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The Linux distillery Teaching tech to tots: The use of Linux and open source in pre-schools
The Linux distillery Teaching tech to tots: The use of Linux and open source in pre-schools | Teaching tech to tots: The use of Linux and open source in pre-schools |
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| by David M Williams | |
| Monday, 04 August 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 3 Ubuntu has achieved much of its fame because of its usability and design philosophies that are encapsulated in its motto “Linux for human beings.” In a play on this, Edubuntu carries the tag “Linux for young human beings” and it specialises particularly in pre- and primary schools. Future versions of Edubuntu may well cater to higher education.Here’s what’s good about this setup. Firstly, it’s free. That’s always great, particularly when your resources are limited. Secondly, it’s modern. There’s no need to rely on dated software because you can begin with the current version available now – not the version current at the time the hardware was purchased – and you can continue to update at no cost. With Ubuntu, major releases come out every six months ensuring regular enhancements and bug fixes. What’s possibly not so good is that Ubuntu will be unfamiliar to the teachers. This is significant because they will be expected to use the computers, demonstrating them to their pupils and aiding them with difficulties. The software must be easy to use for this reason, and also because the majority of the pre-school students will not yet be able to read on-screen messages. Fortunately, Ubuntu has had much hard work put into it over years to deal with this very issue. Usability and simplicity are core goals driving its implementation. However, you ought not to take my word for this. Without having to do more than place a shortcut to GCompris on the desktop my son totally engrossed himself. He was able to easily navigate through the activities and found a great many that he enjoyed. The instructions are delivered by spoken audio files and these are available for a wide collection of languages or can be replaced by your own. I knew from this that it would take only bare minutes of introduction before the pre-school teachers themselves would be confident in adequately demonstrating and using this tool. Yet, despite this, would Linux itself be an obstacle? Perhaps GCompris on Windows would be a better alternative, giving all the benefits of that suite with a more familiar underlying operating system. The answer turned out to be ‘no’ to both – Linux is not an obstacle, and in fact GCompris on Windows is not a better alternative. Here’s why. CONTINUED |
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