::fibreculture:: Microsoft and the critical classroom

[Ned Lukies]

David Teh wrote
*snip*

> 
> when it comes to secondary schooling, the situation is slightly different: the 
> ideal syllabus would take in a broader sweep of the available platforms, 
> including MS etc (proprietary models) and open source models. i sincerely hope it 
> will at Redfern. 

I know of two cases where a school and a TAFE have started to introduce 
their students to Linux and open source software. In both cases this 
happened because they were required to start teaching students how to 
program in various different languages. The cost of the hardware and 
software for a Microsoft system would have been prohibitive. With Linux 
they managed to extend the life of a few old systems a little bit longer.

Proprietary software is considered better then open source because you 
pay for it and we are constantly told that "you get what you pay for". I 
believe that as Redfern has almost a blank cheque budget for IT, it will 
spend big on the "better" proprietary technology.

> but software is only one little aspect of an information system, 
> and the above anecdote would suggest that there's even bigger pedagogical issues 
> in play here: namely: regardless of what sort of software you use or teach, how 
> do you get the students to view the programs with critical eyes? how do you get 
> them to demand more of their tools, to be conscious of what the tools CAN'T do, 
> or perhaps what they SHOULD do? 
> 
> is it necessary to treat the software as a TEXT for the purposes of the class/
> course, so as to encourage critical 'readings' (a la lit.crit.)? or are practical 
> means (workshops etc) more effective for this?

It depends on what you want to achieve. Practical means are probably 
better if you want to teach the student how to use the software. 
However, if you really want them to understand the software and how it 
works, what it can and can't down and what it should do then I believe  
it is necessary to treat the software as a text.

Regards,

Ned Lukies
Xenon Internet