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Ask Slashdot: Setting Up a Computer Lab In a Developing Country
First time accepted submitter levanjm writes "Hi all, I am looking for some advice. I am a mathematician at a small liberal arts school who has dabbled in Linux for a number of years. I have had the chance to teach a few courses and summer camps about Linux to college and high school students. Recently I made a trip to Guatemala and visited a school in Labor de Falla. While there I was talking with people associated with the school about how great it would be to be able to set up a computer lab for the kids. To make a long story short, I approached my school about finding a way to make this happen and to get my students involved in volunteering. I have received notification that my school has given me an in house grant to try to get this project rolling. They have also donated six computers to get things started. While I have been making plans in case the funding came through, I wanted to open this up to as many eyes as possible because I am sure there are plenty of concerns I have not considered. What are your thoughts on how to best implement the lab setting? I am a firm believer in the Open Source philosophy so proprietary software is not on my radar. The PC's donated are a little old (4 or so years old), but would run Edubuntu without any issues. I originally thought about how awesome a Raspberry Pi lab would be to set up. I am also wondering if there are any Kickstarter type of foundations that might be used to help solicit donations to purchase additional equipment and help cover costs of getting the equipment to the school. It would be amazing to get enough funding to give computers to the teachers in addition to a lab. I am sure there are other issues I have not even considered yet, so any thoughts you have to share would be wonderful."
You might also want to look at a multi-seat setup. ie 1 reasonably spec'd computer, with several monitor+keyboard+mouse sets.
Is electricity consumption an issue? A class full of pentium 4 computers is going to cost quite a bit in power. maybe enough to be worth paying for newer hardware instead.
I am a firm believer in the Open Source philosophy so proprietary software is not on my radar."
I stopped reading right there. Setting up a computer lab is a good question for Ask Slashdot. Setting up a philosophical/religious indoctrination center is not.
Yes, heaven forbid they learn how the system works and learn how to modify it and build on it. That would be too active and involved for your liking, right? They should just be users, passive consumers of a black-box product that they can't inspect, can't modify, can't build on.
You see, that's a practical reason for wanting Open Source. You are the only one making this into a philosophical/religious matter. Apparently it offends you that people want to buy a car that doesn't have the hood welded shut, that people might want to use a computer system that they can understand and build on. Tell you what. If you don't like Open Source then don't use it. Simple? Those of us who want to learn will continue using it. Then we can both be happy.
So sorry it bothers you that other people want to do good things in a way that's not quite how you would do them. I bet they wear a brand of clothes different from yours too, those insensitive clods. Next time you want to move to a third-world country and provide for people who often have next to nothing, we'll then pay attention to how you think it should be done. Will you charge them hundreds of dollars for copies of Windows and Office and associated software so they can actually use their systems? That'll be only about several months to a years' wages you know. Per copy.
Making use of those computers is the difficult part.
Where will the computers be stored? At the very least, they need to be in a secure room in the school, free from leaky roofs (especially during heavy rains), free of bugs (ants love computers!), and you'll need bars on the windows and a reinforced lockable door; Is there security at the school? What about electricity? Is a generator needed? Voltage stabilizers? Or will they be using solar panels and an inverter system? Who will be appointed to manage the computer room? Do they need training? Will there be internet access? How will that be paid for? You may be able to make a special deal with a local provider (large corps love to look good by giving back).
Again, what will the computers be used for? Do you need specific software? If there is no specified curriculum, the kids will just be browsing porn and playing games (teachers too!) Or they'll be using them for private reasons.
The key word here is sustainability. Its very easy to give a poor school some hand-me-down hardware, its much more difficult and challenging to turn it into something useful, sustainable, and create a place where children will actually learn something about information technology.
Being fully for FOSS is as ridiculous as being fully for proprietary software. The balance lies in the mid.
Your putting religion ahead of usability, and that's a mistake. The purpose of a lab is to educate your students, not indoctrinate them in your in your religious beliefs. What can your students use in their country with the skills they would develop and make a career out of? Can you make a career out of a Raspberry Pi, or is it more of a really cool toy?
If your local country values Windows for employment more than that is what you should use, because that is what will help /them/ build a future. Microsoft has educational versions of their products available for next to nothing worldwide, so cost isn't an issue for Windows and Office.
If your local country is all about Ubuntu than you use that because that is what is valued. The only way to know that is to talk your local business leaders and find out what /they/ value. Do they value someone that knows how to run a Windows computer and use Excel or do they all use LibreOffice? Leave your personal religion out of this and give your students what they need for their future.
Getting locals onboard is the most important thing. Dropping a bunch of PCs and running away is the easy part. You need someone local to take care of them, and someone (else ?) to teach on/with them.
Depending on the goal, PCs are probably a bad idea: transport alone costs you more than buying a bunch of $40 Android USB keys, let alone power and security issues. Android keys are OK for Internet stuff, even light Office work. Some can even take Ubuntu, if you want to force your philosophy at the cost of practicality. You'll need HDMI screens and keyboard+mouse.
In many cases, tablets will actually turn out cheaper, taking the screen into account. OLPC for edu cred, or any sufficiently solid chinese one.
In any case, you should ask the users. Depending on their setting, their goals, their expectations and constraints, whatever you get told on Slahsdot can be way off the mark and utterly wasteful of time and money.
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
Yes, second that, I'm from the UK, white[ish] preppy type education, still don't feed the trolls. On the subject, actually this is a big advantage for Linux in these settings anyway. I've set up a couple of drop-ins in the east end of London where there's a fair amount of random crime and I've used recycled computers and Linux. The computers have practically no resale value, so they are not worth stealing and they can be replaced pretty quickly and cheaply. Other projects with 'brand new' have, in fact, had trouble apart from being trashed by all the viruses associated with random downloading because they are Windows based projects. Ours have the problem that 'we can't teach Word' for example, this may not be a problem in your setting.
I wouldn't use the Rasberry or only have that as a small hardware hacking part of the mix, for reasons stated in other posts. I agree with LSTP idea, if power is going to be a problem, though it's harder than individual systems.
Finally we've always found sustaining the teaching to be more difficult than setting up and sustaining the infrastructure. The next project I start will include a heavyweight, teach the teachers element too.
On y va, qui mal y pense!