP, Scribus, F-Spot, and Rhythmbox and be happy with it. As a matter of fact, most of the work done by students and teachers is word processing and web research, at least in the schools I've worked in.

It's true that the registrar and business office may need certain applications that Linux can't run natively, but that shouldn't stop any school district from considering Linux.

And the whole point of a move to Linux would be money savings. They wouldn't need to buy new computers from Dell or a mass supplier. They could install it on the old computers they were going to throw away anyway because they're too old to run the latest version of Windows.

Here are some tips to having a successful campaign: Do not propose or insist on anything too radical. If it's only a partial migration, fine. If it's a migration to only open source applications for Windows, fine. Do not come across as a zealot. Do not preach about open source ideology or the freedom that Linux offers. Focus on the bottom line: cost. That's all school administrators are going to care about. Find as many advocates as you can. It's great you have an English teacher on your side, but keep looking for other adults and students who can side with you. There is power in numbers. Do research and see if other schools in your district or state have switched to Linux or open source solutions and talk to them about how that's been going or how they made it happen. You may even want to bring someone from that school district to speak to your school board.
well, it really would not be a cost savings when you factor in 86'ing millions of dollars in software licenses for their business class software in order to run a new operating system. especially when you account for man hours setting up everycomputer then investing in retraining everyone on how to use linux. yes, ubuntu and other distros seem easy to us, but we also need to take into account the people who do not even know much about windows even.

i see what you mean about recycling older computers, but after time, they too even start costing money in maintenance. just because the OS can support the hardware, that doesn't mean the hardware will live forever. things get old and break, especially factoring in the abuse it would take in a school environment.

[DoctorMO]

well, it really would not be a cost savings when you factor in 86'ing millions of dollars in software licenses for their business class software in order to run a new operating system. especially when you account for man hours setting up everycomputer then investing in retraining everyone on how to use linux. yes, ubuntu and other distros seem easy to us, but we also need to take into account the people who do not even know much about windows even.

It's better to retrain and secure a long term IT solution then continue along the unsure and unequal footing of Microsoft Educational programs. Which part of looking past the next 10 years don't people understand? your going to have to train them on something other that windows anyway you might as well start now.


i see what you mean about recycling older computers, but after time, they too even start costing money in maintenance. just because the OS can support the hardware, that doesn't mean the hardware will live forever. things get old and break, especially factoring in the abuse it would take in a school environment.

Yes but at least it gives you more time and less pressure to do so. You can also integrate donated hardware far easier.

[aysiu]

I'm not talking about business class software. As I said before, the Windows-only software would probably stay in place for the business office.

I'm talking about students and teachers--the main constituents in a school--who do not need Windows-only software for the most part. If you started them with OpenOffice and Firefox for Windows, I don't see how retraining would be such a huge issue once they moved to Linux.

And how do you not save money by getting rid of software licensing fees?

And hardware does last a long time, as a matter of fact. The fact that many schools are still using computers with Windows 98 on them is a testament to the longevity of the hardware. Those computers were probably bought in 1997 and are still kicking.

[p_quarles]

And hardware does last a long time, as a matter of fact. The fact that many schools are still using computers with Windows 98 on them is a testament to the longevity of the hardware. Those computers were probably bought in 1997 and are still kicking.
That's a particular testament to the hardware if those computers happen to be networked. Win '98 has a number of pretty serious security holes, and MS stopped patching it over a year ago.

Linux is a fantastic solution for computers in that situation, I think.

[kevdog]

You'd be better off just asking for a couple of machines in the school with Linux on them or a CS class specifically for Linux. If they switched to Linux, they would have to go out and hire yet more people to troubleshoot, update, and maintain the systems. That would actually cost more money than save b/c the switch (even if it occurred) wouldn't happen overnight.

I wish you well, however I would just start with a limited yet attainable set of goals.

[aysiu]

I wish you well, however I would just start with a limited yet attainable set of goals. I hope that's something we all agree on.

I think an easier battle to win would be replacing MS Word with OpenOffice. It's a much easier migration and has immediate cost savings.

[svtfmook]

You'd be better off just asking for a couple of machines in the school with Linux on them or a CS class specifically for Linux. If they switched to Linux, they would have to go out and hire yet more people to troubleshoot, update, and maintain the systems. That would actually cost more money than save b/c the switch (even if it occurred) wouldn't happen overnight.

