They switch to metered use, I switch to another service provider. I'll pull my phone, my cable, and and my internet. They won't get one more dollar from me under those conditions.
I work for a program in San Antonio called iMAK. (interactive Media Applications at Krueger.)
We are technology magnet within the Northeast Independent School District.
I was hired on as a technology teacher last year, and after the first semester I started imaging the Dell 620's
in my room to run Ubuntu/--Now Gutsy. It has been challenging creating an independent Linux lab within such a large
school district, but it's VERY successfuly. The kids, parents, and the other technology teacher I drag in from around
the district really like what I've done.
Here is a link with pictures:
http://www.neisd.net/imak/classroom.html
My podcast!
http://www.neisd.net/imak/Beck/podcasts/Beck/rss.xml
Thanks,
Josh Beck
NEISD School District
San Antonio, Texas
Yes, Yes. Connor is my right-hand man so to speak.
He has access to root, but that is because I can trust him.
Our school webpage is going to describe the configuration we have in more detail,
but in short here is how I have it set up: (Not all students have that kind of access.)
Linux
Students log in with username 'student' password 'student'
-Kiosktool + chmod -R a-w on/home/student/Desktop
seems to effectively lock down the desktop. Students
can't change anything, and what they see is what they get. Kiosk-tool is
excellent, but it isn't perfect. You have to manually set certain
file permissions for it to be effective. (Operations like eject
can't be performed by your average Johnny.)
Windows
We have deepfreeze + a limited user account.
Windows explorer is effectively disabled, and
the 'public fox' extensions is in full effect on
firefox keeping the students from downloaded pesky.exe
files and changing the browser settings. (Public fox
is also being used on the linux side. It's great!)
shared resources
I have a Samba Server set up
Internal Bind9
Just as an aside we have named every computer in the wing and
have set up and internal *.imak domain. Every computer has its
name prominently displayed. For example, sambaserver.imak
is where our public samba shares are located. Zeus.imak is
my teacher computer --etc.
All computers have the following on both OS'S so that the students can work collaboratively and the teacher can maintain control:
-Apache Web servers with php interpreters.
-FTP Server
-SSH Server
-VNC Server
-Tight VNC on windows
-KRFB on Linux
(THE VNC is cool because it allows the
teacher to remotely comandeer student machines. The name
resolution makes it easier, but I also have interactive bird's-eye-view
seating charts at each teacher desk. --Point and click to take
over the student machine. It's neat.)
-Anyway, I don't mean to sound like a wise-guy, but I thought a little
more elaboration was necessary. Any comments that will help to enhance my
security are appreciated!
By Xen, I'm assuming you mean virtualization. (I apologize if I didn't catch your drift.) Yes, we used virtualization to run Windows on Linux, but the machine running in the virtualized window took too much of a performance hit. I used VMWARE. Make a commitment and stick to it for at least 10 minutes is an excellent lesson for middle school kids don't you think?
As far as complexity, using dd in conjuction with netcat makes exporting a fully configured system from one machine to another a snap. Virtualized configurations and
all.
Josh Beck
My name is Josh Beck, and I'm the IT coordinator at a magnet middle
school within the Northeast Independent School District.(San Antonio, TX)
Last year I piloted about 9 classroom Ubuntu computers in my lab. As the year went
on, I modified the default setup so that I have an image that is secure and hopefully %100 percent functional. I've spent the last week exporting this image to 5 computer labs, approximately 150 computers. When the teachers and kids come back next year , they'll have the option to boot Windows or Linux. (The Linux side is sporting the fancy Beryl desktop. It won a lot of the kids over last year, and I'm thinking it will do the same next year.)
If you are in Education, and you want to migrate your school's computers so that open-source is at least an option, be warned. There really can be a whole lot of resistance. I have to agree with what I read here in that respect. I really did put my job on the line when I wiped out my first 9 licensed computers to replace them with open-source alternatives. The district-level IT coordinators put up a bit of a fight.
Although I'm in agreement that Novel can easily be phased out, I do use the Linux client. It isn't easy to bring online, and if your primary net device is listed as anything other that 'ETH0' you have to reprogram and recompile the thing, but Novel access through Linux works. Here's a more detailed look if you are interested:
At this point in time my feeling is that it's probably more realistic to offer teachers and students a choice, and then educate them about what's involved with that choice. If they want to use Windows, and your school district has a healthy tax-base, by all means purchase the license and allow them to do so. I can tell you this. When I offered the choice last year, the Linux seats were hot real estate. The kids love it.
Slashdot Mirror
They switch to metered use, I switch to another service provider. I'll pull my phone, my cable, and and my internet. They won't get one more dollar from me under those conditions.
