On Mon, Jul 06, 2015 at 08:12:10PM -0400, Marc D Ronell wrote: > > I am working toward teaching a free introductory class to teens on > GNU/Linux and the philosophy of free software at the Newton Free > Library in MA this coming September. >
Get some scrap desktop machines from thrift shops / Red Cross / recycling centre / local businesses who are scrapping them. They should come almost free. If they're not working, hold a class or two on assembling and fixing computers - make one working machine from two scrap ones. Show them that the insides of a computer are not completely unknown territory - show people how to replace fans and that sort of thing. Laptops are really expensive things to start with. Give them live CDs, a cheap server with VMs, a choice of distributions to play with - Ubuntu and Debian and CentOS. Understanding how to read a simple shell script / Python init scripts - much more useful than Squeak at this stage. Demonstrating Libreoffice as an alternative to MS Office and that you don't need expensive programs to burn CDs. $350 may be nothing to you but it's a lot of money for a teenager or his/her parents A good friend did almost exactly this for a year for teenagers at a local community college. > For the class, the participants will need access to GNU/Linux. After > reviewing some options, including sdf.org, virtual machines, > Chromebooks, etc., I am considering just asking participants to > purchase a dedicated laptop and installing the OS. I may be able to > direct students to install fests in the area before the class starts. > I am not sure that this is the best idea, but it offers significant > advantages including a potentially working box as part of the results > of the course. > > As a test, I purchased a laptop (Toshiba Satellite C75-B7180) on sale > for $350 at our local Microcenter in Cambridge and was able to load > GNU/Linux for my son. I am thinking of working some programming > assignments in Squeak (Smalltalk), but maybe C is a better choice for > an OS class? > > Has anyone tried running a GNU/Linux intro class for teens? Can > anyone share their experiences, thoughts or suggestions? Feedback > based on actual experience would be most helpful, I think, but I would > appreciate any insights. > > Thanks for your thoughts, > > Marc > > -- > Marc Ronell, PhD CSE, PE EE > gpg pub key 42E39C86 on http://pgp.mit.edu/ > http://pgp.mit.edu/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0x304A2DED42E39C86 > > > > -- > To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org > with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org > Archive: https://lists.debian.org/87615wx1ut.fsf@cadence.glidepath.invalid -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: https://lists.debian.org/20150707205010.ga2...@galactic.demon.co.uk
