Re: [school-discuss] Idea for mobile computer teacher/specialist in enterprise Linux thin client schools

[Les Richardson <les@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Daniel,

On Mon, 10 Dec 2007, Daniel Howard wrote:

> Good points all Les, I wasn't considering the file access, I was mostly 
> thinking about a way for the computer teacher to be empowered to explore new 
> open source applications, something not easy/likely in the current enterprise 
> server model here in Atlanta.  Actually, there is a centralized file server 
> for the entire school that could be accessed by the mobile server as well, so 
> maybe that solves that problem.

In terms of 'experimenting' your suggestion would work fine. All kids 
would then have to login with presetup accounts (perhaps with info on file 
cards or just guest1, guest2, etc. and a common password). They could be 
supplied with a common home area and then told to save using their own 
initials at start of all files, etc. This would be the training issue for 
the first half (or more) of the first lesson... depending on grade level, 
background of students, etc.


> Also, an interesting comment recently from one of our fifth grade teachers 
> with 1:1 in her room: she said that although the 1:1 was nice, 2:1 was really 
> enough for the vast majority of her needs and would be better from a space 
> perspective.  I think this view is likely unique to  elementary schools, and 
> I'm guessing middle and high schools are much more likely to need 1:1 for 
> many if not all classes, but it is interesting to hear one of them say that 
> after having 1:1 for the last year or so.

Yes, children still have to know how to hold a pencil, read a book, and 
talk to each other...

The larger question, IMO, is one of: What do you do with students in front 
of a computer while trying to teach them ___ fill in subject here___. It's 
not a 'natural' fit for all areas (and all student groups). Just because 
the software running on the box is Open Source doesn't mean too much... we 
need stuff to deliver 'educational elements'...

Students need to curl up with books in the library too.... (grin).


Les Richardson
Open Admin for schools



> Best,
> Daniel
>
> Les Richardson wrote:
> > Hi Daniel,
> >
> > On Mon, 10 Dec 2007, Daniel Howard wrote:
> >
> > > I'm talking to several Atlanta schools now that are expecting the new 
> > > enterprise thin client system that William and I recommended within the 
> > > coming months, and one thing that keeps coming up is what happens to the 
> > > computer lab teacher when there are so many PCs (at least 2:1) in each 
> > > classroom.  Plus, many of these schools are bursting at the seams with 
> > > enrollment growth, so the computer lab is a likely target for a regular 
> > > classroom anyway.  This is what happened at Brandon, e.g.
> >
> > IMO, the issue is program delivery. If you have enough computers in a 
> > classroom then it _is_ the lab. The key is to have enough computers so 
> > everyone has one, no matter where.
> >
> >
> > > One thought I had was the following: suppose the computer teacher went 
> > > mobile and had on her cart a server that she could use to go into a 
> > > classroom, quickly connect the thin clients in the room to her server, 
> > > and voila, she's in command and can run any apps she has on her server, 
> > > including TeacherTool, etc.  Wireless connection from mobile server to 
> > > Internet would likely be best to prevent the mobile server from handing 
> > > out IP addresses to other school computers if miswired, and that's one 
> > > less wire to mess with too.  At the end of the session, she reconnects 
> > > the classroom clients to the main school server (single wire from room 
> > > switch to data port, e.g.), and the kids reboot and they're back where 
> > > they started.
> >
> > Why bother? If the students already have home folders/directories on the 
> > school server, that is where they put their work. In this scenario, it 
> > would sit on the mobile server. Not a good idea, IMO. Too much work to 
> > maintain... say the student has free time and wants to work on it 
> > later.... no can do.
> >
> > I would just enhance the school backbone bandwidth or improve server 
> > performance, if that's an issue.
> >
> >
> > In Summary, the issues revolve around home directories (student save 
> > areas) and their userid/password locations. In this environment, one can 
> > use a large server for home directories, authentication/logon, and then 
> > several separate fast CPU application servers. Depends on how the system 
> > is configured.
> >
> > Les Richardson
> > Open Admin for Schools
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > Any thoughts from the group, pro/con?  Assume all rooms have the same 
> > > thin client platform, so a single config with dhcp could be used.
> > >
> > > Best,
> > > Daniel
> > >
> > > --
> > > Daniel Howard
> > > President and CEO
> > > Georgia Open Source Education Foundation
>
>
> -- Daniel Howard
> President and CEO
> Georgia Open Source Education Foundation