There are a couple of huge costs with open source software that everyone outside of education forgets to think about. First, schools get great deals on software. Granted it is not free, but highly, highly reduced from what individuals and corporations must pay.
Secondly, most schools do not have the personnel to manage open source systems. With many schools paying tech staff around $10 - $15 an hour, they are unable to hire persons who have the expertise in OSS. Paying for consultants is usually out of the question. Because of numerous privacy laws (FERPA among others), students cannot be given enough rights to a school's network to help maintain and implement OSS (assuming they had the knowledge).
Lastly, very little curriculum or training materials for open source software is available. There are mountains of books and other materials available for purchased software (sometimes given to schools for free). Many educators do no have the time to learn new software, alter the curriculum and create new training materials. As a high school teacher, I was responsible for over 160 students a day.
Don't get me wrong - I love open source software, and nothing would make me happier to see open source software in the schools. The hurdles and the cost to implement open source software (staffing, training, and new educational documentation) is too high to make the switch.
That is what you will hear over and over again. I have been in your exact same shoes and I had a very hard time getting people to even look at Open Office. This misconception will be your largest struggle.
What ever you do, when you demo it, do not tell them it is open source and do not tell them it is free until they start to like it.
Remember that the Microsoft reps have been working on administrators and teachers for years that it is vital to have Microsoft products to produce learning. They are told nothing else will prepare students for the future. We all know this is a bunch of bull.
If you need educational theory to convince the hard core people, take a look at Jonassen's Computers as Mindtools for Schools - http://www.prenhall.com/jonassen/index1.html. He makes a great point (that all of us know) - it is not the product that you use, but how you use it that produces learning.
I couldn't agree more. I spent numerous years evaluating how teachers (in the US) use technology. In an attempt to "integrate technology" into the classroom, they would have the students create a PowerPoint presentation. Often with the blessing of the teacher or tech aide, the student would find information or images on the Internet and copy and paste. Many schools and teachers feel that this is "good" learning. Look the schools are learning how to use the computer.
B.S. The student learned that steeling others' work and passing it off as theirs is OK. Scary isn't it?
Like many of the posters, it all comes down to how the computers are used. A best practice of how computers should (and should not) be used is slowly being developed, but that information is not being passed and used by the teachers. That's not a dig at teachers at all - They have way too much responsibility to pick up everything.
Personally I feel PowerPoint should be banned in 90% of education.
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There are a couple of huge costs with open source software that everyone outside of education forgets to think about. First, schools get great deals on software. Granted it is not free, but highly, highly reduced from what individuals and corporations must pay. Secondly, most schools do not have the personnel to manage open source systems. With many schools paying tech staff around $10 - $15 an hour, they are unable to hire persons who have the expertise in OSS. Paying for consultants is usually out of the question. Because of numerous privacy laws (FERPA among others), students cannot be given enough rights to a school's network to help maintain and implement OSS (assuming they had the knowledge). Lastly, very little curriculum or training materials for open source software is available. There are mountains of books and other materials available for purchased software (sometimes given to schools for free). Many educators do no have the time to learn new software, alter the curriculum and create new training materials. As a high school teacher, I was responsible for over 160 students a day. Don't get me wrong - I love open source software, and nothing would make me happier to see open source software in the schools. The hurdles and the cost to implement open source software (staffing, training, and new educational documentation) is too high to make the switch.
That is what you will hear over and over again. I have been in your exact same shoes and I had a very hard time getting people to even look at Open Office. This misconception will be your largest struggle. What ever you do, when you demo it, do not tell them it is open source and do not tell them it is free until they start to like it. Remember that the Microsoft reps have been working on administrators and teachers for years that it is vital to have Microsoft products to produce learning. They are told nothing else will prepare students for the future. We all know this is a bunch of bull. If you need educational theory to convince the hard core people, take a look at Jonassen's Computers as Mindtools for Schools - http://www.prenhall.com/jonassen/index1.html. He makes a great point (that all of us know) - it is not the product that you use, but how you use it that produces learning.
I couldn't agree more. I spent numerous years evaluating how teachers (in the US) use technology. In an attempt to "integrate technology" into the classroom, they would have the students create a PowerPoint presentation. Often with the blessing of the teacher or tech aide, the student would find information or images on the Internet and copy and paste. Many schools and teachers feel that this is "good" learning. Look the schools are learning how to use the computer. B.S. The student learned that steeling others' work and passing it off as theirs is OK. Scary isn't it? Like many of the posters, it all comes down to how the computers are used. A best practice of how computers should (and should not) be used is slowly being developed, but that information is not being passed and used by the teachers. That's not a dig at teachers at all - They have way too much responsibility to pick up everything. Personally I feel PowerPoint should be banned in 90% of education.