[geeks] Q: Regarding Linux in K-12 education

[Lionel Peterson]

On Sat, Jan 16, 2010 at 8:20 PM, Nate <nate at portents.com> wrote:

<snip>

> Not first-hand.  I was curious, did some googling, and this is what I could
> come up with, most of which date from a couple of years back, most of it in
> countries other than the US:
>
> http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/linux_terminal_server

As noted previously, this is a how-to, not a how we did it article.
The cost per client chart is amazing, because windows desktops cost
$1,500/each no matter how many you deploy - Linux and terminal server
clients have a volume discount. Apparently, there is no need to
install servers with Windows desktops, only when you run terminal
server... What a simplistic view of educational computing... We have
print servers, file servers, application servers and web filter
servers.

>
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/no_budget_learning_with_free_sof
tware

This article describes one school building (like a charter school here
in the US, as I read it), where there was one laptop and two desktop
computers - this is the first minor step towards establishing a
Linux-based infrastructure of an unknown size...

> http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/092107-california-school-it.html

Good lord, they have 70 servers, ten servers PER SCHOOL BUILDING? What
are they doing? LTSP & a few thin clients per school (200 thin clients
across all 7 schools) doesn't account for that many servers. My
district has fewer than 70 servers for the six buildings, our
elementary schools have ONE server, a Mac Server...

> http://education.zdnet.com/?p=1615

An interesting, albeit brief, write up on an effort to set 9000 swiss
computers to run Linux/FOSS exclusively. It's been widely heralded in
the Linux compunity, but I've not seen any follow-ups detailing how
the 9000 computers are being managed...

>
http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/211544/ubuntu_breathes_new_life_into_
school_abandoned_hardware/?pp=1

This article describes a Linux roll-out in a library, I'm curious
about large-scale, 1,00+ deployments,..

> http://www.ubuntu.com/news/macedonia-school-computers

Interesting pull-quote from this article:
"By selecting Ubuntu as the operating system for all of our classroom
virtual PCs, our education system can provide computer-based education
for all school children within the limited financial and
infrastructural confines that most institutions face today."

By "virtual PCs" I assume they mean LTSP/thin clients? Not quite the
same thing (really a large deployment of Linux servers, not desktops)

>
> Interestingly, here's a company that sells just Linux-based computers, and
has
> a sales pitch "For Schools":
>
> http://system76.com/articles.php?tPath=2_10

Interesting pitch for schools, but more about what is possible, not
what has been done...

Thanks for the interesting links, I appreciate it.

Lionel
--
Lionel Peterson
lionel4287 at gmail.com