Bringing Linux into Public Schools and Community Centers Getting into schools in the United States is difficult. The technology is there! Ubuntu Pennsylvania and Partimus have successfully built labs and maintained stand-alone installs in community centers and public schools which have gone beyond the expectations of these organizations to provide exceptional learning environments. Libre office, Ubuntu, LDAP, Firefox, DansGuardian At LinuxForce we also tested several applications in wine. The hardware is there! Ubuntu Pennsylvania and Partimus rarely suffer from lack of donations. Many companies are willing to donate to non-profits and local computer recycling facilities can provide additional parts at little to no cost to the organization. These aren't junky old systems, Partimus requires all systems donated to at least be Pentium 4s with 1G of RAM. The volunteers are there! I have worked with multiple groups and often see goals of localized Ubuntu teams which include getting involved in their local schools. A high level of technical expertise is available via these groups. But the social side of working with public schools is difficult. * Bureaucracy * Restrictive technology policies * Funding obligations * Lack of support from existing IT staff Example one: Ubuntu Pennsylvania at MALT (Mt. Airy Learning Tree) Adult education center, one of the volunteers with Ubuntu Pennsylvania was familiar with the organization On-site volunteers from MALT were trained by Ubuntu Pennsylvania volunteers at regular training sessions and led to a fully functioning lab Center moved to a different location and lost most of their core volunteers, lab fell into disrepair Lesson: Easier to get into Community Centers, but you can't force a deployment if you lose on-site support Example two: Partimus at CACS (Creative Arts Charter School, San Francisco) Partimus benefits from an enthusiastic, outgoing leader who took the time to make connections with schools and maintains relationships Enthusiastic volunteers in the area recruitable via posts to local Linux mailing lists, with a tight-knit core of volunteers who visit the schools regularly School lab in a box technical deployment: https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Aa7wSBzNDXVYZGZ6Y3hjanJfMmNoYzVjcWNn&hl=en y Targets schools which don't have labs, or have useless software on current systems. Partimus' flagship school. Several supportive teachers and principal. Stand-alone installs in desktops, a 30+ system computer lab employing LDAP, home directories served up via network share <> On the ground support has been vital. Teachers are very busy and will tend to stop using a computer rather than take the time to describe the problems and report them to get them fixed. Patient identification of needs and training is required. Teachers may not know what is available to them but can generally describe what they want to have their students use, volunteers can put together demonstrations of tools and find what works best. Proof of concept! Much of the on-site work talking with teachers simply requires user-level familiarity with Linux and applications, not a high technical position, highly technical volunteers can be consulted on a needs basis. Example three: Partimus at ASCEND in Oakland Robert Litt acquired 18 donated computers, but the OS was unusable, an acquaintance suggested Linux and he began working with a couple of local Linux experts. From there he worked with online resources, eventually was put in touch with Partimus, comes to Partimus when he seeks more local support or has specific needs - Partimus donated and developed an install server. Technology: Stand-alone installs in a computer lab, install server Summary of social needs: * Strong allies at the school/community center * On the ground support (including regular check-ins even if no problems have been reported) * Strong project leadership (maintain relationships, make sure things don't fall apart) * Dedicated core team of volunteers (assist leadership, pick up slack or loose ends, reliable)