I wish you well, however I would just start with a limited yet attainable set of goals.
this would be the best bet. in order for you to convince them to change over on a large scale, you have to bring them some sort of solid evidence of cost savings. no better way than to demonstrate on a smaller scale. what you should do, is try to find someone willing to donate 10 or so older computers, offer to set them up, and just propose to the school to either insert them into the curriculum or into general use.

[maybeway36]

Most places can't get rid of MS Office? Why.
Outlook. They have Exchange servers :(

[aysiu]

Most places can't get rid of MS Office? Why.
Outlook. They have Exchange servers :(
Really? I've worked in five high schools, and the one I'm working in now is the first one I've seen that runs Exchange servers. (Incidentally, Evolution works fine to connect to it. I know that isn't always the case, though.)

[hkgonra]

The schools around here use all MAC , even for servers.

[n3gbz]

I would say definitely go for it. The more exposure that open source receives, the better for the community.

A small word of caution though. Changing operating systems can be a major step for some organizations (ie, schools). A smaller change may be to start with the opendisc cd and the openeducationdisc cd. The url is - http://www.theopendisc.com/ -

"OpenDisc is a collection of high quality open source software for the Microsoft Windows platform, aimed at users exclusively using said operating system. The two goals of the disc are to provide free alternatives to otherwise costly equivalents, and to educate people about the Linux operating system."

An excellent article by Richard Stallman, is available at - http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/schools.html - Both gnu.org and fsf.org are great places to get additional information to support your arguments.

(My personal peeve is that parents believe they need to purchase proprietary software so students can do at home the same work they do at school. ie, OpenOffice vs proprietary word processor. Our local public library distributes the opendisc but I have not approached the school library yet.)

Good luck!

[n3gbz]

...
Find as many advocates as you can. It's great you have an English teacher on your side, but keep looking for other adults and students who can side with you. There is power in numbers...

Does your school have a Parent/Teacher Association (PTA or PTO)? You may find an advocate there.

[osxcapades]

but teachers, students, and some staff can definitely use [...] OpenOffice

I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy.

[DoctorMO]

I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy.

If it's a toss up between crap and ethical or productive and evil; I'd go with ethical every time, no point in killing your Karma over office software.

[aysiu]

I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy.
Why not?

Most students and teachers don't do anything more sophisticated than typing, bold-facing, italicizing, bullet-pointing, and font-size-changing.

[osxcapades]

If it's a toss up between crap and ethical or productive and evil; I'd go with ethical every time, no point in killing your Karma over office software.

There is no need to resort to OpenOffice. If FOSS is a must, Gnumeric and Abiword will certainly do.

[osxcapades]

Why not?

Most students and teachers don't do anything more sophisticated than typing, bold-facing, italicizing, bullet-pointing, and font-size-changing.

Because OpenOffice is buggy, ugly, slow, and unnecessarily complicated. Simply put, it is little more than a dismal mess.

[Sorry for posting twice in a row. I tried to edit my previous post, but I was unsuccessful. Edit: I can modify this post, though.]

[TeaSwigger]

Better off sending a letter to the Board of Education in your district. A friend of mine works for the BOE in my state and is in charge of developing and implementing software applications state wide. I can tell it's a MS world here. There's millions of dollars involved, not to mention careers, so a decision to change OS's would not be made lightly and not without a lot research and arguing along the way. If you want to make a change, become a programmer and get a job with the Board of Education in your state.

Agree. There are vested interests in having it a Microsoft world despite the fact that almost everyone the computers are ostensibly for - the students - owe nothing to Microsoft and in my opinion should not be raised to be Microsoft consumers by default, and those responsible - the instructors, school authorities and personel - ought to be consciously avoiding anything which trains the children to further the commercial interests of any parties.

But that's just my beliefs for ya.

[blithen]

Wow. I didn't know this was such a touchy subject haha. I'm still going to send the letter in. And I will get more people on my side. Thanks for all the input!

[Darkhack]

In order to get ridiculously cheap prices on Microsoft software, my school has a contract that prevents them from installing competing applications. I wrote a letter to my high school asking to install Firefox and OpenOffice along side of Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office and was still turned down. My computer teacher managed to convince them to install Firefox on the computers in his room because he teaches a web development class and cited his reason as wanting students to be able to check their work in other browsers. The journalism room also has Firefox, but only because they use Macs. The rest of the school is 100% Windows XP with IE and MS Office.

My computer teacher and I both support having Firefox and OpenOffice installed along with the current software but they won't do it. The response I got from my principal is actually quit humorous.



We can only support one standard, and Microsoft has been designated as that standard.


