[ILUG] Re: ILUG Digest, Vol 42, Issue 18

[Tadeusz Cantwell]

>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:08:48 +0100
> From: "Frank Murphy (Frankly3D)" <frankly3d at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [ILUG] Basic Into to Linux, need Ideas?
> To: ILUG Users Group <ilug at linux.ie>
> Message-ID: <49E711C0.6020407 at gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
>
> Waterford City. That's a bit far, pity that



To Andrew Clarke, if you are holding the course again in the Dublin area
then I'd like to go.

>From Gar
       I would consider specialising each class with a new thing, unrelated
to Linux
(per se.) People use computers to achieve things, to get things done. They
do
not typically use computers just for the joy of using them (any more - apart
from perhaps some segments of society :)  )

/Begin Rant
General computer courses like this is what is on offer in most adult
education courses. There needs to be something that shows this is something
different. Even if its a basic explanation of Free/open source software.
Most people think a computer becomes with windows because that's the way
they are made. They don't understand they have a choice. By explaining this
we begin to break down the windows mindset. By as andrew explained giving
them specific ways to use free software will build on that. Peer learning is
important, it came up in the Moodle talk at OSSbarcamp and I listened to
some teachers talk about it. Having people at the same level in one place
encourages people to learn together. Then talking about it afterwars,
comparing experiances reinforces the learning. That can then be taken out to
friends and family.

To a certain extent we cant dumb everything down for everybody. When I had
computer classes in secondary school circa '94,'95 all I got was how to type
word documents etc. I didn't know anything about hardware. I confused the
motherboard with the windows OS. I was just told how to type a document.
Which was a really poor education in retrospect. I over paid for hardware
upgrades, allowed myself to be talked into things like installing windows ME
by an 'Expert'. So I think computer education should have one class of basic
hardware. This is a motherboard, hard drive, this is what ram mean. what to
look for in a new PC, so people dont just buy the most expensive one they
can afford because its the best one. If people develop a better
understanding of a computer through Linux I thinks it is a powerful
combination.

The eaiser something is to do the less people will know how it works. This
ties into the diactomy of the linux distro. We want it be easy for anybody
to use, to enjoy the same freedoms open source users do. We also want to
have our command line to do things like in the old days. So a balance will
always have to be struck by Ubuntu/fedora/Suse to work on different levels.

We will have to accept that there are many different tiers of users. Windows
users can find someone to answer a question by asking enough people. New
Linux users going to POTM would told to go and learn it yourself. (In
fairness its not a class enviroment). By having classes we create a new peer
group of low level users who just do everyday computer tasks. Who can talk
to each other of a simialar level and exchange learning. That to me is how
you create a year that can genuiely be called 'Year of the Linux Desktop'.

/End Rant