Now before you call me crazy, let me explain the circumstances.
I have recently been given ten computers that range from 550 Mhz to 750 Mhz. They are all Dell and they were headed for the surplus heap to be sold for pennies on the dollar. I headed them off at the pass and directed them towards my classroom to be resurrected. I set about resurrecting them and was successful using a variety of Linux distros. I have posted on this before. I thought I had a great solution lined up in that Edubuntu works wonderfully on most of the machines, Xubuntu works on the ones that Edubuntu won’t load on, and I even have a few thinner client distros like Puppy Linux and Darn Small Linux for the oldest of machines.
I just can’t connect them to the school network.
Our district has a very strict policy that only district owned (these are) PC’s that have been “ghosted” with the district’s image can be connected to the school and district network (these aren’t, obviously). So there is my trouble. Part of me wants to connec tthem anyway noting that it certainly would not do any harm. My issue is integrity. If I am going to ask my students to maintain an impeccable level of integrity in my class and throughout life, I cannot blemish my integrity by circumventing district law. I am called to be obedient to the authorities over me. While I think Linux is in the best interest of my students, I cannot disobey the authority placed over me of my own accord (I took the job, after all).
So, I think I will put Windows 98 back on these machines. As much as it kills me to do it, so much of what I am doing these days is web-based. It doesn’t matter if it’s Windows or Linux, my students will not notice a difference when they access the wiki or their blogs. Frankly, so much of what I do is Internet based. I had given thought to creating a network reminiscent of old school token ring networks where everything connects to itself with no central server of any nature. Then I would use one of the peer computers as sort of a KEduca server but only to host the test file so that students could take tests and quizzes in class.
My problem is that I see no major benefit to that as opposed to the current system I have in place of an Internet-based quiz and test center. Once my kids master the login info, they figure the test and quizzes out in no time. So here again, I am having trouble justifying Tux machines that I cannot connect. I am learning that connectedness is becoming more important than hardware.
I suppose more than that, even, I can’t risk connecting a machine and toss myself into the abyss of disobedience. I do not want to take my family down the road that leads away from blessedness. All too often the deepest questions of life are asked in the context of regret. Hopefully not here.
So I need help, faithful audience. Help me justify Linux in my classroom! Here is a refresher as to my circumstance.
1. I teach Spanish and Latin to sixth graders in South Carolina. I have kids for roughly 22 class meetings total, with a new crop of students each 9 weeks.
2. I am currently working on a Wiki with my students, which they are enjoying greatly.
3. My students are also bloggers, although the semantics of this may change next nine weeks. Maybe a class blog instead of individual blogs. More on that later…
4. All of their tests and quizzes are taken online. See the Online Quizzes link on the left.
So I maintain that I cannot justify using Linux in my situation. Windows 98 works fine, these machines don’t fuss and I can still use Firefox as opposed to Internet Explorer. And Audacity runs on 98 with no issues as best I can tell.
So here I sit, hurting after having written all of this, especially since I am playing with a new copy of Dreamlinux with XGL which is particularly cool. It looks remarkably like my newly updated Mac with 10.4.8! Dock and all.
It’s your turn now. Any good reason to keep a few machines in a local area network without Internet connectedness? Or should I just give in and secretly use Linux and my Mac to power my classroom from home? I had thought about a local Moodle server in class, but see no reason to.
Do you have any good thoughts on the matter?
Open Source Classroom dot com Podcast Episode 9 - Switching back to Windows [11:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Miguel Guhlin says:
Reimage the machines with the District image, but place an unlabelled Puppy Live CD in every CD-tray. If someone says, that’s not Windows, restart the computer with the CD ejected and prove them wrong.
As long as your computers are imaged properly, you’re within the letter of the law.
So, yeah, do what works. I would also notify your campus principal and let him know that you would like to pilot a new set of programs with your students. Do that in writing and if s/he agrees, double-coverage.
Dishonest? Underhanded? Depends on how you define that. You’re exposing students in your lab to multiple OS, which is certainly within your rights to do as their teacher.
Let me know what you decide and why!