Oh yeah, because Microsoft is a "standard" (aka: monopoly).


We do not have the resources to download and install (and then support) another office suite on the approximately 8,000 student computers in the district.

It's funny. He says that as if they had to actually download and install it on each invidual computer when everyone knows that the school's computers pull everything from the server. It's install once, run everywhere. My computer teacher laughed at the "support" part because we asked to have it installed and said that we didn't care if they provided technical support or not, and the system operator at my school said she [1] would happily perform the regular software updates on it.


Our current standard allows documents to be saved in alternate formats, including older versions of Office, plain text, rich text format (which is a standard format recognized by virtually all word processors, etc. Students who are transferring documents between home and school should choose one of the alternate formats that would allow them to share that document between the two locations. Furthermore, this is only a short term problem. Microsoft's next version (12) of office will be Open XML Format as the default, which an open royalty-free file format.

Yeah, I think we all know what is wrong with that statement.

[1] My computer teacher is a dude, but he doesn't actually run the school network (though his opinions have a strong influence). The systems operator is a female (yes a real one) and she actually does know what she is talking about. She is very friendly and knowledgeable. She even knows about programming, Linux, and FOSS. I'm in my first year of college now and I will definitely miss her along with my computer teacher. They were both awesome people and made high school a lot of fun.

[osxcapades]

Oh yeah, because Microsoft is a "standard" (aka: monopoly).

Microsoft Office is the de-facto standard office suite software.

[n3gbz]

While checking around a little, I found another site being developed that may be of interest:

http://www.theopendisc.com/education/?page_id=8

There is a link on that page to an excellent article by Jay Pfaffman that supports the use of Open Source.

Please keep us posted on your progress!

[toupeiro]

To the OP's original post: All I can say is, it never hurts to try.

During my sophmore year in High School I asked if I could publish my mid-term final project on the web as it would allow me to better illustrate a presentation than a bunch of drawings and printed graphs. To put this into better context, the internet in schools was very much in its infancy stages. Our computer labs JUST got upgraded from windows 3.11 to windows 95, and only the computers in the library had internet access at this time. BBS's were still the primary online community, and there certainly wasn't the precedence of the internet being a true collaborative learning tool in the classroom yet. They allowed me to do it, and the next semester is was suggested by this teacher to use that method if you could. The next year other teachers followed suit. By my senior year, the school had an online presence that no other school did, with a VRML campus and everything. I'm not saying my little request stemmed all of this, but it was a part of that movement to something different, and it was accepted.

So, my point is that even if it doesn't work, the chance that it might is worth it.

[Depressed Man]

To the OP's original post: All I can say is, it never hurts to try.

During my sophmore year in High School I asked if I could publish my mid-term final project on the web as it would allow me to better illustrate a presentation than a bunch of drawings and printed graphs. To put this into better context, the internet in schools was very much in its infancy stages. Our computer labs JUST got upgraded from windows 3.11 to windows 95, and only the computers in the library had internet access at this time. BBS's were still the primary online community, and there certainly wasn't the precedence of the internet being a true collaborative learning tool in the classroom yet. They allowed me to do it, and the next semester is was suggested by this teacher to use that method if you could. The next year other teachers followed suit. By my senior year, the school had an online presence that no other school did, with a VRML campus and everything. I'm not saying my little request stemmed all of this, but it was a part of that movement to something different, and it was accepted.

So, my point is that even if it doesn't work, the chance that it might is worth it.

Yeah, I have a similar stoy (though much later in time). By this time the computers were running 2000/XP but for class presentations everyone still did powerpoints (which the teacher was getting quite sick of). So I proposed to build a website to display my group's english project senior year of high school. Which she permitted, and now she suggests that as a alternative instead of doing powerpoints.

[perryrt]

Blithen -

Good luck with it. If you get a response similar to DarkHack's, Do Not Get Discouraged. I won't bore you with a dumb quote about change, but suffice it to say that it doesn't happen fast, particularly with admin types.

Here are several ideas you might want to consider going forward. First, I'm a business guy and a public servant, not a computer guy, so you'll forgive me if my comments aren't too technical.

