[SGVLUG] FW: Linux for kids

[Emerson, Tom (*IC)]

Sent to me by my dad via Google Reader: Linux for Children via
Stepcase Lifehack by Dustin Wax on 6/29/09
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He thought folks here might be interested - Tom

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I recently took possession of a pair of older PCs - the natural
consequence of nagging one's older relatives to get something a little
more "post-Columbian" - and of course my first instinct is to refurbish
one as a Linux PC for my nephew and niece, ages 7 and 5. My nephew,
especially, is computer-obsessed, and I figure that giving him a
complete child-friendly, education-focused PC might encourage some more
productive "play" than he gets using mom and dad's PC.
Kid-Friendly Linux Distributions

Believe it or not, there are several distributions of Linux intended
for use by children as young as 3 years old. Child-oriented Linux
distros tend to have a simplified interface with large, "chunky",
colorful icons and a specialized set of programs designed with kids in
mind. Some of the better-known distributions aimed at children include:

- Sugar, the operating system designed for the One Laptop Per Child
project. Sugar is a radical departure from traditional desktops, with a
strong emphasis on teaching programming skills, but is very strongly
geared towards classroom use. Although I'm pretty comfortable using
Linux, I'm afraid Sugar might be too different for me to help my nephew
and niece make use of it.

- Edubuntu is based on the popular Ubuntu distribution. Designed to be
easy to install and very Windows-like in its operation, Edubuntu would
be my first choice if I were using newer hardware. With its rich
graphical interface, though, I worry that these years-old PCs, neither
of which have graphic cards, will lag running Edubuntu. And given kids'
attention spans, I'm afraid that would be a major barrier to getting
them to use it.

- LinuxKidX uses a KDE-based desktop highly customized for children,
and is based on the Slackware distro. The only drawback for me is that
most of the support material is in Portuguese (although the distro I
linked to is in English), making it hard for me to be confident about
my ability to help if there are any problems.

- Foresight for Kids is based on Foresight Linux, a distro
distinguished by the use of the Conary package manager. Conary is
intended to make updates and dependencies much easier to manage than
other package managers - in English, it should be easier to install and
update software. On the other hand, finding software packaged for the
Conary installer might be a challenge, though I expect the most popular
programs are being adapted by the Foresight team.

- Qimo is another system based on Ubuntu, but designed to be used by a
single home user instead of in classroom instruction. The system
requirements are fairly low, since it's designed to be run on donated
equipment which Qimo's parent organization, QuinnCo, distributes to
needy kids.

Given the low specs of the equipment I"m working with, Qimo seems idea
for me, but since most of these will run from either a Live CD or a USB
memory key, there's no reason not to download them all and give each a
try to see what you - and, more importantly, your kids - like best.
Linux Software for Kids

In addition to the kid-friendly interface, all of the distributions
above come with an assortment of software that's either designed
especially for kids or has special appeal for kids. This includes
specifically educational software intended to teach math, typing, art,
or even computer programming; typical productivity applications like
word processors and graphics programs; and, of course, games. Of
course, Linux doesn't have nearly the range of games that are available
for Windows PCs, but my thinking is, the games are good enough for
younger kids, and older kids will gravitate towards consoles (my
brother and sister-in-law have a Wii).

Some of the software available for kids includes:

- GCompris, a set of over 100 educational games intended to teach
everything from basic computer use to reading, art history, telling
time, and vector drawing.

- Childsplay is another collection of games, with an emphasis on memory
skills.

- TuxPaint, an amazing drawing program filled with fun sound effects
and neat effects.

- EToys is a scripting environment, more or less. The idea is that kids
solve problems by breaking them down into pieces, scripting them, and
running their scripts - the same way programmers do. But the goal
doesn't seem to be to teach programming but rather to provide an
immersive learning environment in which kids learn foundational
thinking skills.

- SuperTux and Secret Maryo are Super Mario clones, because kids love
Super Mario. You already know that.

- TomBoy, a wiki-like note-taking program.

- TuxTyping, a typing game intended to help develop basic typing
skills.

- Kalzium is a guide to the periodic table and a database of
information about chemistry and the elements. Great for older students.

- Atomix, a cool little game where kids build molecules out of atoms.

- Tux of Math Command is an arcade game that helps develop math skills.

Not all distros come with all of these games, but they are easy enough
to install from the online repositories if your chosen distro doesn't
come with one or more of them. Of course, most distros also come with
standard Linux programs like OpenOffice.org (an Office-like suite of
productivity apps), AbiWord (a Word-like word processor), GIMP (a
powerful image editor), Pidgin (a multi-account IM client), and Firefox.

Linux is a complex operating system, but it's also a highly
customizable one - for kids, that means a system that can grow as they
do and a powerful learning environment. Of course, children's computer
use should not be totally unsupervised - any kid can stumble across Web
content that might be pretty uncomfortable for mom and dad to have to
explain - but kids should have a chance to explore the possibilities of
today's technology and get their hands dirty, like kids do. And
worst-case scenario - your 6-year old borks the operating system and
you re-install. Wouldn't you rather it was on the Edubuntu system,
rather than on your mission-critical work PC? (Make sure you back up
the /home directory regularly so you don't lose all your kids'
drawings, poems, stories, or whatever.)

Do you know of other kid=friendly Linux distributions? Have you set up
a Linux PC for your kids? Are their other games or programs you'd
recommend? Let us know your experiences in the comments.

Dustin M. Wax is the project manager at Stepcase Lifehack. He is also
the creator of The Writer's Technology Companion, a site devoted to the
tools of the writing trade. When he's not writing, he teaches
anthropology and gender studies in Las Vegas, NV. He is the author of
Don't Be Stupid: A Guide to Learning, Studying, and Succeeding at
College.

Follow him on Twitter: @dwax.