locking down the desktop

[David Trask]

You're right, the comment was uncalled for, but the idea is that this is
not the best way to run ANY computer system in ANY school.  Common logins
are simply asking for trouble.  Ideally your students should each have an
account on the server where all of their data is stored.  (Very much like
roaming profiles in Windows)  You also need to know that most of us are
also educators in public and private schools....so we do understand.  The
problem in this case is that your network setup is flawed.  Common logins
and the like are leftovers from the old Windows 95 and Windows 98 days. 
For the moment, your best solution is to write a script that will "purge"
your desktops each evening as a cron job (scheduled job).  Locking the
Desktop by changing permissions is probably going to break things more
than it helps.  In the long term, you and/or your network admins need to
begin working on a network strategy that allows for roaming profiles that
store all of the student information on the server...regardless of which
machine they use.  This can be easily done with an existing windows server
using AD or Samba/LDAP.  In my own school, each child and teacher has
their own account.  they walk up to the machine and log in as themselves. 
EVERYTHING they change, save, or otherwise is stored on the server in
their home directory.  Nothing is stored locally.....kids can move about
the school, sit down at any computer, login and see their OWN desktop with
their OWN files.

So...short term....a script to erase files.....long-term....another
strategy for saving student data...and I apologize on behalf of the list
for the comment


btabor <btabor at btownccs.k12.in.us> writes:
>
>All students log in the same (see the same desktop).
>Then they can navigate to their network folders.
>Obviously, from your "do you make sure they wipe themselves properly"
>comment, you
>do not understand the importance of not letting hundreds of teenagers save
>whatever they
>want to their school desktops. I am very new to Linux and trying to learn
>as
>I go. I thought
>signing up for this listserve would be helpful, but if you are just going
>to
>poke fun......I am thinking
>that this might not have been a good idea. I am just trying to figure
>things
>out and do the best
>I can. The high school computers with Edubuntu on them are looking a mess
>and everyone is
>complaining because the kids can save to the desktops, I was just trying
>to
>figure out a way to
>solve a problem that others have asked me to solve. If you feel the need
>to
>make insensitive comments, then I guess I am looking in the wrong place
>for
>answers.


David N. Trask
Technology Teacher/Director
Vassalboro Community School
dtrask at vcsvikings.org
(207)923-3100