I'm given to understand that typically deals like Darkhack's principal described (which are not unusual, by the way) are negotiated per the network or per the server license (i.e. you can only install this software on this server, etc.) Frankly, MS may have a point here - at least in the past, they provided software for academic networks at a MUCH cheaper rate than that for businesses, and that price was contingent upon a simple system for them to troubleshoot/support (i.e. all plain MS stuff) therefore reducing their costs. Of course, no-one does tech support anymore, so that's kind of a moot point. I have heard tell that their other stated reason is that they want students coming out of high school and college to be already either "competent" or "locked in" to their products (which phrase you prefer is up to you!) :)

Linux is cheap and open. We all know that. It's a paradise for folks who like to take stuff apart and put things back together. Does your school have a networking/server/sysadmin sort of class? Why not work that angle! I'll bet you dollars to donuts that one of the other constraints on any arrangement your school may have with MS (or anyone else) is that they maintain appropriate security on their network. It's way beyond Ferris Beuhler changing the number of absences he had - any large network attached to the internet is a risk these days. Schools are typically unlikely to give students root access - this was true on the PDP 11/34 I started on (look it up on Wikipedia :) ), and I'll bet it's still true today.

Where I'm going with this is that if your principal won't let you play in his pool...make your own and have him pay the water bill!

Step 1 - Hardware. Check around the school - are they getting ready to excess any computers? Get a list of the 50 top employers in your area. Write them on school letterhead, or better yet, visit them in person (wear a tie.) Most large corporations have a periodic swapout/upgrade policy for computers (which mean that computers more than 3-4 years old are typically heading for the dump.) If you offer a tax writeoff via the school or a PTO/Boosters etc. organization, you should be able to pick up a few for free or close to it (have a bake sale or whatever. It's a doable amount, I'll bet you.) Anyway, the point is that with a few workstations, a bigger one for a server, and a basic Ethernet or wireless hub arrangement, you've got yourself a network, and if you're reasonable about the system requirements, you have spent less than I spent on my last full-blown gaming system.

Step 2 - Pitch Linux and Ubuntu as a tool for experimenting with basic computer setup and server/client arrangements. Work out with your teacher a basic curriculum, and get it up and running for at least a semester or two (maybe even include the hardware setup as part of the class.) Don't try to cross-connect to the MS network. Don't even try to connect to the outside world at first - just get computers on desks talking to each other and looking pretty. You want something that you can crash 6 times a day, that you can reboot by looking around the room and yelling "Hey, I'm rebooting the server now" rather than scheduling three days in advance. See if you can get your principal to support you to the extent of a separate computer "lab" for the Linux machines. The bottom line is that you should have a different goal for this network than for the school's "main" network - you need to convince the school that you would like to learn things that might not be possible (or even wise) on a public system. Differentiation will find you a niche.

Step 3 - Now... here's a bit of a switcheroo. We all know that Linux can be VERY stable. Get this system up and running. Then try to get a separate internet connection into that lab. After all, you need it for system updates, research, etc. etc. Again, the point is that you're working with something different that a MS network can't provide. Push the whole experimental angle - set up a mail server, user accounts, etc. Open it to the public (ok, other students). Most schools don't have enough computing capacity - well, you've just added X terminals capable of producing papers and lab reports (that aren't costing much.) Focus on useability and accessibility. Make the Linux experience as easy as the MS one. At first, you'll just attract the computer friendly....but if you build it, they will come. Make sure that your systems have all the social stuff - GAIM, etc. Make sure they all have front USB ports for sticks, perhaps a webcam or two... maybe a VOIP demo station, etc etc. Offer a basic "intro to GNOME" class or something. Talk to the photography teacher - I'll bet you he/she can't afford Photoshop for everyone... can he afford GIMP? and so on and so forth. Do a usage survey - find out what the students need and address the needs. The key thing in this step is that once you've set up a program, you've got to widen your base of support.

Step 4 - Once the Linux system is side-by-side with the MS one, then approach the principal again. "See what we can do, sir?" "See how little it costs, sir?" One of the best salesmen I ever met said that "...the hard thing about selling snow to Eskimos is to convince them that it's USEFUL to them...it's all down hill after that." Once you present your principal with a set-up, functioning computer lab that people are using and is forwarding the curriculum of the school....then you can talk wider applications of the same technology.

Unfortunately, this all takes the one thing that students typically don't have - time. I don't know where you are in your learning curve, but you may not have the 2-3 years able to see this kind of plan through....but maybe you can get started and see where it goes.

Good Luck from all of us!

[inversekinetix]

Better off sending a letter to the Board of Education in your district. A friend of mine works for the BOE in my state and is in charge of developing and implementing software applications state wide. I can tell it's a MS world here. There's millions of dollars involved, not to mention careers, so a decision to change OS's would not be made lightly and not without a lot research and arguing along the way. If you want to make a change, become a programmer and get a job with the Board of Education in your state.

