[Sussex] Getting Linux into schools

[Alex Harrington]

> I'll take your word for it, but I have to say that of all the people I
trained with, and all the teachers I met 
> through it, I've yet to meet one who has any experience of a reliable
SIMS. I suppose it's possible that many 
> of the local schools haven't upgraded to SIMS.net - I couldn't tell
you what version of it was that I used. 
> It's also perfectly possible that it wasn't set up properly, I can't
say that I was particularly impressed by 
> the IT support in some of the local schools, unfortunately.

I'm sorry to hear that. It's perfectly possible to run SIMS well in a
stable sensible environment. There's three of us here to look after
about 600 workstations - all of which have SIMS installed. Every teacher
uses SIMS every day for registration, report writing, exam entries etc
and we get very little support traffic for it.

My point is slinging mud at SIMS isn't going to help you. You NEED an
approved MIS system in order for the academy to exchange data with the
LA and Government. Unless the MIS is effectively not being used, it will
be very much a part of the way the school is run - even if superficially
you're not aware of it. Switching will mean making changes to the way
the academy handles everything from eRegistration to reporting, exams,
performance management etc. It will also be phenominally expensive. SIMS
also seems to be better supported when it comes to integrating with
Learning Platforms (something the Academy will almost certainly be
addressing if it hasn't done so already).

> Don't suppose you happen to know of any specific schools that 
> have done this, by any chance..?

Linux Outlaws did an interview with Chad Wollenberg. They won't be
running SIMS, but I'm sure I remember him saying that they ran a
terminal server for Windows-only apps in their Linux-Desktop schools:
http://linuxoutlaws.com/podcast/85

There's a very similar thread over on Edugeek here:
http://www.edugeek.net/forums/mis-systems/13650-sims-linux.html

I can't remember the name of the school, or infact where I saw it but
I've definitely sat through a presentation about this some time ago.
Richard Rothwell would be another good person to have a chat to about
this: http://www.richardrothwell.com/

> > I'm not sure if the Cutter project are still around - they do thin 
> > client installs in schools and must have had to address this before.
> > They'd be a good starting point.

http://cutterproject.co.uk/index.php

Cheers

Alex

-- 
Alex Harrington - Network Development Manager
Longhill High School
t: 01273 391672 e: alex at longhill.org.uk