Life after LTSP

[Charl Wentzel]

On Thu, 2010-11-11 at 20:20 -0500, Caroline Meeks wrote:

> 
> There is another interesting option.
> 
> 
> Bootable USB sticks loaded with open source software.
> 

It's interesting how the world has changed and how we need to adapt to
this.  For most projects it means thinking at a different level,
thinking bigger, embracing new ideas, etc.  If you don't adapt, you die!
The same is true for Edubuntu.

There a few things we should consider (some of it probably has been
considered and there may be plenty I don't know about. Tis is my 2c
worth, so dont' kill me if you disagree, I'm just asking questions to
which I don't yet have answers)...

1. Is Edubuntu = education software?
This was the obvious starting point, delivering FOSS eductional software
to kids/schools.  Is this "big" enough.  It seems that educational
software is only on of the aspects a school looks at.  It seems
infrastructure is becoming more important, i.e. websites for schools to
make content available to schools, tools to assist schools with
scheduling, tools to make information available to parents, etc.  More
and more customers/schools want total solutions not parts. Edubuntu
cannot survive on its own and will either increase its scope over time
or partner with other projects.  

2. Is Edubuntu = LTSP?
This is obviously one of Edutubuntu's strong points which fall into the
catagory of infrastruture.  The aim is to lower the cost of implementing
labs at schools.  Is LTSP the only options?  The conversation started
wiht DBRL.  I've been playing with it and I had it running in an
instant, something which I still can't do with LTSP.  And it has both
Thick and Thin client modes, plus extra!  Don't through the idea away if
you haven't tried it at all.
Either way, LTSP or DBRL, both offer a good solution for overcome the
problems of kids with their own laptops at school.  You can use a lab PC
or do a network boot over the network on you own PC.  In both cases you
end up with a pre-configured environment with the things you need (and
are allowed to use)

3. Enabling different modes of operation
The discussion spoke about people with PC's at home (their own top of
the range or donated entry-level).  Using bootable USB stick is an
excellent idea, it would definitely keep parents happy, not messing with
their PC's.  How does Edubuntu make it easier to do this?  Do most
people even know they can boot from the DVD and install on a USB stick?

There's plenty more.

The question is: Are we looking ahead?  There are plenty of
individuals/companies looking ahead, but is Edubuntu as a project
looking ahead?... far enough?  How do we assist those forward thinking
guys?  How do we bring back some of those idea into Edubuntu so that
everybody can benefit from it?  Is mentioning these ideas in the forum
enough?  Shouldn't the Edubuntu road map reflect some of these ideas?

To be honest, I don't know.  I know what I'll be doing this week...
reading, lots and lots of reading!  

Regards
Charl