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if the university wants to use only certain tools, they can provide them If you don't want to buy the tools needed to take the class, then don't take the class
by neilc 18y ago
if the university wants to use only certain tools, they can provide them
If you don't want to buy the tools needed to take the class, then don't take the class. Universities don't provide free textbooks, for example.
Of course, it would be better if the university provided the required tools or offered more flexibility, but I agree with the parent poster that this is not an interesting subject.
- anigbrowl 18y agoWhat I meant to say (but did so poorly) was that requiring a certain software platform is like requiring certain brands of paper and pencils to be used for note taking. I draw a distinction between course materials and the tools used to study them. Using Excel spreadsheets as teaching/submission materials is fine by me, but it's not their business how the student deals with that, eg by using alternative software. I don't see why students should be required to only use Windows, any more than why they would be required to only use Dell laptops. FWIW I'm happily using windows right now...by choice.
- gaius 18y agoUntil you get to the point at which students work needs to be assessed. In most CS courses if it doesn't run first time on the prof's machine, that's an automatic fail.