[ILUG] Re: ECDL on Linux (was: 2 new articles on website)

[Ronan Cunniffe]

I'm admit to not knowing about the detailed specifications of ECDL, but I
handheld (handholded?) both my non-tech parents (secondary teachers) through any
problems they had with the material.  I also spent an hour or two browsing the
book they were using.  The book was Syllabus 3 IIRC.

Basic notes:
1)  The book was 7 modules, know-your-computer, files & dirs, word processing,
spreadsheet, database, presentation and drawing, information and network services.
    On rapid inspection, the course is revealed as "3+4"
 - three fairly generic modules, covering: what is RAM? how many teeth has a
kilobite, etc.; directory heirarchies, filenames, extensions; internet, modems,
e-mail, web
 - and four modules aimed squarely at each of Bill's big 4: word, excel,
powerpoint and access.

The interesting thing is my parents did their course on Macs.  The database
module was "re-targetted" on Filemaker Pro, the examples *and the exam
questions* re-phrased to match the terminology used in FMP.

The whole ECDL thing was originally intended to ensure a generic skillset, with
multiple valid ECDL implementations, even down to the point of a tutor playing
mix-and-match.

Clearly, the thing to do next is find out details about exactly how you build a
new syllabus.  I'll get back to people on this, or mail me off-list.

Ronan