Linux and FOSS in schools and public administration

[super_user_do]

Hello everybody
I've always wanted and actively tried to promote and spread the adoption of Linux and FLOSS software in schools since we rarely use them in my country. What's your experience with that? Does your school/uni/workplace and public institutions in your country use Linux or some kind of FLOSS software?
Share your experiences and knowledge with the community!

 

[Deleted member 111282]

I'm from the US. From when I was a kid up until college, every school I went to used Windows because it was the norm. However, ChromeOS is Gentoo with a Google face on it, and if Chromebooks are being used in schools (I don't know because I'm not a parent), that's technically a step in the right direction, especially since Linux software is compatible with it. The problem is the schools don't want to change the distro to standalone Gentoo because they care more about perpetuating groupthink than actual learning (PM about that so this thread doesn't go off-topic or get locked). I know my local library's computers use Windows by default as well, and I've been meaning to talk to them about setting up a LUG there. When I met with my boss one morning where we created a new schedule for me, he briefly complained about how Windows is so slow, and when I mentioned Mint being faster because it's less bloated, he at first seemed interested in trying it, but then lost interest afterward for whatever reason. It seems like trying to convince Windows users to switch to Linux is like Morpheus trying to convince Neo to take the red pill.

 

[arochester]

^^^ 84.1% likelihood of AI detected

 

[arochester]

No, it is not illegal, but it would help if you indicated that it is AI generated.

AI can be totally wrong.

 

[super_user_do]

The adoption of Linux and FLOSS software in educational settings can offer several benefits. It can lead to cost savings by avoiding the need to purchase expensive proprietary software licenses. Additionally, it promotes a culture of collaboration, transparency, and customization, allowing students and educators to modify software according to their needs.

Many schools, universities, and public institutions around the world have embraced Linux and FLOSS software to varying degrees. Some institutions choose to use entirely open-source solutions for their IT infrastructure, while others might incorporate a combination of open-source and proprietary software.

Countries with limited resources or a desire for greater digital autonomy often lean towards FLOSS adoption. Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, and Debian, for example, have gained popularity in various educational environments due to their user-friendly interfaces and robust community support.

However, the adoption of FLOSS software in education can also face challenges. Compatibility issues with existing proprietary software, the need for specialized technical skills for maintenance, and resistance to change from users accustomed to certain proprietary tools are some common hurdles.

To promote FLOSS adoption in schools, you could organize workshops, seminars, and training sessions to familiarize educators with open-source alternatives. Demonstrating the benefits of FLOSS in terms of cost-effectiveness, security, and the philosophy of collaborative development could help sway decision-makers. You might also collaborate with local Linux and open-source user groups to create a support network and share success stories within your community.

0% effort lmao bro said obvious things

 

[super_user_do]

I'm from the US. From when I was a kid up until college, every school I went to used Windows because it was the norm. However, ChromeOS is Gentoo with a Google face on it, and if Chromebooks are being used in schools (I don't know because I'm not a parent), that's technically a step in the right direction, especially since Linux software is compatible with it. The problem is the schools don't want to change the distro to standalone Gentoo because they care more about perpetuating groupthink than actual learning (PM about that so this thread doesn't go off-topic or get locked). I know my local library's computers use Windows by default as well, and I've been meaning to talk to them about setting up a LUG there. When I met with my boss one morning where we created a new schedule for me, he briefly complained about how Windows is so slow, and when I mentioned Mint being faster because it's less bloated, he at first seemed interested in trying it, but then lost interest afterward for whatever reason. It seems like trying to convince Windows users to switch to Linux is like Morpheus trying to convince Neo to take the red pill.

Sorry for the late response :O

In my opinion that is NOT a step forward. First of all because ChromeOS is not just a regular Linux distribution, first of all because it's hosted by Google and in second hand because it doesn't follow the standard Linux stack. You're not even pushing open source software with it and using ChromeOS is like using a normal tablet with a keyboard and trackpad attached to it at this point, even in terms of support these devices are treated like low-end android devices.

We have to push ACTUAL DESKTOP Linux distros with ACTUAL open source software bro.

Anyway, I have updates regarding the state of FOSS and Linux in my school!

With the help of a teacher I've finally managed to install Linux Mint and LibreOffice in a computers lab and it's working, but we're waiting for the beginning of the new school year so that we can have more data. I've also found out that there actually is a GLUG in my City, which unfortunately is made by 35+ years old people who are still anchored to older paradigms of communications and who can't interface themselves with newer generations. There has basically never been a generational jump

This is a good place to start! They're going to meet for the first time in YEARS in September, and I'll probably be there. I want to make some initiatives of my own, especially considering I'm still in school and active in school politics so I have all the instruments needed to bring some actual initiatives to the table

I'll make you know when something moves!

