[K12OSN] My vision needs feedback.

[Rob Owens]

I will again plug a piece of software that I've only
read about and never tried.  It's called tsync and it
is designed to automatically syncronize files on
separate computers.  If there is no network
connectivity between the computers for a period of
time, it will wait until it has network connectivity
and then it will syncronize automatically.  This could
be used for syncronizing the home folders on the
laptops.

The laptop thing is a cool idea, but others have
pointed out some practical problems, such as cost of
repair, theft, etc.  Why not instead outfit the entire
school with recycled thin clients and provide a
mid-grade linux desktop to each student for their
home?  You could also have a "computer store" at the
school where the kids can purchase hardware upgrades
that have been tested specifically for use on their
system.  This will help to prevent your seniors from
having to use obsolete equipment (by the standards of
the day).  Seems to me that for the same price as "a
laptop for everybody", you could have a thin client
for everybody plus a home desktop for everybody. 
Desktops are cheaper to upgrade and less likely to get
dropped or stolen.

Students with home internet access can have their home
desktops synced with /home at the school.  Students
w/o internet could use usb keys.  Or perhaps it would
be a good idea to negotiate with a local ISP for a
student discount on internet service.  (Or maybe the
school could run it's own ISP?  I'm not sure if that's
possible or if it's just a dumb idea.)

-Rob

--- Steve Hampton <wolfravenous at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi List,
> 
> I want to ask for some feedback on a vision (dream
> at this stage) that
> I have.  I need two types of feedback. First if
> anyone has the type of
> setup that I envision and would be willing to let me
> visit their site
> to document, take photos and notes it would greatly
> help me in my
> struggle to get my vision implemented.  Secondly, if
> the people on
> this list that know WAY MORE than me about linux and
> computer
> technology, know of any reason that what I am
> envisioning would not
> work please point out the errors in my thinking.  So
> here goes with my
> vision.
> 
> This is what I envision for the high school where I
> teach computer
> engineering. It is a small high school only about
> 550 students in a
> rural area.  I found out that some students were not
> able to take a
> pre-calculus course that is offered through the
> school collaborating
> with an online educational service because the
> students did not have
> computers at home and that really burned me up. 
> After all I have seen
> within the open source community about increasing
> access to technology
> I figure now is the time for me to start fighting
> that battle locally.
> 
> I loved a slide I saw in a presentation I downloaded
> from somewhere by
> David Trask that said something about access for
> everyone being more
> important than a few people being able to use reader
> rabbit and I
> apologize David if I twisted your words but I
> believe that was the
> general idea.  Ok, on with my vision.  I would like
> for our school to
> do the following:
> 
> 1.  I would like for them to abandon the proprietary
> software
> addiction (Paying more does NOT equal Getting more)
> 
> 2.  I would like for them to purchase laptops
> without OSes for every
> freshman when they enter high school. They would
> take them to every
> class, home and  then allowed to take them with them
> whenever they
> graduate.  The students would have more incentive to
> take care of
> something they knew would become theirs.
> 
> 3.  Since the laptops would be purchased without
> OSes I would like for
> them to all get K12LTSP installed and for them to be
> setup as Thick
> clients to authenticate to K12servers using
> Samba/Ldap throughout the
> school on a wireless network.
> 
> 4.  I would like it if the students laptops worked
> in this fashion. 
> When they took them home and turned them on they
> could log in as a
> local user and access their home folder and even
> save documents there.
> Then when they came into the school and logged into
> the network their
> home folder would be synchronized with their home
> folder on the k12
> file server(s).  This might be possible with an
> rsync configuration of
> some sort I am not sure.  This is the kind of
> convenience I have with
> OSX and iSync but I am trying to build a vision for
> my school based on
> inexpensive open source solutions.
> 
> I have crunched the numbers for the hardware and I
> know it would cost
> less to equip the incoming freshman each year with a
> new laptop fully
> loaded with k12ltsp than what the system currently
> spends on computer
> equipment and proprietary licenses.  Not to mention
> that since the
> students would be able to take their laptops to
> class the math
> teachers could stop paying thousands of dollars for
> graphing
> calculators and use the graphing tools included in
> the edutainment
> package of k12.
> 
> I know what we are doing now is very expensive and
> only provides
> computer labs that the students realistically only
> have access to
> maybe an average of 2 hours per day.  And the labs
> are setup so that
> they only have certain types of software depending
> on which lab it is.
> For example, the computers in the drafting classroom
> that COST 2000
> dollars for a 10 station AutoCAD license are
> worthless for chemistry
> students they need access to the Math and Science
> lab.  The great
> thing about k12 is that it is all there together,
> Qcad, Kalzium, and
> you know I could go on and on.  The thing is we
> can't keep doing what
> we are doing and expect to get better results, on
> test scores (which
> administration dwells on) or student knowledge and
> comprehension which
> is what is really important.  Changes need to be
> made.  Access to
> technology for everyone, and the right types of
> technology that help
> develop high level conceptualization and abstract
> thinking are vital.
> 
> My main concerns before I try to work up a proposal
> and then really
> work to push it hard is making sure what I want to
> do is possible.  I
> have a feeling that network administration would be
> easier since I
> know from administering the network in my classroom,
> with linux once
> you get all the configurations setup and working
> right you pretty much
> just set back and leave it alone and everything just
> seems to keep
> working right.
> 
> PLUS, PLEASE if anyone has .sxi presentations (or
> even .ppt) that they
> would be willing to share that they have used to
> successfully
> influence others I would love to receive links to
> them if you have
> them posted online.  Or if you have great articles,
> papers, any type
> of documentation that you think would be great in
> promoting the linux
> cause please spam me with them. You can send them to
> me off the list
> at steve_hampton28702 at yahoo.com.  I really do
> appreciate any help and
> feedback I can get in this. I think that promoting
> open source in the
> area in which I live has kinda become a passion in
> my life. GO
> PENGUINS, hehe
> 
> Steve Hampton
> Technology Instructor
> Swain County High School
> North Carolina, USA
> --
> Open Source, The Right Thing To Do!
> 
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