Good... give the schools more hardware and software.
However, regardless of the vendor, dumping technology into the schools is not going to necessarily benefit or improve our schools (assuming this is the background motivation for Microsoft's proposed penalty settlement). We've learned this lesson already!
Red Hat's proposal is a step in the right direction in terms of broadening the vision. Let's not lose sight of the background goal - something beyond just punishing Microsoft. We should take Red Hat's proposal a couple of steps further...
The schools need teachers that know what to do with all the technology being unloaded on them. Microsoft should also provide funds for teacher training, toward how to use technology in their classrooms and beyond, using sound pedagogy.
There is not enough good educational software out available on any platform (unix-linux-xbsd, MacOS, Windows). Microsoft should also establish a fund that rewards development of open source educational (or education support) software. Perhaps, money can be awarded through a competitive proposal process or an annual contest for best of class software in a number of defined categories. Of course, all developer participants would contribute their work as Open Source projects.
There have been small-scale exemplars of this seed funding approach by NSF (NEEDS), Dept of Education (ERIC), and even Apple (of old - when HyperCard was hot).
Let's really take advantage of the Microsoft settlement to better of our schools. There are important problems in our education system that can be solved with technology, but software+hardware are only part of the solution. Let's use the Microsoft settlement to address the complete solution.
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However, regardless of the vendor, dumping technology into the schools is not going to necessarily benefit or improve our schools (assuming this is the background motivation for Microsoft's proposed penalty settlement). We've learned this lesson already!
Red Hat's proposal is a step in the right direction in terms of broadening the vision. Let's not lose sight of the background goal - something beyond just punishing Microsoft. We should take Red Hat's proposal a couple of steps further...
- The schools need teachers that know what to do with all the technology being unloaded on them. Microsoft should also provide funds for teacher training, toward how to use technology in their classrooms and beyond, using sound pedagogy.
- There is not enough good educational software out available on any platform (unix-linux-xbsd, MacOS, Windows). Microsoft should also establish a fund that rewards development of open source educational (or education support) software. Perhaps, money can be awarded through a competitive proposal process or an annual contest for best of class software in a number of defined categories. Of course, all developer participants would contribute their work as Open Source projects.
Let's really take advantage of the Microsoft settlement to better of our schools. There are important problems in our education system that can be solved with technology, but software+hardware are only part of the solution. Let's use the Microsoft settlement to address the complete solution.There have been small-scale exemplars of this seed funding approach by NSF (NEEDS), Dept of Education (ERIC), and even Apple (of old - when HyperCard was hot).