[Edu-sig] re: Network-safe Python Install for school use?

[Stephen Thorne]

On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 10:22:26 -0500
Arthur <ajsiegel at optonline.net> wrote:
> > 
> > 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.

I've taught python using a custom remastered Knoppix CD. We found it
very successful, and we were capable of doing things with linux
on the desktop that we couldn't possibly do with windows without a large
development budget and a lot of system-maintenance:

 - start+stop xlockmore with a blank screensaver on all machines.
 - start an arbitary application on all machines (during the session,
idle-python, after the session, bzFlag ;)
 - remotly remove all icons on the desktop/menu
 - backup the contents of the directory the students were using to save
their work on a 5-minute basis. (This was a lesson learnt the hard way,
when removing icons, we removed the work-folder. *whoops*)


Stephen Thorne.