On Fri, Apr 17, 2009 at 9:17 PM, Rony <[email protected]> wrote: > Venkatesh Hariharan wrote: >>> >>> I was wondering if big corporates like RedHat could use the RHCE model >>> to promote computer education at the school level. They can introduce a >>> light weight course and official certification for learning Linux right >>> from school level. Some goodies could be offered to students who do well >>> in the exams. Their representatives can approach schools and promote >>> this standard curriculum individually to different schools. Already many >>> computer institutes have mushroomed everywhere offering RHCE courses. >>> With a corporate giant stepping in, the principals and management will >>> be convinced much better. The company can promote the virtues of FOSS by >>> focusing on the legal problems of using pirated software and the fact >>> that students can practice computers at home without having to invest a >>> bomb on different proprietary software like OS, Office, Graphics etc. >>> >> >> It is the educationists who should take the lead here and not the >> technologists. The distro vendors can play a supporting role and be >> catalysts in the process of creating a FOSS-Edu community because they >> are the ones who know the education system intimately. >> >> >> > Instead of Govt. schools, corporates can approach normal private schools > like convents, which do not require intervention from any education > dept. and can induct private certification courses for learning Linux. > The Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) syllabus for adults is quite > comprehensive for learning Linux from basic to advanced in > administration. Likewise Red Hat can create school level certification > courses where focus is on use of the OS and its software like > OpenOffice, GIMP, Inkscape etc. If it starts happening at least in > private schools it can slowly overflow into public schools too.
Red Hat has created a computer based training module and manual for beginners. Intel is creating one for beginners. IIT Bombay has created the Computer Masti series based on FOSS (see www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~sri/ssrvm/) Therefore, some amount of good content should be available soon. However, creating a certification program is a huge administrative exercise and I don't know if any of the distro vendors are geared up for this. More than a cost issue, it is a manpower issue because this would be a time-intensive exercise. Venky -- http://mm.glug-bom.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
