Hi Phil, I am all too keen to work with Becta. However, I feel that they should at least allow me the simple courtesy of a hard-earned reply.
On Fri, 2007-01-12 at 21:44 +0000, Phil Bull wrote: > Hi Toby, > > On Fri, 2007-01-12 at 20:16 +0000, Toby Smithe wrote: > [...] > > I have been quite busy on the fight for free software for schools, and > > am publishing any developments on that front at > > http://tibsplace.co.uk/blog/index.php/category/free-software > > > > I don't really trust BECTA. They didn't reply to my completely serious > > e-mail, so I just assume they are been pressurised into preferring > > proprietary software. They could just have issued this statement to make > > us content. I will again write to them, but until I receive a reply, I > > have no idea why I should think they are trustworthy. > > I've been following some of your efforts, and it does seem as though > you've just been sent stock responses by their PR department. This is > unfortunate considering the effort you've obviously put into this, but > it's something we need to confront. > > I think entering into a dialogue with BECTA will be necessary as a > gateway to the LEAs (Local Education Authorities). A great deal of IT > policy-making in schools rests with the LEAs, I believe, even if some > schools choose not to follow their recommendations. FOSS-sympathetic > LEAs would be able to provide resources and support on a level which > could make the adoption of FOSS seem much more practical for a great > deal of schools. > > Please take a look at this Becta press release [1], especially the three > reports in the 'Notes to Editors' section. I found them very > enlightening; the biggest problem the schools studied seemed to come up > against was a lack of support from the LEA. Some LEAs even seemed to > actively discourage open-source adoption: > > "The LEA provides no ICT support to the school, and some animosity has > grown over the issue of the school using OSS." [2] > > By working with Becta, we could hopefully open a useful communication > channel with the LEAs. > > Thanks, > > Phil > > [1] - http://www.becta.org.uk/corporate/press_out.cfm?id=4681 > [2] - Open Source Software in Schools: A case study report [1] (Page 6, > Case Study 3, 'ICT in the school') > -- Help me get to Venezuela! http://tibsplace.co.uk/venezuela -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.kubuntu.org/UKTeam/
