schoolyard subversion

2000-08-21 [< * >]

Today was "technical orientation". My school is less technically challenged than most. We have a website, our own domain name, email for every student and a file server. However, as always, schools are a little slow, so they aren't up-to-date with the latest developments. Too bad, you think it should be the other way around -- they should be more ahead of everyone else, becuase they have all these smart kids hanging around.

Anyway, we first went over the school's acceptable use policy, an (IMHO) unacceptably vague document that basically says that anything the school doesn't like is wrong, immoral, illegal and will get you punished. But you can't use the computers without signing it, so I went ahead and did it anyway.

The whole thing is utter nonsense -- brainwashing, like most of school. I couldn't take it so I tried to ask questions as much as I could. You could tell it got him rather annoyed.

I have many problems with the document. For example, it's supposed to give us rights, like the following:

Users have a right to privacy and security in their electronic work and communications as they do for their possessions stored in a locker. An electronic folder and an e-mail account, like lockers, remain secure from inspection unless, to the school administration, there is a clear need to search them.

So I asked him what constitutes "a clear need". It seems, not much. Last year folders were checked for disk space usage. The largest were then searched for "inappropriate material". What was the material? A couple of Simpsons icons. Nonsense, I tell you.

You also must "use your account wisely and responsibly". What exactly does this mean? Not sharing your password with anyone. Well, I've got a problem. My password is the solution to a (rather important) math equation. I guess I better just keep my mouth shut in math class. I asked him whether we could make the choice, rather than having him make the choice for us. No. Where's Stallman when you need him?

Then we were treated to a demonstration of the high quality improvements to the school computer system. After all these years, the school has finally noticed the World Wide Web as is beginning to move to a more web-based system, to allow students to do their work from home as well as school. So you'd think, they'd go with an integrated, well-proven, easy to set-up, free, open-source solution like, oh say, the ACS. Nope, they're not that advanced.

Instead, we have a web-based email client. I had it working in 6th grade, and taught my whole class how to use it. This system, it's very similar except it's a buggy, crash-prone, slow Java applet. To use it, you log in with your email address and password and click on a magic, unlabeled place on the screen to log off. (We could have used the ACS's web-based email solution.)

We've also signed up with a commercial ASP to allow our most technically advanced teachers to post course notes online. Wow! Except it requires yet another user name and password to remember. (We could have used the ACS's bulletin board, chat, and file storage modules.)

Miracle of miracles, we now have a web and FTP interface to our file server. Except you can't upload through the web interface and it requires use of yet another entry of our username and password. (The ACS has file storage.)

Plus, best of all, somebody dug up a Perl script that creates a calendar. Wow! Except it's not integrated with anything else, and thus can't show us only the important things that we care about. (The ACS has a calendar module.)

Glad to see our whole school is so with-it on the technology front. (I wonder if Oracle gives educational discounts...) That was enough for one day...except I had soccer practice too.

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