[Gllug] UK schools education and FOSS

[Geo]

On Thursday 20 October 2011 20:42:20 Chris Bell wrote:
> Hello,
>    I am not an expert, but I feel that the UK is falling far behind the
> rest of the world at least partly because many teachers and schools are
> totally ignorant of what is available, so provide little or no help to
> students. The school examinations should not favour any poor quality
> operating system, least of all a poor quality proprietary operating system,
> but there appears to have been almost an embargo on information about FOSS
> from the education authorities.
>    Some stands with individual Open Source packages have appeared in the
> two main education exhibitions, the BETT show in London and the Education
> Show in Birmingham in recent years, but would there be any support for a
> larger FOSS general demonstration area with space for entire distributions,
> an Open Source Village?

Chris,
 My youngest has just moved to another school and they are "very technology 
aware" to the point where parents are discouraged going to the school to talk 
to teachers etc but rather thro email.
The first 3 such mails were totally unreadable so i sent in aletter of 
complaint explaining that NOt everyone uses proprietory software and that to 
send out supposedly urgent messages that are un readable was futile.

I was told that they were not unreadable as most parents had responded so i 
printed off the offending notes and took them in. The reception was "chilly" 
until I actually talked to the IT person, who seemed quite suprised that what 
they were sending out actually looked like the print outs. She then went out 
of her way to show me their latest documentation that was to be sent out. 
Again it was proprietry and could not be opened in anything except this years 
version of the package. 
The attachment were sent out as scheduled and they had ajammed phone line as 
90% of parents could not open them. I have been asked to assist in trying to 
find a set of packages that will do what they want and we can all read.
The meeting is Monday, wish me luck

-- 
C U 
   Geo
 
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