[ubuntu-uk] Imagine if Linux become massively popular?

[Bea Groves]

Hi!

I'm President of the Institute for Learning (go look it up!), course 
tutor for both the PTLLS and DTLLS teacher training courses, and am a 
teacher/trainer who has been 'in the business' for 33 years. One of the 
topics I teach is ICT, I'm also a Ubuntu user - there are no MS products 
on my domestic PCs, and I am one of the few people who has run an adult 
education beginners course on Linux/Ubuntu on Tyneside (a couple of 
years ago, with some moderate success). You could say then that I have a 
fair degree of experience in the area of non-MS evangelism and also 
teaching standards in general.

A couple of points:

Completely off-topic -- can I point out that the PTLLS course acronym 
stands for '*Preparing* to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector', and 
as such the title hints at the course's limitations: it's not a full 
qualification, and the people who complete it ostensibly have only a 
basic grounding in teaching. Enough (one hopes!) for them not to 
screw-up completely in the outside world. However, your mileage may 
vary... What is clear is: anyone who says they are a 'qualified teacher' 
and has only achieved PTLLS (L3 or L4) is talking nonsense.

On-topic -- Adult, Further and Higher education bodies will respond to 
demand. if there's a need for training in non-MS OSs then the provision 
will appear. I'm already starting to see an inkling of that in the 
recent tentative move towards simple courses around Android. The more 
that MS loses out in the mobile device market, the more likely that the 
curriculum will change. The issue is then: will Ubuntu be usable on 
tablets and phones? Will it have advantages over Android in the cheap 
device end of the market? Will Canonical's marketing and support 
strategy cause it to be seen as an advantageous option for new devices? 
if so, then the education sector will inevitably have to move to support 
such changes as devices utilising it become common.

Teachers also need to take part in evangelism over Ubuntu. NOT simply 
because it is 'better' (whatever that might mean), but because our 
students have a right to informed choice. To be 'conned' into thinking 
that Windows is the best simply because it's what you got on you 
computer when you bought it, is just plain daft.  If teachers don't know 
about this situation, or about non-MS software, then I'd say they are 
not competent in their subject; life has moved on considerably since the 
only game on the go was Microsoft's, and it's our duty as teachers to 
keep ahead of the game for our student's sake.

In truth, we don't even really need to 'sell' Ubuntu. As teachers we 
simply need to do our jobs properly, show people the options that are 
available, give them the necessary flexible and diverse skills (and 
isn't that what we want?)  and let nature take its course. From my 
experience, 90% of my adult students want to use Ubuntu when they see it 
as a valid and fun possibility (not an 'alternative'!). And did anyone 
mention the word 'free'?... :-)

Ciao!

On 13/06/13 15:01, Paul Sutton wrote:
> On 13/06/13 14:15, Liam Proven wrote:
>> On 13 June 2013 11:48, Paul Sutton <zleap at zleap.net> wrote:
>>> On 13/06/13 11:25, Byte Soup wrote:
>>>> Hi folks,
>>>>
>>>> In light of some recent discussions I've seen on this list it seems a
>>>> lot of folks are keen to promote Linux and see it deployed and used
>>>> more especially on the desktop. I've been using Ubuntu daily (plus
>>>> some other distros on and off) for a few years now. I love it and
>>>> wouldn't switch back, however I have no real gripe against windows.
>>>>
>>>> I have been wondering on one thing though, would we really want to see
>>>> a greater uptake of Linux by the general population? I think we can
>>>> agree that partially the success of windows has made it a target for
>>>> criminals and malware. So if for whatever reason tomorrow we saw a
>>>> massive uptake then where would that leave us? Would it really be a
>>>> good thing?
>>>>
>>>> -Mark
>>>>
>>>>
>>> I don't think education is ready,  there are lots of courses out there
>>> for Windows,  Office etc ann very little for Linux where would we get
>>> the tutors to educate the tutors,  and we would need to suggest a min
>>> standard of knowledge, who educates the tutors.  or can we take our vast
>>> selt taught knowledgfe, do a 7302 and teach, it won't work like that due
>>> to the narrow minded ness of the people who run the courses,   we can
>>> here, but as soon as you add the other factors it becomes  no go area
>>> for geeks.
>>>
>>> not just a 7302 + Maths and English at Level 2,  if we are to educate
>>> the masses do we even need teachers we should create online education
>>> for free,  if that was developed or needs to be developed FIRST, take a
>>> look at alison.com, what we need there is a few basic to advanced
>>> courses  on using Linux on the desktop,  hey there isn't much on using
>>> apple desktops so what chance have we got.
>> I'm afraid I can't follow your message. I don't know what "7302" means
>> and I find your phrasing impenetrable.
>>
>> But the battle in UK education was lost decades ago, mainly when
>> schools dropped Acorn and went Windows.
>>
>> The point of education should be to teach methods, ideas and concepts.
>> Not to teach tools: that is not education, that is vocational
>> training.
>>
>> Acorn kit had its OS in ROM, was pretty robust and fairly
>> tamper-proof, and required little support. It had excellent
>> educational tools but little commercial productivity software. It was
>> about teaching programming and how to use a computer.
>>
>> Instead, we now have overworked underpaid teachers having to support
>> Windows networks, the single most insecure platform there has ever
>> been in the history of computers, and all they are teaching is basic
>> MS Office skills.
>>
>> The war is lost.
>>
> sorry 7302 is an adult education prepare to teach course basically what
> you need or part of what you need to teach adults,  there is also PTLLS
> (preparing to teach in life long learning sector) that course is
> expensive, in my experience some of these adult education teachers are
> CRAP., despite being qualified to teach.
>
> My point was also to say that we may not need these teachers if we
> create online materlals that people can use to learn how to do tasks,
>
> I don't think the war is lost,   the sector(s) is trying to make
> changes,  we just need help, support etc,  we also need to ensure that
> programming is available to people, I want to see scratch on as many
> computers as possible so all kids have access to it,  in fact you don't
> need it installing  now.   Yesterday i was doing some code academy, and
> it was teaching how to convert numbers to strings str(x) so they could
> be concatenated together,  so the learning tools are there, and peer
> learning is an important thing and powerful.
>
> The materials are there,  we have the raspberry Pi and other single
> board computers that are cheap,  we have access to programming languages
> what is needed is some glue to bring all that together and adults or
> young people who can help do that.
>
> I am making a start helping to run programming groups,  Be positive, and
> hopefully if we all stay positive changes will come.  there are talented
> young people out there,  if we can find and support them then things
> will start to change.
>
> Paul
>
>

-- 
Beatrix E. Groves
BA Hons (Educ) FAETC LCGI MAPTT MIFL QTLS
President, Institute for Learning (IfL)
General Secretary, Association of Part-Time Tutors (APTT)
Ambassador, Workers' Educational Association (WEA)
Director, Time to Change CiC
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