This is exactly right, you have ZERO chance of changing anything by approaching the principal, they have very little power to do anything outside of the schools daily routine. Even if you go to the city BOE you will have no luck, theyre controlled by the state/province BOE and themselves in are in turn controlled by the Dept/ministry of education. There are systems and agreements in place that are long standing and involve large amounts of money. By the time your idea even gets to someone who matters windows will be on version 15 and who knows where linux will be (in terms of what it has become). It's sad but true. Windows will be the mainstay of education for a long time to come.

[Sef]

It's sad but true. Windows will be the mainstay of education for a long time to come.


A long time is not forever. One has to start somewhere, and as the saying goes a journey of a 10000 kilometers starts with a single step.

[frup]

If the school got letters from a sizeable population of students requesting tuition in more than one OS/Product for the sake of real world experience blaah blaah blaah I'm sure they would have a hard time ignoring this, combine this with an orgranised attempt with other linux users/curious students from other schools with in your district and you might get some progress.

Or you could always do what we did at school when we wanted to show other students stuff, change all the home pages in the computer labs to ubuntu.com :P

[curuxz]

My 2cents, as someone who actively tries to get linux into educational institutions (with varying degrees of success) is that you should, as others have said, pick smaller battles first.

Openoffice is your weapon, its a quick install, a quick saving and the new version of office requires large amounts of retraining because they have trashed the interface (the only thing people buy windows for is they know how to use it so why MS did this i REALLY dont know).

Tell you principal about the problems with the new expensive ms office and suggest that openoffice will be a far better alternative. Also say that you can show him through it, people like demonstrations.

Once they have Oo installed then you have your 'proof of concept' that opensource works. Then move on the tackling their severs.

The desktops should be the LAST thing to migrate. Get people using Oo and firefox and then it wont be such a shock in a few years when its all linux :)

good luck !

[coolglobal]

It is a tremendous idea to let your principal know about Linux with a letter. There should most definitely be some Linux boxes at your school. Better still all of them should be Linux and preferably a version of the Ubuntu family. Let you principal know that Linux is the future of computing worldwide.

It is laughable to think that Windows has any staying power whatsoever. It will be a brief topic in your history classes.

[matthewcraig]

Yes, send a letter to the principal, change your text a bit and put an article in your school newspaper for the student audience, and speak in front of the school board. I also recommend uncovering who does the school's technical support and talking with them, too. Get some Ubuntu LiveCDs into their hands to try. Get the word out there. Most people do not understand the concepts of Free Software, and they will always go with what they know until someone helps them understand otherwise. Don't be discouraged by all the negative feedback here. Just go out and do it!! Good luck with your project!

[Darkhack]

My personal recommendation is to start small and just recommend that they install some free software along side the current applications on Windows. They are more likely to do it and later down the road you can explain to them how those applications are standard on most Linux distributions which may make them feel more comfortable with a switch. Firefox, OpenOffice, GIMP, Blender, and others.

[inversekinetix]

Will all the 1000s and 1000s of documents used in schools be able to be opened in these free programs without any loss of formatting? Can these free programs save into the proprietry formats that most users will still be using? If only software is switched from OS to free stuff will the schools still get their bulk/bundle discount from microsoft? Will the schools/BOE be able to retrain all the teachers to teach using these new applications? Will the teachers be willing to relearn something that they have been using for years?

[coolglobal]

All quite achievable. There is always change, and Linux will rise and Windows will become obsolete, like the Model T. Microsoft will be a Linux company.

[blithen]

Yeeeep. Just giving a small update on this. (Should've done it a long time ago, my apologies.) I don't think my principal even gave Linux a second thought. If he even read my letter. So needless to say that there will be no linux computers at my school until the rest of the schools start switching.

[torry_loon]

I'm sorry to read that your plan didn't go anywhere. I hope this hasn't put you off trying something similar in the future.

If your school insists on using Windows, there are many applications in the Ubuntu repos which are also available for Windows. If they were to start using those it would make it easier to switch to Linux in the future.

I have found that many staff in schools are quite apathetic when changes are introduced. I dual-booted Ubuntu with the existing Windows XP install and showed it to the children. Ubuntu is now the primary OS on these computers and they only use Windows for any software that won't run in Linux or if the teacher tells them to use Windows.

I'm sure many people on the forum would like to see the content of your letter.

[Lord Illidan]

That's a shame. I was allowed to install Linux on a few pcs in our IT lab. Only I used them though, but at least I felt more comfortable.