1st October 2006 at 11:45 pm
J. Meyers says:
The above comment is an interesting idea. However, I think it’s 6 of one, half dozen of another. The fact that you can’t connect you linux computers to the network is a pain. At least I can do that in my county even though I have to listen to the obligatory “we won’t support it speech” every once in awhile. I use Linux because I don’t have to worry about spyware or viruses on the computers I install it to that are only powerful enough to run 98 otherwise. As an advanced computer teacher it is also part of my curriculum that I teach kids the other operating systems as well as the fact that the free programming tools are much better on the Linux side.
It is important to teach kids to not be dependent on any one computer company. The best way to do that is to keep them switching between operating systems and programs. In so doing they subconciously pick up the underlying patterns that are present across certain types of programs and become fluid users of any new program placed in front of them. Otherwise you end up with people who freak out when they have to use another word processor besides Word because the little icon for print isn’t in exactly the same place with the same little picture. Such people are not proficient computer users, they are proficient consumers (prisoners) of a specific brand. Their worst nightmare in technology terms would be that a specific company goes out of business because they would instantly be rendered helpless on all computers.
As educators supposedly commisioned with preparing our students with a wide base for future success it’s our job to ensure that our students don’t grow up into those prisoners.
1st October 2006 at 9:48 pm
John Fields says:
1) I feel your pain. You found a workable solution, lowest cost to to the ISD/tax payers, and the IT department will not support your efforts.
2) Just a reminder for your administration that Linux is not going away – and to just avoid the topic is a disservice to the students. I hire people and it does matter ALREADY.
3) I am writing this on a $400 Walmart Everex laptop with Dream Linux. I agree, sweet as can be.
Strategies:
What is the letter, and the intent of the law?
The no-connection policy is common amoung lazy support staff all over. They are usually worked to maximum output by the powers that be anyway. Accordingly it is prudent not to expose themselves to the support nightmares of non-standard systems on the network.
So, option:
Make a second, internal network in your classroom. It would have its own switch and cables. Connect that thru a VPN tunnel to your home DSL connection. The school end of the solution can run on a Win9x box using OpenSSH and a second NIC. It is very similar to what an anonymizer does for people in china trying to surf out to the free world. Yes I just made a comparison there.
So the school is safe because your kids CANNOT touch the school’s network either. Only tell IT people you trust to start (or not). In any event you can actually say that your class network IS NOT on the schools network. Matter of fact they cannot ping, ARP or otherwise prove that there are any other machines on the network except the one box made from their approved image. They might complain it is using a lot of bandwidth for only one machine though
Check your IT policy boilerplate…
Next: Fight for an exemption, or at least for a VLAN that doesn’t touch the school network. If they have Cisco gear then 95% YES they have the ability.
Psychology: Ask them to do you a favor that they can actually do. Doesn’t matter if you need it or not. Open the dialog with them as the “good guy”. Normally you would owe-them-one. But the next thing you know they come looking for you, just to see if you need anything else. Tech guys are very close to complaint dept clerks; ergo they will seek out the least painful relationships to spend spare time on. I am a tech guy and we are sooo easy.
Longer term:
Anonymously buy the tech department THREE different linux, or linux friendly magazine subscriptions. Edu discount is your friend. I have used this before and three is the magic number. At that quantity you find them in their laptop bags going home to be read. And then they brag about their shiny new DreamLinux desktop.
>——
Bottom line is you did a good thing for the students. If it is working for you then don’t give in when you are so close to a full implementation.
Let us know if you need pointers setting up the VPN.
1st October 2006 at 4:54 am
Open Source Classroom » Blog Archive » Alternatives to confiscation says:
[...] The trouble with any of this is that for a computer to be connected to my school’s network, it has to be running their software that comes from their image. They come in and ghost the machine so that it is a nice duplicate copy of all the rest. Conformity is valued here. I posted some time back about being on the verge of ditching Linux for Windows. I don’t like it, but I decided that Internet access was far more valuable here. [...]
1st October 2006 at 6:16 am
Joe says:
You can run puppy linux in windows using the PupWinQE.zip setup or even looke at the dsl-3.2-embedded.zip
The two packages run ontop of windows allowing you to access both windows programs and linux software at the same time.
1st October 2006 at 6:27 am