Dave, I am a teacher and interested in how people learn with technology. Here is another thought - that I have mentioned before - but it bears mentioning again in this context.
One of the conclusions of a Floaters.org investigation is that (as teachers would expect) experiencing/learning two OSs or word processors or even versions of the same OS or word processor ALLOWS people to go on and easily learn a third, on their own. And this is the skill that is important. In other words, it does not matter what OS or software you learn. What matters is that you learn another one. Then you can learn a third on your own, as easily as breathing (almost), and what's more, you are valuable to an employer because you adjust easily to an upgrade or change. We have three OSs (sometimes four) in one of our CTCs. :-) Our problem is finding software in Spanish. :-( Sandy Andrews On 6/5/06, Dave A. Chakrabarti <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Tom, A very well articulated post...thanks. While there is an ideological basis for preferring open source software over proprietary software, the problem I encounter in these discussions is that people will generally concede every point you've made, and then say "but, I need something that's industry standard so my trainees can get jobs". I heard exactly this point of view at a community meeting on the west side of Chicago recently. A well-educated, technically trained (she has an A+ certification and has been working as an independent tech consultant for some time now) said that open source is great and the world may change someday, but what we need is training in the tools that will get our community jobs *now* ...businesses want someone who knows Word and Excel, not Linux, etc. ------------------- Tom Brough wrote: > Much that I hate to open old wounds, but I am compelled by my > convictions to write on the subject of proprietary vs free software.
-- Sandra Sutton Andrews, PhD [EMAIL PROTECTED] University Technology Office Arizona State University _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
