Thanks everyone for your suggestions in this frustrating experience. I have decided that since I can get more flies with honey than I can with vinegar (which I hate, but okay, I gotta' do it), I'll try the following a route the progressively brings question to their technical prowess as a last resort: 1) Inquire from them the actual make-up of the district's networking software so that -- just fo rmy own peace of mind -- I can figure out what things they *should* be able to do. 2) Inquire from my district's IT department what, specifically, are the things that Python will allow students to access on the network that they fear. 3) Inquire from the IT department if they would still worry about things with the networking removed from Python. 4) Inquire from them the structure of permissions used on the district network. 5) Ask them about making the computers CD-ROM-bootable (right now CD-ROM booting is not enabled) to allow a liveCD (though this might still be able to access the network, I guess). Well, it's a start and it's not really a decision or a "path" I guess... but at least it is a start to getting some kind of answers. Thanks again, BJ MacNevin ----- Original Message ----- From: "Arthur" <ajsiegel@optonline.net> To: "'Kent Johnson'" <kent37@tds.net> Cc: <edu-sig@python.org> Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2004 7:22 AM Subject: RE: [Edu-sig] re: Network-safe Python Install for school use?
Art,
At first glance LiveCD is an interesting solution. But the problem with it is that I want to be teaching (and learning) Python, not Linux. I don't think it will work to take a student whose background is in Windows, throw him/her on a Linux box and say, "Let's write some Python!"
Are you sure? The beauty of a focused LiveCD is that the desktop can be configured specifically to the targeted task. One icon. Push it. IDLE fires up. In the simplest case. But in any case it is all graphical and should not seem tremendously unfamiliar.
In short, I think the fact that you can be working from a focused, uncomplicated, custom graphical desktop is a plus, not a negative.
The issue that I see is a way of saving one's work. Mounting the Windows drive in an appropriate spot. I frankly am not far enough into it to understand what the possibilities are here.
Art
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