tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23288864.post1535005001563752531..comments2023-10-25T04:33:31.333-05:00Comments on The Digital Down Low: 1:1 Laptop Learning at Our School Next YearMatt Montagnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10043255947997478607noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23288864.post-20719902167537727812009-12-22T14:15:55.379-06:002009-12-22T14:15:55.379-06:00way to go, John! Persistence pays off! I'm loo...way to go, John! Persistence pays off! I'm looking forward to hearing about your progress with your program and the linux distribution that you choose. I like the notion of being able to organize files on the computer with tagging versus folders-that is brilliant.Matt Montagnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10043255947997478607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23288864.post-79666227504121219052009-12-21T20:17:47.692-06:002009-12-21T20:17:47.692-06:00I've been lobbying my district and they finall...I've been lobbying my district and they finally gave me permission to run a one-to-one program using Linux. I get to choose the distro (I'm leaning toward a variation of Linux Mint but I've also been talking to some Linux geeks about reworking Ubuntu to use other features, like tags instead of folders - we'll see how that goes.)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10956056168256756705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23288864.post-61570100754326587072009-12-14T11:12:08.781-06:002009-12-14T11:12:08.781-06:00@John-Thanks for the comment. Keep at it...the &qu...@John-Thanks for the comment. Keep at it...the "one size fits all" approach to school IT management that has proliferated will not continue to do so. I'm an ardent mac fan, but it is hard to argue the merits of fast, powerful and HIGHLY portable netbooks that run on entirely free software. At some point it will be considered irresponsible not to include linux and FOSS solutions in school computing systems. I like your idea to create some type of constructivist linux distro-kinda reminds me of the edu-buntu project, which seems to have died off. <br /><br />@Barbara-I left a long, lengthly comment over at your excellent blog post. Funny how we both posted something related on the same day. I agree entirely-schools should have a strategy for getting away from being the suppliers of computers to not only students, but teachers as well. Give teachers a stipend every 4 years and let them choose their own system-if they want to purchase software, they can. Those who use open source may then either save their stipend or spend it on something that might be useful to them (eg-a video cam, ereader, music midi interface, iPod, cell phone, etc).Matt Montagnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10043255947997478607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23288864.post-20920587402397377642009-12-13T13:36:27.936-06:002009-12-13T13:36:27.936-06:00Very cool. I used to run Xubuntu and Fluxbuntu on ...Very cool. I used to run Xubuntu and Fluxbuntu on some really old machines at my last school. Our student population is very low SES, so the best solution turned out to be blending Ubuntu alternatives with cloud computing and using Puppy Linux on flash drives (so that they could use it at home when they had a computer). <br /><br />Netbooks have gotten so cheap that I thought it would be cool to develop a sort of education-centered (constructivist-based) distro similar to Jolicloud. I have a few Linux geek friends who I've been talking to. <br /><br />My biggest barrier, though, is the school district. Everything we get has to be Apple. No one is allowed to question that. So, it's been a real battle. <br /><br />Anyway, this seems pretty exciting. Congratulations.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10956056168256756705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23288864.post-16256880567374320222009-12-13T13:13:45.054-06:002009-12-13T13:13:45.054-06:00We are following a similar program which we starte...We are following a similar program which we started this year. One thing we have done is required insurance which we offered very cheaply through student insurance and covers theft and accidental damage. It has already paid off for the students and families. We have mostly netbooks and the insurance is $44 dollars with a $25 deductible. Kids are kids and they have broken two screens already.<br />I wrote a related approach for LeaderTalk this month. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/LeaderTalk/bbarredahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088708751622202808noreply@blogger.com