Re: [Fsfe-uk] Pointers / help needed, please

[Ian Lynch]

On Sun, 2006-05-14 at 17:30 +0100, Simon wrote:
> Been a while since I posted here. My last post was about a
> Linux/Computer club I was going to start in the secondary school I teach
> ICT at. Been going very well. Thanks for the help.
> 
> I keep going on about Linux & FLOSS at school. The school has now been
> granted ICT & Math Specialist Status and intends to spend a day next
> month celebrating this. My Head of Dept, (ICT) has asked me to come up
> with an idea for entertaining about 50 year 10s (14 - 15 year old) for
> about 1hr - 1 1/2hr with "something to do with Linux". HELP!!! He wants
> to show the kids that there is more out there that WinXP (as if he knows
> any better $¬[)

First, are you a member of Schoolforge UK? www.schoolforge.org.uk. If
not that would probably be a better place to ask since its the
definitive place for those interested in free software in schools. 
> 
> We have a small budget available, almost unlimited support, a shed load
> of WinXP boxes (bolted down by RM but possible to boot to a "Live CD")
> and a cupboard full of our old Win'98 machines. I can do what I want
> with them (within reason), but time is the major player for me.
> 
> Any suggestions would be very gratefully received.

You could give them the criteria from part of the Gold INGOT "setting up
and managing computers". Gold INGOT will become a L2 VRQ next year if my
current efforts with QCA keep on track so it will provide the equivalent
of a GCSE in IT. Here are the criteria

I can install an operating system on a computer and get it working on a
network.

I can install Office software applications on a computer and configure
them appropriately for the particular environment.

I understand the need for regular back ups and how backup strategies
work.

I can repair a computer with a simple hardware fault by swapping
components.


Get them in groups of say 4 to a windows 98 computer and show them how
to install a linux distro. That hits most of the criteria :-)

Here is a story from Japan. See if they can see any parallels with the
IT industry. Ask over at Schoolforge, they might have some better ideas.

A long time ago, there was a tree in a field close to a village
This tree bore a lot of delicious fruit

The villagers harvested all the fruit because of its delicious taste

Many people liked the fruit so much that they would cut a branch off the
tree and take it home

This was too much for the tree and it died after a short time.

In the village there was a clever merchant

He took a cutting from the tree before it died

He fertilised his cutting and produced a new tree, nurturing it and
making sure it was strong and healthy. This took many years but he
thought is was a worthwhile thing to do.

Then the tree bore fruit and he sold it and made a lot of money. 

But he was a real worrier and so he built a fence around the tree and
guarded it day and night.

The merchant was not only a worrier, he was also a hard worker and his
care of the tree made the fruit even more delicious so more and more
people bought it. They made jam from the fruit and sold it.

The merchant had the only tree that had fruit good enough to make jam
and so all the people who made jam had to buy their fruit from the
merchant. This made the merchant less careful and his tree became
infested with parasites.

When people said to him there are many worm holes in the tree he would
not hear of it and said "the fruit is cheap, stop complaining".
When asked if he used any harmful fertilisers he replied that it was a
company secret and he would not answer the question.
When another merchant asked to buy a branch from the tree he replied he
did not want competitors and refused to sell.

More and more people bought the fruit, selling to others, making jam and
the merchant became the richest man the village had ever seen.

The merchant increased the price of the fruit to make as much money as
he could even though the price of other food was going down. He could do
this because he had the only tree that made fruit suitable for making
jam. 

A young man in the village who loved fruit was poor and could no longer
afford the high price. So he found another tree that bore fruit but the
fruit was sour and not good for making jam. The tree was older and had
been neglected but the young man looked after it and over the years it
became healthy and strong. He invited his friends to help and soon they
had more fruit than they needed. 

They put a sign by their tree which said "Free Fruit" 
Some people just took the fruit but some also helped to maintain the
tree. The young man and his friends didn't mind because they had all the
fruit they needed and enjoyed helping the tree grow.

More people came to help because they liked what the young man and his
friends had done and understood that this tree would not die like the
first one and the fruit was getting better and better all the time.

Soon there were more people wanting fruit than this tree could sustain
so the young man let people take cuttings to grow their own fruit trees
as long as they put the free sign next to their tree. The villagers paid
the young man and his friends for advice on how to grow good trees and
the young man and his friends were no longer poor.

All the fruit from these trees had the same delicious flavour as the
fruit from the young man's tree but there were subtle differences that
gave the people more choice and variety for making their jam. The people
shared their ideas for improving their trees and there were no parasites
so the trees grew strong and the fruit got better and better. The fruit
became the most popular in the village and was used to make a rich
variety of jams that people bought and sold throughout the village.

The villagers started to sell their fruit and jam to far off places and
they were happy and content. The young man and his friends were pleased
and continued to maintain the original tree because they really enjoyed
their work and their help and advice was in big demand.

So what of the first merchant that did not share his tree? At first he
tried to discredit the young man and his friends saying that their fruit
was no good. If it was any good he would not be giving it freely to
others. But eventually the villagers stopped buying his fruit so he had
to change. At first he found it very difficult to be more open and share
his tree and fruit but eventually he did and he still made enough money
to keep his family. In the end there was no difference between the young
man and his friends and the merchant. They all made money from providing
advice on their trees and their fruit and the people enjoyed the best
variety of fruit and jam that they could imagine.

Everyone lived happily ever after.


-- 
Ian Lynch
www.theINGOTs.org
www.opendocumentfellowship.org
www.schoolforge.org.uk