 

[xlbooyahlx]

I forgot to mention that

SMH

 

[Terminal Velocity]

I forgot to mention that

What's the point of participating in a forum with other human beings if your responses are generated by AI? We all have access to AI if we want to

 

[bebre2288]

Hello everybody
I've always wanted and actively tried to promote and spread the adoption of Linux and FLOSS software in schools since we rarely use them in my country. What's your experience with that? Does your school/uni/workplace and public institutions in your country use Linux or some kind of FLOSS software?
Share your experiences and knowledge with the community!

Greetings from Russia. No FOSS at schools at all (after reading dozens of research paper could find two places where Linux was used at high school). So i am going to list some ideas why it is so down here:

1. Because everybody thinks "Linux is hard and installing web browser is literally impossible".
2. Government approved list of Linux (which were made in Russia btw) is really small and distros there contain about 300-400 packages in their repos, so until you can compile from source it is not really convenient to use.
3. Why to start using Linux at all? I am not shure but imho not all schools use licensed copies of windows(sanctions came to Russia, no more legal copies for studying)
4. I am doing research about using Linux in schools, and thing i found gnome and kde based distros are running poorly on our computers because of really slow hardware, therefore if "Good" distro is needed sistem administrator should be kind of smart to figure out configuring other DEs.

That's all I suppose. (Sry for bad grammar etc.)

 

[camtaf]

Unfortunately, nearly ever education supplied computer comes with THAT other O/S installed.....& that is why so many people are afraid to try anything else, as it is a journey into the unknown.....

All publically funded organisations should use Linux to save on taxes, but unfortunately, they don't.

It's like that old saying "Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM"....

 

[z7vl7abxc]

& that is why so many people are afraid to try anything else, as it is a journey into the unknown.....

it's been a while since i worked at a library, but the same was true for the one i worked at in the late 90's/early oughts. that was well before i began my linux journey. however, even then i thought it was more of a pr or marketing move for the Gates Foundation to send free computers to libraries. "the first taste is always free" and all.

 

[KGIII]

What's the point of participating in a forum with other human beings if your responses are generated by AI? We all have access to AI if we want to

Well, it's usually so that they can spam the site.

That may not be true in this case, but that's where I see it the most.

 

[MikeRocor]

I have a close family member who breeds and raises show dogs (like the BDE in my avatar) and I have to say, discussions about "AI" are -so- context sensitive!

 

[KGIII]

Ha! I nailed it.

They were a spammer. They went back and added spam links to their posts.

 

[dos2unix]

Way back... in the olden days....

It was really Military bases, Colleges and Universities that got the internet started.
In those days, we didn't have many options... we could use UNIX ( AIX, Solaris, HPUX or BSD )
on REALLY expensive hardware.... or we could use this newfangled OS called Linux, that ran
on "some" x86 hardware, ... IF ... you had the right video card, network card, sound card, etc....

Most of the time we didn't even care if the sound card worked, sometimes we didn't even use
the video card, just a console connected to the serial port. Ahhh.. the "good" (??) ole days.
No broadband... just modems on dial-up lines. My first 3 or 4 systems didn't even have hard drives,
just multiple floppy drives, and maybe a tape drive if I was lucky. Xwindows came a year or two later
if you have the right video card. When we moved from 2400 baud to 14.4k modems that was as
good as it gets.

But even today, a LOT of colleges and Universities run Linux systems for their internet infrastructure.

However, I get the feeling this post is more about High school and Junior high, possibly even elementary schools.
It is around... in small numbers. My ex-wife is a high-school principle, they have a few Linux systems in their computer lab.
I personally think it's just about familiarity. Most people are familiar with MacOS and Windows. They are comfortable
with it, because it's what they are "used to".

If you could ever get your foot in the door ( kind of like I did ) long enough to teach a couple of teachers, or better
yet a few enthusiastic high school kids the basics, the ins and outs so to speak... some schools even have Linux
user groups.

There is the perception that Linux is less capable than Windows for some reason. Public schools want to
use Microsoft... Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc... It's a hard sale to convince them that OpenOffice and LibreOffice
will do everything MS Office does... and you can't beat the price.

It's a slow crawl to be sure... but it is happening in some places.

 

[KGIII]

Public schools want to use Microsoft... Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc...

Well, in reality, that's what they're going to face when they leave school. Linux on the desktop in the business world is so seldom that it would be a rounding error.

One of the things those businesses like is support contracts. I don't think you can get that from LibreOffice. Of course, you can support yourself and you can add features as you need 'cause you can edit the code, but that's a whole other bowl of wax.

