Hilton Theunissen

tuXlab programme – Open Source in Schools

Jonathan Carter

Skubuntu – Ubuntu setup for tuXlabs

Edubuntu Summit – July 2005

Shuttleworth tuXlab project

The Shuttleworth Foundation

e-School model

Objective of tuXlab program

Increase awareness of open source

Increase usage

Grow open source skills

Easy access

An easy replicable model

Advocacy and lobby program

Shuttleworth tuXlab project

200 Schools

Teachers

Learners

Education Department

School Community

Participation from Community

Open source community

Computer enthusiasts

IT Students

PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE

Shuttleworth tuXlab project

School Selection Process

new! Letter of intent

Show interest and commitment

Complete questionnaire

Must establish a computer committee

Must form part of a cluster of schools in area

Have to pre-participate in two tuXlab installs

Submit proposal aligned with tuXlabs outcomes

Responsible for infrastructure and security preparation

Shuttleworth tuXlab project

Volunteer Participation

Easy entry

No criteria or forms

No IT or open source knowledge required

No IT or open source skills required

Suggest registration on SLUG mailing list

Reward Program

Social activism – make a change

Gain new skills – IT or communication

Training incentive program

Peer recognition

Shuttleworth tuXlab project

Born out of tuXlab pilot

under 500 members registered on mailing list

Newbie approach

Website developed and maintained

Three chapters Wcape, Ecape and Limpopo

External support structure for tuXlabs

SLUG activity every Saturday

Assisted 111 schools to date

On 16 June 2004 established 10 schools simultaneously in 4 hours

Shuttleworth tuXlab project

Installation Process

Skills transfer approach

Teachers and learners participate

Introductory presentations

Three simultaneous installation streams

Linux thin client server installation

Thin client setup

Network point installation

Duration : 3 -5 hours for 20 seat network

Shuttleworth tuXlab project

Technology Component

Linux Thin Client Network

New powerful server unit

Refurbished diskless computers

100/1000mb/s network

K12ltsp.org distribution ( Fedora based)

future: “Ubuntulinux for schools”

Cost for 20 seat lab – R30 000 (approx USD5000)

Shuttleworth tuXlab project

A ceiling bar?

Shuttleworth tuXlab project

Support Process

Introductory workshop with teachers

Monthly tuXlab meeting

Logbook required

Internal troubleshooting – staff and learners

Cluster involvement – call on nearby schools

Call helpdesk – funded by Foundation

Mail support request to SLUG mailing list

tuXlab technical co-ordinator

new! ICDL Training

Shuttleworth tuXlab project

Lessons Learned:

School's main objective is to gain computers

Technology platform not a real issue

Initial fear for unknown platform

Low level of technology skills influence success of internal support

Teacher's reluctant to try curriculum delivery without tested guidelines

Big need for complete relevant educational software

Educational software developers do not support OS platform

Easier adoption rate among learners

Shuttleworth tuXlab project

Technology Component

Linux Thin Client Network

New powerful server unit

Refurbished diskless computers

100/1000mb/s network

K12ltsp.org distribution ( Fedora based)

future: “Ubuntulinux for schools”

Cost for 20 seat lab – R30 000 (approx USD5000)

Shuttleworth tuXlab project

Hilton Theunissen

Open Source Project Manager

The Shuttleworth Foundation

E-mail : hilton@shuttleworthfoundation.org

URL: http://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org

Shuttleworth tuXlab project

Skubuntu: Ubuntu in tuXlabs

SKUBUNTU – GNU/Linux in Education

CONTENTS

1. Why Skubuntu?

2. Needs of South African schools.

3. Current installations.

4. The road ahead: Future installations.

Skubuntu: Ubuntu in tuXlabs

Why Skubuntu?

The situation:

In South-Africa, the Shuttleworth Foundation and volunteers installed more than 100 labs using K12-LTSP

We needed to customise K12-LTSP more and more to suit our needs

Upgrades became an issue, with Fedora Core's rapid release cycle

The solution:

Change to a Debian based distribution, which will allow us to manage customisations and updates

Ubuntu is used as a base install, a second CD, containing certain KDE applications, educational software and content management systems, are used to automatically configure Ubuntu to a schools' needs

This second CD is called Skubuntu, an add-on to a standard Ubuntu system

Skubuntu: Ubuntu in tuXlabs

Needs of schools

Support:

Schools need a system that's easy to support

Built-in help with solutions to common problems is essential

Administration:

Administration has been a challenge for us, working with many teachers who have never even seen a computer before

LDAP is being used in some schools, but it is too complicated. There are many administration packages available that will be investigated for Skubuntu, such as the Symbiont, Schooltool, etc.

