D&C GLug - Home Page

[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]

Re: [LUG] Kids failing on coursework because of proprietary file formats

 

On Thu, Jun 17, 2010 at 01:53:04PM +0100, Julian Hall wrote:
> On 17/06/2010 13:06, Paul Sutton wrote:
> >On 17/06/10 12:51, James Andrews wrote:
> >>My daughters school (Uffculme) use MS software pretty much exclusively. I
> >>was encountering consumer resistance from her as we were using Open Office
> >>at home and it is subtly different to the MS programs.
> >>
> >>So when I got her a new laptop, it was MS Windows and I bought a "student
> >>edition" of MS Office suite
> >>
> >>Even so there has been a couple of occasions when she has wanted to have MS
> >>Publisher or some other Billyware just because that's what the teacher was
> >>using.  And the student edition doesn't include every single obscure program
> >>in the MS line up.
> >>
> >>Now the laptop is not connecting to the 'Net, apparently because we switched
> >>wireless routers and Windows XP Sp3 has various bizarre problems with
> >>interoperability.
> >>
> >>This is a PITA because most of her homework seems to involve googling for
> >>images to put in various presentations
> >>
> >>
> >Me again
> >
> >well the government are asking for ways they can save money,  if schools
> >had their IT budgets slashed perhaps they would wake up and start using
> >open source software and make do with what is available to them,
> >
> >If IT budgets are being spent in such a way that it is having a negative
> >affect on kids then something has to be done
> >
> >giving hand outs to poor children is not really the answer if we are
> >meant to be cutting billions from the deficit,
> >
> >Paul
> >
> Some time ago Gareth Edwards (the legendary Welsh rugby player) said
> of Shane Williams that 'he has to learn to play smarter not harder'
> since people were now catching him.  I made the observation that
> government organisations need to learn to spend smarter not harder.
> Having worked in Purchasing and Supplies previously in local
> government, I think it is noteworthy how many departments flood
> Supplies with requisitions in March just to use up their budgets so
> they won't get cut the following financial year.  It would be
> interesting if an FOI request regarding purchasing trends showed a
> spike in orders nationally in March, and how many of them could
> actually be justified.
> 
can you suggest an appropriate wording. I would be glad to send it off


-- 
Henry
Photocopies or faxes of my signature are not binding. 
This email has been signed with an electronic signature in accordance with 
subsection 7(3) of the Electronic Communications Act 2000.
Digital Key Signature: GPG RSA 0xFB447AA1 
Thu Jun 17 16:45:30 BST 2010

Attachment: signature.asc
Description: Digital signature

-- 
The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG
http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list
FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html