4 ms·

What about music classes that teach Garageband or more professional recording software like Logic or Ableton? Or art classes that teach Photoshop? Should they e

What about music classes that teach Garageband or more professional recording software like Logic or Ableton? Or art classes that teach Photoshop? Should they even be allowed to use Windows or Mac OS X? How about Google Chrome or Safari? Google search? It seems rather arbitrary to feel so strongly about word processor choice but not anything else.

swiley 7y ago
Why are you using garage band in a music class? That sounds like using ms paint in a graphic design class.
- achow 7y ago
  That is not the point. Understand what OP is trying to say. Photoshop is legitimate for graphic design - right? Should we stop teaching that at school? Or Autocad or its ilk.
  - thedaemon 7y ago
    Public schools should not have a graphic design class, nor a CAD class. Unless you are talking about outside of the USA and the notion that all schools are public.
    - apocalyptic0n3 7y ago
      What? I definitely learned Photoshop, CAD, Dreamweaver, Office (and several PCB design software suites I no longer remember) when I was in a USA high school 10-14 years ago. My younger siblings learned far more than that too a few years later (accounting software, Eclipse, and a video editing application if I recall correctly). That's completely normal depending on what electives you take. Am I misunderstanding this comment?
    - alistairSH 7y ago
      Why not? We had both of those at my high school (in suburban DC) and they were well enrolled and enjoyed by those who took them. They were electives - we all still took a full load of social studies, hard science, math, etc.
swebs 7y ago
>Garageband or more professional recording software like Logic or Ableton? Or art classes that teach Photoshop Yes, schools should stop specifically teaching the UI of certain proprietary applications. >Should they even be allowed to use Windows or Mac OS X? Public funds should not be used to purchase those operating systems. If they were donated, they can be allowed. >How about Google Chrome or Safari? Google search? Those are already free, and there aren't full 5 credit courses on "How to use Chrome" like there are for MS Office and Photoshop.
- adrianN 7y ago
  I don't think donated software should be allowed either. It's a brilliant investment for companies to donate their software to schools and almost everything has a "free for educational purposes" version.
- johnday 7y ago
  It seems like you are recommending teaching something which is entirely different to what the vast majority of learners will come into contact with on a regular basis in their future lives. That is not useful and it does not prepare people for the real world. In the United States, it is the done thing to file taxes through a proprietary software portal (as the result of extensive lobbying). [Yes, this state of affairs is a travesty] Should schools, therefore, avoid teaching people how to file taxes?
  - GenghisSean 7y ago
    > It seems like you are recommending teaching something which is entirely different to what the vast majority of learners will come into contact with on a regular basis in their future lives. That is not useful and it does not prepare people for the real world. Many free software replacements for proprietary software are quite similar to the locked down alternatives. Maybe if people learned a different program in school then they would continue to use it in their future lives. That would increase the number of users and the chances that other people would encounter it in the real world. Proprietary software encourages dependence on a single company and discourages learning, the primary goal of an education institution. Realistically it is near impossible to live today without encountering proprietary software, but educational institutions should be more responsible about how they frame students' relationships with it. > In the United States, it is the done thing to file taxes through a proprietary software portal (as the result of extensive lobbying). [Yes, this state of affairs is a travesty] Should schools, therefore, avoid teaching people how to file taxes? Areas where centralization and high levels of security are important such as tax filing, flight booking, and online banking will likely use proprietary software for the foreseeable future. Rather than taking the strict stance that these activities must not occur on school grounds they should teach students how to protect themselves from potential harms of proprietary software (e.g. by running programs in isolated environments).

swiley 7y ago

Why are you using garage band in a music class? That sounds like using ms paint in a graphic design class.

achow 7y ago
That is not the point. Understand what OP is trying to say. Photoshop is legitimate for graphic design - right? Should we stop teaching that at school? Or Autocad or its ilk.
- thedaemon 7y ago
  Public schools should not have a graphic design class, nor a CAD class. Unless you are talking about outside of the USA and the notion that all schools are public.
  - apocalyptic0n3 7y ago
    What? I definitely learned Photoshop, CAD, Dreamweaver, Office (and several PCB design software suites I no longer remember) when I was in a USA high school 10-14 years ago. My younger siblings learned far more than that too a few years later (accounting software, Eclipse, and a video editing application if I recall correctly). That's completely normal depending on what electives you take. Am I misunderstanding this comment?
  - alistairSH 7y ago
    Why not? We had both of those at my high school (in suburban DC) and they were well enrolled and enjoyed by those who took them. They were electives - we all still took a full load of social studies, hard science, math, etc.

swebs 7y ago

>Garageband or more professional recording software like Logic or Ableton? Or art classes that teach Photoshop Yes, schools should stop specifically teaching the UI of certain proprietary applications. >Should they even be allowed to use Windows or Mac OS X? Public funds should not be used to purchase those operating systems. If they were donated, they can be allowed. >How about Google Chrome or Safari? Google search? Those are already free, and there aren't full 5 credit courses on "How to use Chrome" like there are for MS Office and Photoshop.

adrianN 7y ago
I don't think donated software should be allowed either. It's a brilliant investment for companies to donate their software to schools and almost everything has a "free for educational purposes" version.
johnday 7y ago
It seems like you are recommending teaching something which is entirely different to what the vast majority of learners will come into contact with on a regular basis in their future lives. That is not useful and it does not prepare people for the real world. In the United States, it is the done thing to file taxes through a proprietary software portal (as the result of extensive lobbying). [Yes, this state of affairs is a travesty] Should schools, therefore, avoid teaching people how to file taxes?
- GenghisSean 7y ago
  > It seems like you are recommending teaching something which is entirely different to what the vast majority of learners will come into contact with on a regular basis in their future lives. That is not useful and it does not prepare people for the real world. Many free software replacements for proprietary software are quite similar to the locked down alternatives. Maybe if people learned a different program in school then they would continue to use it in their future lives. That would increase the number of users and the chances that other people would encounter it in the real world. Proprietary software encourages dependence on a single company and discourages learning, the primary goal of an education institution. Realistically it is near impossible to live today without encountering proprietary software, but educational institutions should be more responsible about how they frame students' relationships with it. > In the United States, it is the done thing to file taxes through a proprietary software portal (as the result of extensive lobbying). [Yes, this state of affairs is a travesty] Should schools, therefore, avoid teaching people how to file taxes? Areas where centralization and high levels of security are important such as tax filing, flight booking, and online banking will likely use proprietary software for the foreseeable future. Rather than taking the strict stance that these activities must not occur on school grounds they should teach students how to protect themselves from potential harms of proprietary software (e.g. by running programs in isolated environments).