Features:

Local floppy access, KDE Edutainment suite, reset desktop feature, user logout cleanup script, LTSP, Tux4Kids, easy file sharing, Windows connectivity, content filtering, web cache, backups...

Skubuntu: Ubuntu in tuXlabs

Current installations

Step 1: Install Ubuntu 5.04

IP Address has to be static: 192.168.0.254

First user must be called: “admin”

Step 2: Run Skubuntu CD

Insert second CD, launch installer

Skubuntu installer wil install all necessary packages using APT, and will overwrite all configuration files that need to be changed (lts.conf, dhcpd.conf, etc). It also removes certain packages, such as xscreensaver, and adds a user called “skeletux” which a teacher can use to modify the skeleton directory.

Step 3: Reboot

After system has rebooted, the system will be usable immediately.

Skubuntu: Ubuntu in tuXlabs

Future installations

Ubuntu installation

Installation will be more flexible (user can choose IP address, admin username, etc)

Ubuntu kickstart script could be used and could be available on main Ubuntu CD

Skubuntu installation

Skubuntu installation will be more dynamic, config files will be generated, instead of overwritten

Installation will be debianised, and installation should be possible by doing an “apt-get install skubuntu-desktop” or “apt-get install skubuntu-ltsp-server”, depending on configuration needs.

Skubuntu: Ubuntu in tuXlabs

Server

Powerful CPU.

minumum 100MBRAM per thin client

Gigabit Network Card

Contains GNU/Linux Operating System

Switch

Low-cost

thin client computer

Low-cost

thin client computer

Low-cost

thin client computer

Workstation 2

Workstation 6

Workstation 11

Cables

Router box

eth1

eth0

192.168.0.254

192.168.0.8

print server

192.168.0.9

isp

Low-cost

thin client computer

Workstation 1

Skubuntu: Ubuntu in tuXlabs

Router box

eth0

192.168.0.254

Server 2

4GB RAM

Gigabit Network Card

GNU/Linux OS

/home lives here

/home is synced to backup on server 1

Router box

Server 1

4GB RAM

Gigabit Network Card

GNU/Linux OS

/home mounted from server 2

/backup lives here

Switch

eth0

192.168.0.253

Switch

Low-cost

thin client computer

Low-cost

thin client computer

Low-cost

thin client computer

Low-cost

thin client computer

Low-cost

thin client computer

Low-cost

thin client computer

Low-cost

thin client computer

Low-cost

thin client computer

192.168.0.0 net

Server 1

192.168.0.0 net

Server 2

192.168.0.0 net

Server 2

192.168.0.0 net

Server 1

LDAP/samba file and printer server (optional)

Skubuntu: Ubuntu in tuXlabs

Server

Powerful CPU.

512MB RAM

Gigabit Network Card

Contains GNU/Linux Operating System

RAID 5+1

Switch 32x

Workstation 1

Router box

eth1

eth0

printer

192.168.0.8

isp

192.168.0.254

Workstation 2

Workstation 3

Workstation 4

Diskless “Open441” Solution

Workstation 5

Workstation 6

Workstation 7

Workstation 8

Diskless “Open441” Solution

lp0

Workstation 9

Diskless fat client

Skubuntu: Ubuntu in tuXlabs

Screenshots...

1. Screenshots available at Skubuntu.org.za

2. Partial Skubuntu tour in Xnest...

- GDM theme

- Guest users

- Shared space

- Tuxlab home, wikipedia, moodle, computers4kids

- Local floppy access

Skubuntu: Ubuntu in tuXlabs

Time to take some notes...

Tuxlabs: http://www.tuxlab.org.za

TSF: http://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org

Skubuntu: http://www.skubuntu.org.za

K12-LTSP: http://www.k12-ltsp.org

LTSP: http://www.ltsp.org

LearnLinux: http://www.learnlinux.tsf.org.za

SLUG: http://www.slug.org.za

2004-03-08T09:50:41