GNU/Linux for Homeschoolers
Donald Parris has written an
excellent book describing Linux for Church ministries. He explains
how open source is not communist, socialist, etc. The book is
Penguin in the Pew available through Lulu press.
What is Linux?
Linux is a freely available operating system (OS) for many types of computers. Altruistic programmers from around the world have been helping to develop this alternative OS for little or no monetary reward. GNU software forms the bulk of the applications available for Linux. GNU programs are also freely available, so with Linux and GNU on your computer you need never again send your money off to a monopolistic, megalomanic millionaire ever again!
Why doesn't everyone use Linux?
Up until recently using Linux involved partitioning your hard drive and other intimidating tasks like that. Now, however, that has all changed with the advent of the Live CD. Now all you have to do is insert a CD and reboot. Admittedly if this doesn't work you have to set the BIOS to boot from the CD drive, but that's quite straightforward for your average computer nut.
all you have to do is insert a CD and reboot
Linux for Homeschoolers
Admittedly, I have yet to see a homeschooling family using linux, unless you count us. I'd like to see everyone using it, so why not start with homeschoolers? Open Source software makes so much sense to my mind. It's quite frustrating when programs are getting more and more complicated, requiring faster and faster machines when it's all unnecessary expense. So much of the industry is geared towards generating lucrative profits. Microsoft funds go towards anti-life, anti-family causes but they could be put out of business if only people would stop using their products.
The world of Free Software in Education is taking off. Here are just a few sites to whet your appetite.
- School Forge
- Open Source Software in Education Foundation
- Skole Linux
- Organisations for Free Software in Education and Training
Homeschoolers have an advantage in being small. Conventional schools are held back by the task of convincing the powers that be to try new things as well as existing licensing deals with proprietary software companies and technical support. Homeschoolers seldom have unwieldly IT departments to consider. You can copy the CDs so you can have several families with the same setup to share ideas with.
Live CDs
Find a live CD, either from a linux vendor or anyone with lots of access to the internet and a CD burner. If you have a child who thinks they're good with computers, get him or her to try it out. Linux experience looks great on a resume. More and more employers are looking for Linux expertise.
More and more employers are looking for Linux expertise.
Here are some of the live CDs I've been looking at:
- Ichthux - A Christian live CD. Much like Knoppix except with Bible reading software. Includes the Latin Vulgate but not the Douay. Also has Hebrew and Greek Testaments.
- Freeduc - An educational CD that works best in French. Good for running fast on older computers. Lots of nifty educational software including maps of the world, star charts, multimedia presentations, drawing and the usual internet and office applications.
- Knoppix - The original live CD
- Beatrix - `Linux that purrs' A good no-frills CD especially for those that like chocolate burmese cats. Optimised for Pentiums with at least 64M of RAM.
- Live CD List - possibly the definitive list of Live CDs. Also see Knoppix Customisations
More Benefits of using Linux.
If you're working off a live CD there is no way for a virus to get onto your hard drive because you can't write anything to your hard drive. I've been running Linux for about five years now and I've never seen a virus for Linux. Linux is a moving target. With Windows virus writers have a great time because lots of people all use the same programs. With Linux all the programs come with unlimited free upgrades by definition so any vulnerabilities can be squashed as soon as they're found.
No more viruses, adware, spyware, etc.
Linux is an altruistic system. Your average computer user these days only sees two options, pay lots of money to big software companies for proprietary software or find cheap pirate alternatives from a friend of a friend of a friend. It's a bit like the two alternatives of Capitalism and Communism. Neither is really what you want, though Capitalism isn't as evil. What you want is a system where there's more private property for everyone. Ah, but isn't that capitalism? In capitalist societies property tends to accumulate with the `have's renting it out to the `don't have's resulting in the rich getting richer. In the world of software, big companies can aquire more and more intellectual property and force the smaller players out, eliminating the competition by thwarting attempts at upholding standards and so on. Piracy isn't a solution, it's a crime.
So Open Source is an answer. The software author retains ownership of the code he writes. The program has his copyright, plus a licence. The licence typically allows people to sell the program on as long as they also make the source code available. This means the end user is able to fix any problems himself and is encouraged to let the author know about the fix. In this way programmers don't have to reinvent the wheel. Software can develop, with cooperation from anyone across the world with an interest in the problem.
Why do people give their code away like this? Think about it. What is programming? It's not like giving away handcrafted furniture. Computer programs can be replicated without limit. Once upon a time computer programming was considered a science. Each program was like a scientific experiment. A scientific experiment has no value if it is not replicable. If the method is not explained its a piece of junk. In Computer science the method is in the code. Similarly a computer program without the source code is not very useful in the long run. You've seen computer programs for sale in the bargain bins. Once they're out of date they can't be fixed, unless you have the source code.
So, in short, you can't change the world, but you can change your operating system. Before you spend any money on new software, have a look at linux. I can send you copies from my modest collection of live CDs to try on your computer.
Contact me
brandt.id.au