[Opensource] Getting rid of Windows on your R61 Lenovo

Wed Oct 14 08:59:59 EST 2009

I know that I am very lucky that my techie and I both have the belief  
that schools are places of learning and exploration. While having a  
uniform platform and a "corporate" approach to ICT infrastructure on a  
curric network certainly has its merits - particularly from a support  
point, I am lucky that my technician is of the opinion that we are  
there to support student learning and teachers in whatever they feel  
*they* need to use for better educational outcomes - not just what  
suits us. On our curric network we try to mimic the real world and so  
encourage a range of platforms and most importantly feel that teachers  
(like anyone) work best and produce their best when they are able to  
use whatever tools they are comfortable with or enjoy using. I don't  
tell my technical team what they can and can't use and don't expect  
them to dictate to me what I can and can't use. (We do have many  
discussions on the pros and cons and if there is an insurmountable  
issue then we err on the side of not totally stuffing it up for  
everyone. ;)
  I could never work in a school that told me what I must and can't  
use - (hence my days of ever going back to the private system are  
over.) If I am fluent in Win, Mac and Linux for everyday use, I  can't  
see why I shouldn't be able to use the most appropriate tool for the  
job. I use a Mac so that I have access to all three OS's if needed.  
Schools are not corporations once you step into the classroom.
When we hire technical support we insist that they have, or are  
prepared to learn, to deal with all three platforms. Most technicians  
know that most answers are only a click away or a discussion forum  
question from solving. There is also training available. However we  
also tell staff the price we pay for this flexibility is speed of  
response when it comes to some of the more unusual problems we get. If  
they want to delve into Ubuntu, Mac or switch to Windows  good on them  
and we will support them but we also encourage them to find out for  
themselves (lets be independent lifelong learners folks) - it's  
amazing how many teachers are staggered when they come in with a  
problem and we just google it if we don't know the answer. We also  
take time to explain to the user that they could possible do this and  
I am sure that this is already happening - many of our teachers who  
have recently switched to Macs are doing a great job of sussing things  
out for themselves - very few issues.
As for any policy - the core business of learning and what is best for  
the students comes first and if that means giving everyone -  
technicians, teachers and students the tools *they* want.....

(My  0.0181467 USD worth.)

Cheers
Cameron

On 13/10/2009, at 8:35 AM, Jim Maunder wrote:

> Morning All -
>
> This old laptop technician wonders how the tech support people in  
> your organisations cope with teachers buggarising\\\\\\\\\\ changing  
> the software in your laptops? Do you expect them to support the new  
> improved OS and software or do you look after it yourselves?
>
> I have nothing against Ubuntu - I often play with it myself here at  
> work. I find it easy to use, and really like the software  
> installation and update procedure - makes this sort of thing a  
> breeze. The wireless works well in our open network, though mapping  
> drives on the Novell network is non-trivial. We could not use it on  
> desktop machines here (although I keep trying the new releases just  
> in case).
>
> I run Vista on my desktop, and because a couple of apps I like to  
> use don't run in Vista I have Win98 running in a MS Virtual Machine  
> (and Win311 in another VM just to see if I could), so I understand  
> why one would want to try that sort of approach.
>
> Anyway I was wondering what the 'official line' was on non-standard  
> desktop environments?
>
> rgds
> Jim
> (see my sig lines and disclaimer at the end)
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> We have to use this Disclaimer
>
> Views, opinions, etc. expressed reflect those of the author and not
> Ruyton Girls' School
> -----------------------------------------------------------
>
> Jim Maunder
> Laptop Technician
> Ruyton Girls School
> Melbourne, Australia
> ph 9290 9374
>
>
>
> >>> Brett Groves<groves.brett.g at edumail.vic.gov.au> 12/10/2009 4:08  
> PM >>>
> Greetings all,
>
> Luckily I'm already bald or I would have torn out any hair left  
> since I
> got my new R61 Lenovo a few months ago and have had to struggle with  
> the
> joys of Vista. Blue screens, slow, "Windows has detected the cursor  
> has
> moved, would you like to restart now" type messages.....I had had
> enough. So I set aside some time over the hols to look at Ubuntu.
>
> Tried the alpha version of the new 9.10 release and it was lovely and
> very easy to configure but doesnt yet support virtualbox (more on that
> in moment).
>
> I loaded as a final option instead version 9.04. I actually really
> didn't need to set aside much time at all. It was unbelievably easy to
> configure for EduPaSS wireless, the network share drives are
> ridiculously simple to map, in fact the whole process has been quite
> pain free...a revelation!
>
> So now my laptop runs at least twice as fast, never blue screens  
> hasn't
> crashed yet, and installing programs like Rolands suggestion of  
> Kdenlive
> was trivially easy.
>
> ......
>
> Brett Groves - ICT Coordinator - Croydon Secondary College
>
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