[ubuntu-uk] Persuading a school to switch

[Alistair Crust]

On Thu, 2008-03-27 at 13:03 +0000, Stephen O'Neill wrote:
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> Alistair Crust wrote:
> | They will not have to employ anyone else full time to
> | maintain it.
> 
> 
> If an automated update breaks something overnight then at 9am teachers
> are relying on the computers to
> deliver lessons then you need someone to be able to sort it out there
> and then. Outsourced support options may not always be able to provide
> this - particularly if you need onsite assistance in a remote area. I
> think that most schools would be wanting someone who could fix it very
> close by.

Most things can be fixed remotely, of course there are some things that
can't. In that instance would it not be feasible for the person (who we
have already established normally can follow bullet pointed instruction
on a que sheet) who is responsible for co-ordinating ict to follow
instructions over the phone from someone who knows how to fix it. You
don't have to understand why your typing things but the tech support on
the other end of the phone does.

For hardware failure it makes no odds what OS or system your running
you'd still need someone able to physically install equipment or (less
technical) know how to place an order for a replacement. This doesn't
need to be an expert, just someone who is clever enough to follow
instructions and hold a telephone.

In my opinion the biggest challenge in adoption is the political
reasoning not technical reasoning. There is always some company pushing
there own agenda, selling licenses, more licenses, premium phone support
for buggy software, more licenses, upgraded hardware after x years, etc
and there will be teachers and management that just blindly accept "the
norm", the spin, advertising and hidden agendas without looking at the
technical merits of something different. Just because its different does
it make it technically inferior.. no. In the same breath, just because
its proprietary and "the norm" does it make it inferior... no. But we as
taxpayers and tax spenders have a responsibility to look at all the
options available, and should not be forcing pupils to use any one
particular vendor.


Kind regards
-- 
Alistair Crust <alistair at skegnessgrammar.org>
Systems Administrator
Skegness Grammar School
Vernon Road
Skegness
Lincs
PE252QS
Tel: 01754610000