I would like to speak out on behalf of everyone by saying, "I agree!"
I work for a program in San Antonio called iMAK. (interactive Media Applications at Krueger.) We are technology magnet within the Northeast Independent School District. I was hired on as a technology teacher last year, and after the first semester I started imaging the Dell 620's in my room to run Ubuntu/--Now Gutsy. It has been challenging creating an independent Linux lab within such a large school district, but it's VERY successfuly. The kids, parents, and the other technology teacher I drag in from around the district really like what I've done. Here is a link with pictures: http://www.neisd.net/imak/classroom.html My podcast! http://www.neisd.net/imak/Beck/podcasts/Beck/rss.xml Thanks, Josh Beck NEISD School District San Antonio, Texas
Yes, Yes. Connor is my right-hand man so to speak. He has access to root, but that is because I can trust him. Our school webpage is going to describe the configuration we have in more detail, but in short here is how I have it set up: (Not all students have that kind of access.)
/home/student/Desktop
seems to effectively lock down the desktop. Students
can't change anything, and what they see is what they get. Kiosk-tool is
excellent, but it isn't perfect. You have to manually set certain
file permissions for it to be effective. (Operations like eject
can't be performed by your average Johnny.)
.exe
files and changing the browser settings. (Public fox
is also being used on the linux side. It's great!)
Linux
Students log in with username 'student' password 'student'
-Kiosktool + chmod -R a-w on
Windows We have deepfreeze + a limited user account. Windows explorer is effectively disabled, and the 'public fox' extensions is in full effect on firefox keeping the students from downloaded pesky
shared resources
I have a Samba Server set up
Internal Bind9 Just as an aside we have named every computer in the wing and have set up and internal *.imak domain. Every computer has its name prominently displayed. For example, sambaserver.imak is where our public samba shares are located. Zeus.imak is my teacher computer --etc.
All computers have the following on both OS'S so that the students can work collaboratively and the teacher can maintain control:
-Apache Web servers with php interpreters.
-FTP Server
-SSH Server
-VNC Server -Tight VNC on windows
-KRFB on Linux
(THE VNC is cool because it allows the teacher to remotely comandeer student machines. The name resolution makes it easier, but I also have interactive bird's-eye-view seating charts at each teacher desk. --Point and click to take over the student machine. It's neat.)
-Anyway, I don't mean to sound like a wise-guy, but I thought a little more elaboration was necessary. Any comments that will help to enhance my security are appreciated!
Josh Beck
By Xen, I'm assuming you mean virtualization. (I apologize if I didn't catch your drift.) Yes, we used virtualization to run Windows on Linux, but the machine running in the virtualized window took too much of a performance hit. I used VMWARE. Make a commitment and stick to it for at least 10 minutes is an excellent lesson for middle school kids don't you think? As far as complexity, using dd in conjuction with netcat makes exporting a fully configured system from one machine to another a snap. Virtualized configurations and all. Josh Beck
I have a similar story.
My name is Josh Beck, and I'm the IT coordinator at a magnet middle school within the Northeast Independent School District.(San Antonio, TX) Last year I piloted about 9 classroom Ubuntu computers in my lab. As the year went on, I modified the default setup so that I have an image that is secure and hopefully %100 percent functional. I've spent the last week exporting this image to 5 computer labs, approximately 150 computers. When the teachers and kids come back next year , they'll have the option to boot Windows or Linux. (The Linux side is sporting the fancy Beryl desktop. It won a lot of the kids over last year, and I'm thinking it will do the same next year.)
If you are in Education, and you want to migrate your school's computers so that open-source is at least an option, be warned. There really can be a whole lot of resistance. I have to agree with what I read here in that respect. I really did put my job on the line when I wiped out my first 9 licensed computers to replace them with open-source alternatives. The district-level IT coordinators put up a bit of a fight.
Although I'm in agreement that Novel can easily be phased out, I do use the Linux client. It isn't easy to bring online, and if your primary net device is listed as anything other that 'ETH0' you have to reprogram and recompile the thing, but Novel access through Linux works. Here's a more detailed look if you are interested:
Novel on Linux How To
At this point in time my feeling is that it's probably more realistic to offer teachers and students a choice, and then educate them about what's involved with that choice. If they want to use Windows, and your school district has a healthy tax-base, by all means purchase the license and allow them to do so. I can tell you this. When I offered the choice last year, the Linux seats were hot real estate. The kids love it.
Here's a video with one of my students:
Eject!
Josh Beck
IT Coordinator
Interactive Media Applications at Krueger Middle School
Northeast ISD
San Antonio, Texas