Why Will Thinks Linux Has a Long Way to Go in Schools

But if you take my fairly high-tech, well supported (technology-wise) school as an example, it just ain't going to happen here any time soon. Call it dancing with the girl you brought to the prom (or whatever that silly metaphor is,) but Linux on it's surface just seems too "out there" when you've got something that works pretty well already, the resources to change are slim, and no one has any time to learn something new. [weblogged News]

Will's latest post points to Tom Hoffman's discussion of his installation of the SUSE Linux distribution. Will wonders outloud about the viability of the use of Linux in school environments. I think the key point here is...

But if you take my fairly high-tech, well supported (technology-wise) school as an example, it just ain't going to happen here any time soon...

when you've got something that works pretty well already, the resources to change are slim, and no one has any time to learn something new.

Tom, and our mutual friend Ben, are working with very limited resources. Machines that will barely run Windows 98, let alone XP or Longhorn. Linux is a very viable and proven solution. The Linux Terminal Server Project is built from the ground up for use in the K-12 environment. For an excellent example of the use of Linux in a high school, see Paul Nelson's work at Riverdale High School in Portland.

As for Will's list of terms and acronyms that seems to be confusing his technicians? I'll add to the list...

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