[ILUG] More Linux in the classroom!

[John Gay]

John Bolger wrote>
I just succeeded in moving the data for Facility CMIS (the student records
system in use in most of Ireland) from the MS Access MSD files to a
Postgresql database, using the ODBC driver. The facility program is used
by almost everyone and does most of the admin work for many schools.

This means the data for students is on the Linux box, and can be accessed
by perl/python scripts, php, C and any other programming language, and
is a first step to a linux based solution - the data is now accessable.

IT should be difficult to write some tools to allow tracking of
performance.<


This is a good starting point. If we could get some people to work on a Linux
based app to work with this, it would make a good argument to the Headmaster to
use Linux instead of M$. This could be packaged with Learning Logic as a
possible school based system. I have also seen a package for Gaelic for sale at
Eason's. I imagine that most of the data might be easily readable, and with a
little work, a Linux app could be made to use the same data files, similar to
the way lxdoom can use doom.wad files on Linux. I'm sure there are other
programmes for other subjects that could be converted in a similar way. If we
could develop and demonstrate a complete, Linux-based system, and include the
argument of using cheaper, second-hard hardware, We could move Linux into the
secondary school system in the same way that UNIX took over the Universities
through the 70's and 80's.

I would love to organise this project. Others who want to help can contact me
directly via E-Mail. I'm new to Linux, but with a little help, I'm sure we could
get this project rolling. Let me know who is interested by private E-Mail.

Cheers,

     John Gay