REVIEWS Edubuntu Exploring Ubuntu’s cousin for the classroom ready has an operating system in place, you should take a close look at the existing parti- tioning, as a single incorrect entry in Edubuntu’s GUI-based SCHOOL TOOL partitioner can be disastrous. The installer in the alterna- Don’t know much about history? Don’t know much biology? Don’t tive version has all the charm of a text console with a col- panic: Edubuntu will lead you to the wonderful world of classroom ored background. On the other hand, it does have a couple of Linux. BY ERIK BÄRWALDT extra options, including op- tions for the Grub bootloader. any Linux users have heard of both live versions will guide you Even if you use the alternative an Ubuntu variant for educa- through the installation and basic con- version, it won’t hurt to back Mtional environments called figuration with a GUI installer. In up your existing data before Edubuntu, but the descriptions in the contrast to popular commercial dis- you launch into the install. press are often light on details. We took tributions, Edubuntu does not offer a close look at Edubuntu Linux and dis- a choice of various desktop and Educational covered a versatile distro with an inter- server variants, nor can you influ- Programs esting collection of software. ence the installation of the Grub After completing the in- Edubuntu is designed to serve three bootloader. This can be a problem, stall, Edubuntu comes up with roles: especially if an operating system the Gnome window manager • A full-fledged PC operating system, pre-exists on your disk (see the and a default theme showing a with its major focus on educational “Grub Issues” box). If you are in- green blackboard with a chalk software; stalling on a computer that al- sketch of a world map. It is im- • A management system for schools mediately obvious that the dis- (timetables, room plans, etc.); tribution is aimed at students • A server and client for computer and teachers. Icons and sym- cabinets. bols use warm colors that con- At first glance, you won’t find any ob- trast with the background so vious differences between Edubuntu that they will be more easily and the other Ubuntu derivatives. identifiable to children. If you Edubuntu runs on 32-bit and 64- replace the background with bit PCs, and on PowerPC ma- something more suitable to chines. In addition to a com- the age group of the chil- bined Live/ Install CD, Edu- dren who will be using the buntu comes with an alterna- computer, they should take tive CD for hard disk installa- to Edubuntu in next to no tion, as well as a DVD with time. a far greater selection of Clicking Applications in packages. You can use the the panel finally takes you DVD as a live medium, to the first major change an installation disk or a from other distributions. The rescue system [1]. topmost submenu, Educa- If you decide to in- tion, takes you straight to stall Edubuntu as a the educational pro- permanent feature grams. The develop- on your disk, ers have integrated bonniej, Fotolia bonniej, 50 Edubuntu REVIEWS SchoolBell suites include applications for tasks such as classroom management, timetable management, and course man- agement. While SchoolTool covers the administrative side, SchoolBell targets students or pupils wishing to manage their own timetables [2]. Both software packages have easily readable and almost identical interfaces, making it easy for occasional users to find their way around. The web-based applications are accessible via any popu- lar web browser. To prevent unauthor- ized users from changing entries at will, both applications are password-pro- tected. Because the Shuttleworth Foundation wants to give users access to applica- tions in their own language, SchoolTool and SchoolBell have been translated into other languages, which means that Figure 1: Edubuntu is Linux for school children. A variety of desktop backgrounds let you schools all over the world can turn to tailor the system to students of different age and grade levels. SchoolTool as a free and powerful tool for school office work. the KDE runtime environment with this: if the resolution is higher, manually Edubuntu to make the whole KEdu suite launching GCompris takes down the X Edubuntu as a Server available on the Gnome desktop. Users server, which forces users to restart. The A Linux educational distribution would will discover programs for math, sci- fact that the system automatically con- not be complete if you could only use it ence, and languages. figures itself to avoid this problem is an for administration and single-user sys- The typing trainer, which teaches impressive indication of how much care tems. Many schools have computer cabi- touch typing, and the TuxPaint painting and attention the developers have given nets with a complete network of com- program are slightly off subject here. Edubuntu. puters for educational purposes. One thing that you will notice is the Edubuntu