[K12OSN] Proposal for Middle School Computer Lab

[Tom Hoffman]

2008/7/29 Stephen Crampton <SteveSings at gmail.com>:
> Any comments on the following?

> My syllabus for the year would include the following topics, all of which
> the lab would be ideal for:
>    -programming using Logo and Alice
>    -using spreadsheets to organize data, perform computations, and display
> graphs
>    -3D animation using Blender
>    -digital-image manipulation using G.I.M.P. (a Photoshop clone)
>    -space exploration using Celestia and other planetarium software
>    -web-page creation
>    -podcasts and webcasts
>    -other lessons utilizing the wealth of software included with Edubuntu
> (http://www.edubuntu.org/UsingEdubuntu).
> I'd like to tie in my topics with other teachers, especially math and
> science teachers, so that topics learned in other classes can be explored
> further in my lab using constructivist learning techniques.

This is very 3-d graphics and multimedia intensive set of
applications.  I'm more of a lurker here than an expert, but I think
what you'd really want is what SkoleLinux calls a "low fat" client --
diskless but doing the processing (particularly video) locally.

I'm sure that all this is *possible* using thin clients, but I think
it would require a particularly finely tuned system.

--Tom