Edubuntu LTSP WORKS!

Yipee!  I have been banging my head against Edubuntu for a long time, and it had become my summer project to get it working.  Last Friday…Success!

I thought Edubuntu Hardy Heron would be better.  It was, but not for connecting thin clients.  I finally gave up and tried regressing to Edubuntu Gutsy 7.10.

It worked “right out of the box” as advertised.  I turned on the thin client and it booted right up.  W00t!

I had to great create some users for booting.  It’s found under System –> Adminstration –> Users and Groups.  I then had to update the clients by typing 2 commands in the terminal.

sudo ltsp-update-sshkeys

sudo ltsp-update-image

I think you have to use these commands any time you update the clients.

I showed it to our Technology Director, and he was duly impressed.  We talked about printing.  I can print very easily to network printers but having trouble printing to a local printer.

He said that the Junior High is taking out a thin client lab to make room for a classroom.  That would free up around 25 thin client devices I could use if I could get them work.  I’ll have to have some help from our network admin with that.  He also said they are going to move several servers to virtual machines on one box.  That might free up a server for me to use around Decmeber.  

I will need to make sure I have the furniture to set the monitors on.  I will also need to make sure it is OK with my principal to set up a thin client lab with my class.  Hopeful she will go for it since I can show it works and can explain how I will use it.

I could potentially have a 1:1 inititive in my classroom next year.  That is exciting!  I think, however, I would rather have a 2:1 student:computer ratio.  It would be more managable, and they could work with a partner on projects.

This is a big victory on the road to School 2.0, but there is still a stretch of road ahead.  How am I going to teach with computers in my classroom?  I’ll need to think, research, and decide.  Computers are only the tool.  The real learning takes place with the strategies and approaches that are used with them.

How would you teach, if every student in your class had a computer at their desk?

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Forget the test! Teach deeply. »« Progressing toward Edubuntu thin clients