On Wednesday 11 February 2004, ken at playersonly.com (Ken Gilmour) wrote:
>On Wed, 11 Feb 2004 13:05:23 +0000, Timothy Murphy wrote:
>>> 1. Linux ECDL
>>>>>>> What is ECDL?
>>>A training program for Microsoft office etc. Sounds like a good idea
>to me but wouldn't Linus himself, and the rest of the Linux community
>(at least European Wide) have to agree on the material that would
>be taught for this?
Because apparently many people don't know that google loves them too:
The European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) is the world's leading
end-user computer skills certification programme.
It is internationally recognised as the global benchmark for end-user
computer skills and is the leading certification to be adopted by
governments, international organisations and corporations alike.
The ECDL/ICDL certifies that the holder is fully competent in the use of
a personal computer and common computer applications and knows the
essential concepts of IT.
The ECDL/ICDL Syllabus is unique in that it has been designed to be
entirely vendor-independent. This gives Candidates the flexibility and
freedom to acquire these core skills and confidently apply them in any
software environment they may be required to use.
The ECDL/ICDL is a test of practical skills and competencies and
consists of seven separate modules covering computer theory and
practice. Module 1 is a theoretical test of computing knowledge at a
general level and Modules 2-7 are practical skills Tests, as follows:
1. Concepts of Information Technology (IT)
2. Using a Computer and Managing Files
3. Word Processing
4. Spreadsheets
5. Database
6. Presentation
7. Information and Communication
You might not like it - I don't either - but nonetheless it is a
qualification widely recognised by employers, and at least lets them
know that their prospective employees have a certain level of knowledge.
The ECDL is NOT a training program for Microsoft office etc. - it just
so happens that the majority of courses and courseware for the ECDL use
MS Office. I have heard that IBM produced ECDL courseware which used
Lotus Smartsuite, and somebody earlier mentioned a Linux based ECDL
course, thought I don't know if that was wishful thinking.
The ECDL syllabus is publicly available, and I believe anyone can build
courseware for it, though I'm sure there's money involved when you want
to get your courseware and exams approved.
It would be nice to see ECDL courseware built for OpenOffice - maybe
it's something Sun should look at.
Niall
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