Old computers to a school are really only useful when they come with a software bundle and the central work station that can monitor how the kids are doing. A local school district might have tech people to maintain the systems, but not to do a meaningful setup.
The most crucial thing is the software that has to co-ordinate with the state curriculum and reinforce material currently being taught, giving extra practice (It doesn't really work to teach new material with computers) At the first school that I taught in (1989), the principal had some spend it or lose it money so she bought an Apple IIe for each classroom and some software out of a catalog. They wound up getting used as door stops and places to put flower pots because nobody inserviced the teachers in how to use them productively. When a school does it right, they sign a larger contract that covers the software, classroom management, maintenance, the whole nine yards. We donated a computer to the school that my wife went to in the Philippines and it got put in the office doing word processing with a pirated edition of Windows. On Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 10:57 AM, Eric Myers <[email protected]> wrote: > > I guess giving old books to a library is a lot like giving > old computers to a school. It seems like a good idea at first, > until you learn why it's not. > > -Eric > > -- > Eric Myers <[email protected]> 503-564-4169 > > PGP Key #6E2D2259/RSA: BA39 1D46 5EC3 0D59 C2AC 6FCB F920 4DC8 > PGP Key #E519EAC3/DSS: D15B 9A50 B1ED 2947 EC29 B0F6 EA61 FB6E E519 EAC3 > > _______________________________________________ > Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org > http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug > > Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium > Feb 3 - Arduino > Mar 3 - Sahana and 7 Years of MHVLUG Celebration > Apr 7 - Nagios > -- Mark Wallace 60 Delaware Road Newburgh, NY 12550-3802 Telephone: (845) 566-0586
_______________________________________________ Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium Feb 3 - Arduino Mar 3 - Sahana and 7 Years of MHVLUG Celebration Apr 7 - Nagios