That's reality, I suppose. I'd love to see wider adoption of Linux on the desktop, but that just doesn't seem to be happening. The percentage of computer users who use Linux on the desktop has stayed pretty stable for many years now. Depending on who you ask, it's 2% to 4%.

The more zealous among us have been predicting the "year of the Linux desktop" for a long time. It still hasn't happened.

Something I've noticed, especially throughout the pandemic, is that people would want to do things remotely. I wanted to avoid that as much as possible. When asked if I could do something remote, I'd just say that I didn't have enough bandwidth and I didn't use Windows, that I used Linux. A surprising number, across the gender lines even, at least appeared to know what Linux was.

Granted, to them it was probably, "an obscure geek operating system that's is an alternative to Windows". But, they often seemed to know what I meant when I said I used Linux. So... There's that... They know it exists. They're just not interested in switching. They're not interested in learning more.

 

[bob466]

When I went to school...we didn't have computers.

 

[TedJ]

Well, in reality, that's what they're going to face when they leave school. Linux on the desktop in the business world is so seldom that it would be a rounding error.

One of the things those businesses like is support contracts. I don't think you can get that from LibreOffice. Of course, you can support yourself and you can add features as you need 'cause you can edit the code, but that's a whole other bowl of wax.

That's reality, I suppose. I'd love to see wider adoption of Linux on the desktop, but that just doesn't seem to be happening. The percentage of computer users who use Linux on the desktop has stayed pretty stable for many years now. Depending on who you ask, it's 2% to 4%.

The more zealous among us have been predicting the "year of the Linux desktop" for a long time. It still hasn't happened.

Something I've noticed, especially throughout the pandemic, is that people would want to do things remotely. I wanted to avoid that as much as possible. When asked if I could do something remote, I'd just say that I didn't have enough bandwidth and I didn't use Windows, that I used Linux. A surprising number, across the gender lines even, at least appeared to know what Linux was.
By the way, about education, if you are a student who is looking for a way to get rid of the routine of homework, then the https://edubirdie.com/do-my-assignment site will help you with this issue, there are many experienced authors who write excellent assignments.

Granted, to them it was probably, "an obscure geek operating system that's is an alternative to Windows". But, they often seemed to know what I meant when I said I used Linux. So... There's that... They know it exists. They're just not interested in switching. They're not interested in learning more.

Agree, especially about support contracts. Self-support is not something that businesses would like to do.

 

[super_user_do]

Greetings from Russia. No FOSS at schools at all (after reading dozens of research paper could find two places where Linux was used at high school). So i am going to list some ideas why it is so down here:

1. Because everybody thinks "Linux is hard and installing web browser is literally impossible".
2. Government approved list of Linux (which were made in Russia btw) is really small and distros there contain about 300-400 packages in their repos, so until you can compile from source it is not really convenient to use.
3. Why to start using Linux at all? I am not shure but imho not all schools use licensed copies of windows(sanctions came to Russia, no more legal copies for studying)
4. I am doing research about using Linux in schools, and thing i found gnome and kde based distros are running poorly on our computers because of really slow hardware, therefore if "Good" distro is needed sistem administrator should be kind of smart to figure out configuring other DEs.

That's all I suppose. (Sry for bad grammar etc.)

Greetings from Italy my fella
As far as I've heard on some Italian news sites and international magazines , Russia is planning to completely switch to Linux in public Institutions, with particular attention to public schools.

It's worth mentioning that popularity of linux in businesses is increasing since, as reported by Red Hot Cyber, now about than 61% of all the commercial projects developed within the Russian soil either already have or are planning to ship a Linux compatible build

However, not even gizchina seems to be particularly reliable in this regard, since they even confuse XFCE with KDE Plasma, also, and we're basically unable to verify their data since I just can't find any data newer than 2018 in the Russoft website

Could you please share with us your experience in detail, if I may ask?

 

[bebre2288]

Greetings from Italy my fella
As far as I've heard on some Italian news sites and international magazines , Russia is planning to completely switch to Linux in public Institutions, with particular attention to public schools.

It's worth mentioning that popularity of linux in businesses is increasing since, as reported by Red Hot Cyber, now about than 61% of all the commercial projects developed within the Russian soil either already have or are planning to ship a Linux compatible build

However, not even gizchina seems to be particularly reliable in this regard, since they even confuse XFCE with KDE Plasma, also, and we're basically unable to verify their data since I just can't find any data newer than 2018 in the Russoft website

Could you please share with us your experience in detail, if I may ask?

sorry for late reply, was getting prepared for school. I don't quiet get what info you want. If you explain I'll do my best to answer