Hi Jonathan On Tue, 2006-03-14 at 13:18 -0500, Jonathan D. Proulx wrote: > Forgive me if this isn't stricly a "devel" question, but it's a bit > long for IRC and there's apparently not a "users" list for Edubuntu > that I can see at least.
No problem at all, this list is intended for both users, developers, documentation team, the Flint, and all other community members. I think the -devel may be a bit misleading, I talked to ogra about it on IRC and he suggested that we rename the list to just edubuntu (perhaps something that can be discussed at the meeting this afternoon). > Basicly neither the student nor the teachers are expected to have any > exposure to computers. The school houses don't even have electricity, > so the hardware platform is IBM Thinkpads with extended batteries and > they will need to be taken to an other location by the teacher for > recharge. > > Edubuntu has a simple install and a nice kid centric GUI and defaults > to having the right software set, so seems like a very nice fit. It also runs very nicely on Thinkpads :) Just check that the suspend on lid close works fine, some IBM's only work with APM, and others just with ACPI. > So my questions or areas of uncertainty are what UI changes to make > (if any) for peopel with absolutely zero prior computer contact and no > recourse to anyone who does or the internet, and what issues I might > run into running hte system without network connection. The > applications, particularly the KDE Edutainment suite, are very > transparently networked, to the point I didn't realize quitte howmuch > of the kstars data was nonlocal. On the simplification of UI/desktop, I suppose these computers will be used by individuals, and when used by learners, it will be done under supervision? If so, it helps to simplify the login process. I suggest you either use an automated GDM or KDM logon, or have a few passwordless guest accounts for guest users (advertise this on the GDM login screen). It also helps to make the task bar slightly bigger, and adding shortcuts to applications you expect them to use regularly. Here's a screenshot from a typical guest account you would find in a tuXlab. (we name our guest users tux1 - tux50). It's likely that future Edubuntu versions will have an intelligent guest login, where it will create a user for you when you click on guest user in LDM, and then delete it again when the user logs out. > I'm a little blind as I don't have direct knowlege of the population > this is to serve and my experience is with rather overly experienced > users, I also won't be able to tweak the systems once they're in the > field so there's a bit of pressure to get it right the first time. Lots of documentation helps, especially on the simple stuff. How far apart would these users be from each other? What might help is to have them set up monthly meetings where they get together and share tips and tricks. Helping them set up a LUG might work very well, too. -Jonathan -- edubuntu-devel mailing list edubuntu-devel@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/edubuntu-devel
