Possible Linux Thin Clients in my Classroom

All that work learning about Edubuntu Linux thin clients may pay off.  I talked to our district’s IT department this week.  I asked whether I could experiment with an Edubuntu thin client mini-lab in my classroom.  The Tech Director said they had tried an LTSP thin client network in the Junior High a few years ago and pulled the plug after one year.  They also use SUSE linux, too.They now use MS Windows thin clients.  He sent me to the Junior High computer lab teacher and the Network Administrator.

The computer lab teacher said that they tried running all the windows program she had used before on Linux.  Any time they tried to scale it up to more than a few machines it would lock up.  The windows applications in a Linux environment did not play nicely together on thin clients.  I think user resistance (especially teachers) to open source software in teaching is a very real barrier, as evidenced here.

The network admin said that the Linux distros were very resource hungry.  They were running 90 thin clients on two servers and he was spending 2 hours a day getting them up and running.  He didn’t put much stock in claims that people were running thin client labs from simple desktops.  He said the servers need multicore processors with lots of RAM (8 MB).  I had asked for a 3GHz 3MB RAM desktop from the computer lab, and he said it would probably run the 14 or so computers I wanted to use in my classroom.   We may use two 8-port switches to connect the old computers.

He also said that hooking the thin clients up through the network was an issue, but since the clients in my room would be behind the server, it would be much easier.

He mentioned the lack of adequate support since he was spending 2 hours a day at the Junior High working on the thin client system.  I am glad to say that  will give professional support if the forums are not enough.

I sounds like a lot of the problems they had was from teacher resistance to giving up MS Windows applications.  People issues have to be considered seriously when change occurs…and change will occur whether we want it to or not.  The tech issues seem solvable, but the issue of scalability worries me about future implications of a pilot.

Next I need to go back to our Tech Director and see whether he will give his final approval.  Then I have to get the go-ahead from my principal.  If I can clear those two last hurdles, I will have computers for my student next year in my classroom.  Yippee!

Ever the practical voice, my wife asked me, “Why do you need computers in your room?” I find it hard to give a concise answer.  What would be your answer to that question?

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Open Source Textbook

Kim, on her Missouri State Teachers Association blog, talked about Motion Mountain: The Free Physics Textbook. This was my comment.

I had heard about a movement to create an open source textbook. An open source textbook is one written by teachers who teach the subject. What a novel idea! Teachers divide up the tasks and all contribute collaboratively. Rather than a large publishing company, who’s bottom line is $, deciding what teachers teach. The teachers decide and write the textbook exactly how they want it. It can also be updated within months instead of in years. Great idea!

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