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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."
What is the purpose of the lab? Since it is a high school I am going to shoot low and assume “keyboarding skills” and basic net access rather than programing or CI.
What type of infrastructure does the school have? i.e. how good is the electricity and security?
What type of support does the lab have? What skills do the teachers have.
Answers these questions and I think you will have a much better idea of what you need.
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.
There is an organisation in Australia called Computer Bank that has been collecting and re-purposing computers for years. There are a number of international organisations that do similar things, some are listed here - http://www.computerbank.org.au/links.
You could also seek sponsorship from a hardware vendor such as Dell - http://www.dell.com/Learn/us/en/aucorp1/corp-comm/corporate-sponsorships, or even Google.
Since it needs to be shipped there, perhaps approach transport companies. Also, some technology recycling companies will supply equipment cheaply or free for the right cause.
Some organisations require that a not-for-profit organisation be established before funds are allocated. You'll have to check your local laws.
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.
You must be new here.
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.
I lived in the Marshall Islands for over 7 years and was tasked with a project not unlike yours. Here are some of the issues I confronted.
1. Climate control. Spend part of your budget on a good window a/c unit. The tropical moisture will wreak havoc with your lab.
2. Use local talent. Within a day of starting your project there invariably will be a local who starts hanging around asking questions and wanting to know more. I had 2 Marshallese students who found what I was doing very interesting so I started teaching them the basics of networking and basic computer repair. They caught on very fast and when I left they were able to take over the entire network we had built and keep it maintained. Local talent also will win you over with other key local decision makers. Locals want locals to sustain projects, not an endless parade of expats.
3. Determine your usage requirements. Do you have internet? How fast and reliable is the connection? Will you be teaching classes? What kind of classes? The computer labs we built started out with no internet access as there was none on the island. We were still able to teach word processing and spreadsheet classes(you may want to think word and excel here because more than likely that is what your local government uses). Eventually we were able to get limited internet access through a partnership with the university of Hawaii. The connection however was only 56k and was bounced off an old GOES satellite(GOES 7 to be specific). Because these GOES satellites were in a figure 8 orbit, the 3m dish required constant realignment. This meant that community access to the internet had to be at very specific times and eventually we went with a white-list of sites that would fit the needs of most of our users. This meant we could share 56k across 20 computers without worrying about porn and games. Slow but it worked and the community love it.
4. Have a good maintenance plan. Stuff just breaks more in the tropics and getting new parts can be difficult and time consuming. Keep a few extra network cards and hard drives around. Make sure the lab is cleaned and dusted regularly. Bug bomb as well. Cock roaches love computers. Try and keep your computer hardware as consistent as possible. This allows you to setup software images that make recovery much easier.
5. Have a detailed usage policy. If someone wants to save a copy of a letter to a relative in another country, how do they save it? Where do they save it? You will be very surprised how quickly the desktop and other directories start filling up with stuff from your users. Keeping a consistent and universal interface that is uncluttered for your users makes teaching SOOOOO much easier.
Finally, remember that you won't be there forever (although you have probably met a few expats who were like you but never left) and that someone will have to take over what you leave behind. Sustainability, in my experience, was the most difficult challenge of any project. I have seen brand new office buildings built by grants from other countries literally crumble into to disrepair within in 3 years because no one knew what to do after the building was completed.
Finding eager local talent to take over will ensure the hard work you are putting into this project will last long after you are gone.
I am very jealous of your opportunity. Good luck!