La SARS-CoV-2 pandemic It has come to change the way things were done. Not only do you have to take social distance, wear a mask and ensure a good hand washing. In addition, it has also promoted teleworking and distance studies. And Linux can do a lot in the latter sense, making many schools around the world ready for remote learning.
A clear example is that of robert maynord, a teacher who began teaching more than 20 years ago at the Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Monona, Wisconsin. When he started this job there were only 8 computers in the whole school and all were equipped with Microsoft Windows 95. Now, thanks to his enthusiasm and experience with Linux and free software, there has been a total transformation that affects all ages, from infant grade to eighth.
The teacher says something that is already known, and that is pay licenses for each computer to obtain the Microsoft system in addition to the licenses of each software that you want to install was something absurd. That is why he decided to opt for installing Linux on all computers and using free free software. This is even more important in some schools in poor countries.
On the other hand, Robert also highlights another well-known point, and that is that being open source, has also allowed a better integration closer to technology for their students. It ensures that when you need something new you don't have to have an external provider, they can do almost everything internally.
When Covid-19 started, for example, you were able to configure a BigBlueButton server to integrate with a MOODLES for your students. Additionally, the digital phone systems were connected via a CAT-6A network, along with a FreePBX server running on Linux. All without resorting to third party services.
Robert has also achieved use Ubuntu on digital whiteboards for teachers, with directories with information that is shared from Nextcloud. Thus teachers can upload the presentations and data necessary for the lessons and have them available instantly.
On the other hand, many proprietary services and systems that have been used during the pandemic by many teachers involve the collection of user data, which violates Privacy. Something critical when it comes to minors.
Like Robert, there are many other schools around the world that thanks to open source, Linux and projects like Raspberry Pi, are managing to provide teachers and students with resources that otherwise would not be possible ...