[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Author Index][Thread Index]

Re: [school-discuss] Linux Tablets?



"David M. Bucknell" <dbucknell@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I am investigating the use of tablets running Linux in k-12/13 schools  
> around the world.  Searching for Ubuntu on tablets, I've found lots of  
> promising stuff, so I imagine that someone with more money than I has  
> bought one and installed Linux on it, right?  Please let me know if  
> you have any leads on schools using tablets running Linux.

David --

Around the turn of the century I was inspired (eg. crazy enough) to to
develop a total educational infrastructure based on tablet PCs. I started
well before Microsoft offered a special tablet version of Windows, although
a number of Windows-based systems were available. My inspiration was the
Newton Message Pad, and my goal was to make the entire project open-source,
including software and educational content. My OS of choice was and is
FreeBSD, but I was actively pursuing Linux also. .

I called the hardware piece Open Slate, and the educational
software/content piece Chalk Dust. Open Slate was the reason I joined this
list, ye olde list members may recall. You can read the historical
documents at the project web site at http://openslate.sourceforge.net/  I
recommend starting with "A girl and her slate" at 
http://www.aloha.com/~knowtree/scenario.html

The project failed (but is actually dormant, not abandoned) due to these
issues, ranked by impact, greatest first:

1. Overt hostility from potential contributers to Chalk Dust, due to the
practice of supplementing one's teaching income from textbook sales. (My
counter was to suggest the use of grants to develope open-source content,
but again no buy-in there.) Another criticism was the lack of
"accreditation" perceived by buyers when purchasing textbooks from
established publishers.

2. Intense skeptisim from educators, who were quick to point out that no
studies had been done to prove that the concept would work.

3. Intense skepticism from established high school system administrators
who would never allow a student anything close to root access. (Hint: in
Open Slate the students run the network, teachers only advise.)

4. Hostility from parents and high-level educators (mostly working at the
college of education level) that too much money was being spent on
computers in classrooms as it was, so a system based on one computer per
child was out of the question.

5. Serious doubt from educators that students could build their own slate,
a cornerstone of the program. Techies thought this was a great idea.

6. Fragility of hard drives -- the slate should withstand a three foot drop
onto hard floor with minor damage and no data loss. Recent advances in
flash memory have mitigated this limitation.

7. Battery life. Still a problem. I proposed a standard battery case and
exchange charging stations around campus. Drop one in, take one out. The
school replaces dead batteries. Students would have the option of building
their own battery packs, including large batteries carried in a knapsack.

8. The lack of useful open-source handwriting recognition software. I was
hoping the project would take care of this.

9. The lack of a generic small motherboard suitable for a slate. Small PC
compatibile motherboards were available, but not with IO and power
management services typical of notebook motherboards. I do not see where
this has changed. If successfull the project would create a market (21st
century school supplies) but no easy way to bootstrap the process.

10. The lack of facilities to build and repair slates. I was supprised to
learn that few schools have the kind of wood shops and metal shops I grew
up with.

There you have it, the ten reasons why my Open Slate project has yet to
take off. I have been watching OLPC closely. <http://laptop.org/> No
shortage of criticism for them, either, and those folks are MIT gurus.

Gary Dunn
Honolulu