Familiar like my job all the time, every day. It sounds like you are doing something similar to what I have done with the high school I work for in schools and orphanages in our local state, Nicaragua, Mexico, South Africa and (soonlike in a few weeks) the Caribbean.
While it’s impossible to speak to any specific instance, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Power: Do you have electricity etc that can support the lab? If not, is there a way to get it with little cost or no cost. Is the local power in stable enough to prevent long term damage to the units? That is, are there rolling blackouts or the like that could call for preventative measures to be taken?
2. Location: This isn’t just secure from people wanting to break in and steal stuff (which can happen depending on how desperate people are. But then if the community is heavily involved, it will help prevent this or at bare minimum spark response to it). This is secure from rain, wind, sun etc? Consider the elements, they are the enemy. Is the climate humid? Hot? Does the building flood? Does it have AC in any of the rooms? Consider what implications this could have to the long term use of the units and their placement.
3. Involve the school: What do THEY want? Assume nothing. Talk with the school, see what it is they want and need. Work for them. I’m assuming you have already done this but it’s always good to check. Long ago when we were first starting to do tech outreach, one of our leaders said something to the effect of “don’t try to change the culture. Give the tools, show them how they run and let them use them how they will.” She has been dead right everywhere we’ve worked and the only exception we’ve made to this rule is demanding that at least half of the training class be female and be made mostly of students. Involve the students. They aren't idiots, don't cripple their options. Yes, give them admin power. This approach gives the school’s members a stake in the lab and learning and will also help secure the structure. It can also be helpful if you can find local organizations to participate.
4. Support: who is going to be in charge of keeping the lab up? You can’t stay there forever. Find someone (or some ones) at the school who has raw potential or somehow has an edge above the rest in the tech department and train them on how to support the units. Don’t rule out students. Teach them the fine art of “frankenstiening” old units together if parts are not readily available. Software support is vital too. Consider a base image for all of the units. Something we’ve done in the past with some of our support contacts is give them a flash drive full of resources, installers, tech tools, guides, walkthroughs, Linux isos. you know, helpful things if you don’t have a stable internet connection. Having someone on site with a greater than average knowledge of the inner workings of the lab will also help prevent the lab from becoming a china doll, so to speak. You want things to break in the lab, you want it to be a rag doll. That means it’s being used.
5. Connectivity: Do you somehow have internet there? If not, would you consider doing an internal network? If you want internet, talk to local businesses, government or charitable organizations. You might find someone willing to run you a line or point to point connections. On a similar note, mirrored sites are awesome. A local server with all of Wikipedia, Kahn Academy, a pile of common domain classic books and more sites/resources with license agreements allowing such is a damn powerful tool to leave in a school’s lab.
6. Shipping/transport: You have any idea how you’re going to get the computers into the country? I’ve flown with switches and servers in my bag before and it is doable if not a bit back breaking and a little sketch in the eyes of customs. However, if you can find a secure and inexpensive means to ship them is always g
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Familiar like my job all the time, every day. It sounds like you are doing something similar to what I have done with the high school I work for in schools and orphanages in our local state, Nicaragua, Mexico, South Africa and (soonlike in a few weeks) the Caribbean.
While it’s impossible to speak to any specific instance, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Power: Do you have electricity etc that can support the lab? If not, is there a way to get it with little cost or no cost. Is the local power in stable enough to prevent long term damage to the units? That is, are there rolling blackouts or the like that could call for preventative measures to be taken?
2. Location: This isn’t just secure from people wanting to break in and steal stuff (which can happen depending on how desperate people are. But then if the community is heavily involved, it will help prevent this or at bare minimum spark response to it). This is secure from rain, wind, sun etc? Consider the elements, they are the enemy. Is the climate humid? Hot? Does the building flood? Does it have AC in any of the rooms? Consider what implications this could have to the long term use of the units and their placement.
3. Involve the school: What do THEY want? Assume nothing. Talk with the school, see what it is they want and need. Work for them. I’m assuming you have already done this but it’s always good to check. Long ago when we were first starting to do tech outreach, one of our leaders said something to the effect of “don’t try to change the culture. Give the tools, show them how they run and let them use them how they will.” She has been dead right everywhere we’ve worked and the only exception we’ve made to this rule is demanding that at least half of the training class be female and be made mostly of students. Involve the students. They aren't idiots, don't cripple their options. Yes, give them admin power. This approach gives the school’s members a stake in the lab and learning and will also help secure the structure. It can also be helpful if you can find local organizations to participate.
4. Support: who is going to be in charge of keeping the lab up? You can’t stay there forever. Find someone (or some ones) at the school who has raw potential or somehow has an edge above the rest in the tech department and train them on how to support the units. Don’t rule out students. Teach them the fine art of “frankenstiening” old units together if parts are not readily available. Software support is vital too. Consider a base image for all of the units. Something we’ve done in the past with some of our support contacts is give them a flash drive full of resources, installers, tech tools, guides, walkthroughs, Linux isos. you know, helpful things if you don’t have a stable internet connection. Having someone on site with a greater than average knowledge of the inner workings of the lab will also help prevent the lab from becoming a china doll, so to speak. You want things to break in the lab, you want it to be a rag doll. That means it’s being used.
5. Connectivity: Do you somehow have internet there? If not, would you consider doing an internal network? If you want internet, talk to local businesses, government or charitable organizations. You might find someone willing to run you a line or point to point connections. On a similar note, mirrored sites are awesome. A local server with all of Wikipedia, Kahn Academy, a pile of common domain classic books and more sites/resources with license agreements allowing such is a damn powerful tool to leave in a school’s lab.
6. Shipping/transport: You have any idea how you’re going to get the computers into the country? I’ve flown with switches and servers in my bag before and it is doable if not a bit back breaking and a little sketch in the eyes of customs. However, if you can find a secure and inexpensive means to ship them is always g