[svlug] Installfest for Schools - Summary, suggestions

[john_re]

Andrew Fife - Since you were organizing this, can you get this info for
us? Thanks. :)

Here are some quick important questions/suggestions that can help the
GNU/Linux community help students:

1) Is there (& if not would someone please create one?) a mailing list
for Installfest for Schools volunteers & school recipienets - great way
for G/L users to assist schools.
http://www.google.com/search?q=linux+schools

2) What was the final refurb total? How many at which locaitons? 

2b) What was learned re improvements for next time?

3) Which schools are getting how many computer? What will they be used
for? Ex: computer class, library, word processing class, science class
lab, math tutoring sw, reading tutoring sw, etc. - Maybe local
volunteers might see a school & project they'd like to help with.

4) Thin clients - this might multiply by 2 to 10 times the # of useful
G/L productivity stations for students.

5) KDE- I think it would be better to use a KDE desktop rather than
gnome - I think students would find it 

a) more similar to the desktops most employers & non G/L users use,
[I can't overemphasize how important I think it is for students to 
see something similar to what other people use. That difference is 
an obstacle to many that will make them think GNU/Linux has a bunch 
of stuff time consuming things for them to learn that proper design 
(use of KDE) could have avoided.]

b) Has better functionality than gnome.

6) More computers -James Burgett said he now refurbs only about
25/month, cause he couldn't afford more labor for this, & didn't have
more volunteers.  He said he guesses he about 100/month could have been
refurbed recently, if he'd had more refurb assistance. He said he gets
paid for scrapping computers, but the refurbs are not scrapped, so ACCRC
gets no money for computers refurbed, so his income is lower because of
the refurbed computers. 

(He can explain for 10min-1 hour about deficiencies in the laws
regarding refurbing & recycling.)

Point: more volunteer help for ACCRC (don't forget a method to get the
students themselves involved in doing the installs) especially from
experienced G/L community members for would be useful for:
a) designing the thin client system, 
b) training guidelines for students to do the installs, 
c) make a training video for refurbing computers, etc.

Thanks Andrew (& James Burgett) for your work on this. :)
-- 
  
  john_re at fastmail.us

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