supports various ap- KEduca test system, which gives teach- For Schools proaches to setting up a cabinet. While ers the ability to compile, set, and mark Schools and colleges don’t just need ed- other operating systems require the stu- multiple-choice tests on any subject. ucational programs on computers for dent machines and the server to have If the applications in the KEdu suite their students; the administrative staff powerful, state-of-the-art hardware – are not enough to keep you happy, you also needs an IT environment that works which means investing in newer, more will find a wealth of other educational reliably and meets their needs. The Shut- powerful machines whenever a new programs for various topics in the tleworth Foundation has taken on the release becomes available – Edubuntu Ubuntu online repositories. For example, task of developing a complete adminis- prefers a terminal server approach. In you can quickly and reliably install the trative suite for educational institutions server-based computing, a server han- Childsplay games collection for infants in the form of SchoolTool and its smaller dles all the work occurring on the to your disk via Add/ remove application. sibling SchoolBell. The SchoolTool and network, while the student machines Use of repositories is free, and you do not need to register. Grub Issues The Edubuntu media, which Canoni- Just like other Ubuntu versions, root# mount -o dev,rw /mnt/hda2 cal will ship worldwide free of charge, Edubuntu installs the Grub bootloader in root# chroot /mnt/hda2 has a couple of additional hidden good- your hard disk’s Master Boot Record ies, such as full-fledged dictionaries, (MBR). Although the installation routine root# grub which you can store locally on your hard checks the disk for existing operating grub> root (hd0,1) systems before doing anything else, disk. Dictionaries include dict-gcide and grub> setup (hd0) a thesaurus, dict-moby-thesaurus. there is no guarantee that it will correctly add them to the Grub menu. The excellent GCompris software for grub> quit junior school children supports VGA, To enable a working Grub configuration The preceding command sequence as- SVGA, and XGA resolutions. GCompris on another partition, launch the system sumes you want Grub to read its config- from a Live CD, like Knoppix or Kanotix, does not appear in the Gnome panel if uration from partition hda2 on booting. and working as root, give the following Note that Grub starts counting partitions the computer uses a resolution above commands: with 1, not 0. 1024x768. There is a good reason for WWW.LINUX - MAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 75 FEBRUARY 2007 51 REVIEWS Edubuntu Figure 2: Edubuntu comes with a large selection of educational Figure 3: Improve your typing skills with TuxType, which is part of programs. the Tux4Kids package. can be thin clients with more restricted Another advantage is vastly improved work boot option. This is the only con- resources. In fact, a thin client doesn’t and simplified management of the whole figuration step you need to perform at even need a hard disk because it can system. Instead of installing and main- the workstation. boot off the network. taining software on a large number of in- Edubuntu’s terminal server is imple- The advantages of the terminal server dividual machines, you can manage the mented in the distribution by a version model are obvious. First of all, installing network centrally through the terminal of the LTSP server (“Linux Terminal a terminal server network of this kind is server. Using thin client workstations Server Project”) [3]. The required soft- cheaper because you can use older hard- without removal media also minimizes ware packages are available from the ware for the client systems – possibly the danger of problems caused by stu- Ubuntu repositories. machines that have been discarded as dents bringing media from home. A second NIC connects the terminal too old for service elsewhere. Schools that have full-fledged PCs server to the Internet. It makes sense to Once you get the nextwork installed, with internal hard desks can run the install a firewall on the terminal server there is no need for expensive hardware Edubuntu client locally and still connect to achieve some degree of security. upgrades: a simple machine with a to the terminal server via a configuration Seamless integration of the LTSP bootable NIC will do fine. As the clients program that is integrated in Edubuntu. server with Edubuntu means simple, boot off the network, you can do with- For machines without internal storage time-saving management of the whole out hard disks or CD ROM drives. media, you just need to enable the net- network, without the administrator needing too much knowledge of the un- derlying technologies; this is good for teachers, who often demonstrate more commitment than background knowl- edge when volunteering to manage the school network.