Chasing the latest and the greatest
Paradox of choice
I read that the NSW Department of Education has decided to stick it out a bit longer with MS Windows XP, holding off a decision to upgrade to Vista. This comment in the newspaper was also interesting:
"I'm honestly of the opinion that we don't need the latest and greatest of everything," Mr Wilson said. "It doesn't always represent the best value for money because you're always paying more for the latest and greatest."
link
I recall watching a fascinating 1 hour Google Video presentation last year where Barry Schwartz briefly described a "paradox of choice" that contributed to poor decisions. When is good enough, fair enough? Does doubling the software features, processor speed or even software cost equate to twice the learning? At what point should schools stop chasing the latest and greatest?
Good to see the NSW Department of Education taking life one step at a time and considering the reasons for their upgrades. I wonder if they could also consider why every student needs to have the latest and greatest version of Office 2007 on their desktop when there are some good alternatives around that might suit their needs.
Money saved could then go back into the school system, new hardware or teacher training; an investment that is directly returned to the local community.