Before I begin outlining a very brief overview on the case for Linux in the classroom, let me say that my worries about not getting all of the visual interface that Windows offers have subsided. There is plenty of scrolling, buttons, etc… and I find myself only using the command line when I want to, for the sake of learning. As a matter of fact, not only are the casual uses of Linux found to run in a fashion similar to what I might expect from something like Windows, but even the more complex tasks are just as easy. Great!

Now for my case…

It’s free folks. Windows and OSX cost money. For every machine you have in a school you are charged a certain amount for it to run an operating system like Windows or OSX. Not Linux. The whole idea surrounding the Linux movement is “Free”. It means that you are free to use it, free to change it to suit your needs, free to do with it what you please. This in itself could save schools a lot of money. Not to mention that the majority of software is free as well. As a matter of fact, there are Linux alternatives to just about any made-for-profit software that you would purchase for Windows. Considering that office software like PowerPoint, Word, and Excel cost quite a bit, there is a lot to be said about the free Linux alternative.

It’s easy to use and find what you are looking for. Granted, if you type educational software into google, you will probably end up finding mainly products for Windows and OSX. But they will, again, cost you money. Usually. Typically though, if you find what you are looking for and search for the Linux alternative you will usually end up happier and richer due to the lack of a price tag.

Linux comes in several flavors, since many people have decided to build on such a great core system. Ubuntu happens to be my flavor of choice, and with it comes a way to install programs easily through a searchable directory, and one click installs. (And no, you don’t have to restart your computer after installing.)

Linux is the only OS designed and equipped with Education in mind. Edubuntu, a flavor of Linux, is designed with the classroom in mind. It comes preinstalled with education software and applications that suit students of all grade levels, and even has some handy applications for the teacher too.

I know these three points aren’t enough to sway most readers, and to be honest, they wouldn’t have swayed me either. It took a test drive and seeing it before I was a believer. The good news is that anyone can try it out(for free, of course) without any harm being done to their current computer setup. As a matter of fact the operating system disk that is used to install it can be used to run it as well. Granted every time you start Linux up on the CD, it will be back to the way it was before. But it is great for a test drive.

If you are interested in giving it a test drive you can download it here. The file you download is an ISO file.  This file is meant to be burned onto a CD. You can do this in CDBurnerXP by choosing a data cd from the options menu, then going to File>Create Disc from ISO. Once the burn is complete, just reboot with the disk in, and you will be provided a screen to install or Run Ubuntu.