Re: Linux in Universities
Dan Kegel was roused into action on 09/13/02 02:06 and wrote:
> David P James wrote:
>
>>> http://www.kegel.com/linux/edu/
>>
>> (1) I don't know how or if this fits, but for what it is worth the
>> department of economics here at Queen's runs on Debian servers, and
>> has some Debian-based workstations available for use by grad
>> students and faculty. However, the workstations used by undergrad
>> students (and many/most grad students) are all Windows-based. The
>> difficulty, I guess, is that to have the workstations of undergrads
>> being linux-based would entail some additional amount of support
>> that the department really can't provide, even though I am sure
>> they would like to be able to.
>
>
> Pity -- but that's the core point: I'm after evidence of universities
> that not only use Linux internally, but *support users who use
> Linux*.
>
In the case of the economics department at Queen's, I suspect that the
choice to go with a Windows-based lab was taken a few years ago when KDE
wasn't a viable alternative on a Debian-based system, and as a result,
the current lab is a legacy. I'm sure they discussed the pros and cons
at the time, and one would hope that were the decision to be made now
they would make a different one. But some of those issues still remain,
even if it is less significant than before.
Adrian 'Dagurashibanipal' von Bidder was roused into action on 09/13/02
02:47 and wrote:
>
> Hmmm, in my experience, students helping each other works good
> enough. When people start at the Federal Institute, almost nobody
> knows anything about unix, let alone Solaris. People still manage to
> learn the basics of how to work on a Sun workstation soon enough -
> after all, there's an older student sitting at the machine next to
> yours, so you can pester him with questions. And there's also a
> student paid as a helpdesk person in most computer room, so you can
> always ask that one.
>
But we're not talking about comp sci students here, where we would
expect there to be some among them with some previous unix/linux
experience. The point of a computer lab for economics students is
basically to run statistical software, not to go about learning how to
use a new operating system that is likely to be unfamiliar to most, if
not all, the students. Combine that with a limited number of hours of
use per week and things don't start to look too good for linux use.
Moreover, for a few years there won't be any older students to pester
with question :).
And that raises what might be the biggest stumbling block, potentially
far bigger than anything else I have raised and perhaps the reason that
the department opted to stay with Windows - transition issues. For the
first couple of years you have to not only convert all the systems over
to linux and install all the requisite software, but also have enough
linux-savvy grad students and support staff on hand to help students
with a new system as well as ironing out any bugs. It would also be
advisable to draw up some documentation, which, again, has to be done by
someone.
--
David P. James
4th Year Economics Student
Queen's University
Kingston, Ontario
http://members.rogers.com/dpjames/
The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe.
-Dr. Leonard McCoy, Star Trek IV
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