diff --git a/content/project/about.en.md b/content/project/about.en.md index f187073..d2e64c4 100644 --- a/content/project/about.en.md +++ b/content/project/about.en.md @@ -21,36 +21,36 @@ too simplistic to say that it would reduce ownership costs for IT, since a lot of open source solutions are _free as in beer_, but there is more than meets the eye. Here is a non-exhaustive list: - * **High quality**: the offered solutions are of high quality and because of - this, they are used inside scientific environments (Geneve CERN, NASA), +* **High quality**: the offered solutions are of high quality and because of + this, they are used inside scientific environments (Geneve CERN, NASA), big companies (Google, Facebook, London Stock Exchange) and institutions (Italian Defence Ministry). For example, in our solution you may find the -following didactic software: - * Word processor: _**LibreOffice Writer**_ - * Spreadsheets: _LibreOffice Calc_ - * Slides and keynotes: _LibreOffice Impress_ - * Artistic drawing and photo-editing: _GIMP, Pensil, Tux Paint_ - * Technical drawing: _LibreCAD, QCAD, FreeCAD_ - * Flow charts and mental maps: _Dia, Freeplane, Vym_ - * Vectorial graphics: _Inkscape, LibreOffice Draw_ - * Maths and Geometry: _GeoGebra_ - * Desktop publishing (for producing journals, brochures, flyers and a lot more): _Scribus_ - * Electronics: _Fritzing_ - * Didactical series for pre-scholar institutes: _GCompris_ - * Astronomy: _Stellarium_ - * **Security**: this has always been the strength of GNU/Linux; - * **Constant and automatic updates**: Operative system and _also installed - programs_ are constantly and automatically upgraded, once a new version is +following didactic software: + * Word processor: _**LibreOffice Writer**_ + * Spreadsheets: _LibreOffice Calc_ + * Slides and keynotes: _LibreOffice Impress_ + * Artistic drawing and photo-editing: _GIMP, Pensil, Tux Paint_ + * Technical drawing: _LibreCAD, QCAD, FreeCAD_ + * Flow charts and mental maps: _Dia, Freeplane, Vym_ + * Vectorial graphics: _Inkscape, LibreOffice Draw_ + * Maths and Geometry: _GeoGebra_ + * Desktop publishing (for producing journals, brochures, flyers and a lot more): _Scribus_ + * Electronics: _Fritzing_ + * Didactical series for pre-scholar institutes: _GCompris_ + * Astronomy: _Stellarium_ +* **Security**: this has always been the strength of GNU/Linux; +* **Constant and automatic updates**: Operative system and _also installed + programs_ are constantly and automatically upgraded, once a new version is a available, so no application becomes obsolete and insecure, as it usually happens with the proprietary ones; - * **Freedom**: Freedom of choice and use between a large number of - softwares; this allows experiments and analysis of different software +* **Freedom**: Freedom of choice and use between a large number of + softwares; this allows experiments and analysis of different software solutions, to check and verify which one would be the best fit for requirements and needs; - * **Lawfulness**: open source software is perfectly legal because it is _fully licensed_ by authors for sharing, study, modification and, of course, usage; - * **Old hardware re-use**: GNU/Linux is usually less resource-intensive than other proprietary operative systems; this permits to use old (not prehistoric, anyways 🙂 ) hardware and does not force to necessarily change hardware to create a new laboratory. This enables some money savings for the schools; - * **Helps family to follow didactics at home**: the same tools used at school by childrens and students can be downloaded from Internet, legally licensed and free to be used on home PCs, without imposing other expenses to the families (again, as proprietary software usually forces). Usually open source software is multiplatform (it can be used on many, if not all, operative systems, also if they are proprietary ones like Windows or macOS), so it can be used anywhere; - * **Technological updating**: as of today, a lot of laboratories in schools (at least in Italy) use the old Windows XP, which is deemed **unsupported** by Microsoft itself from April, 2014. This implies that in this OS any bugs or new security problems are not fixed nor corrected, leaving most of the laboratories and IT infrastructure **vulnerable** to newer types of attacks. +* **Lawfulness**: open source software is perfectly legal because it is _fully licensed_ by authors for sharing, study, modification and, of course, usage; +* **Old hardware re-use**: GNU/Linux is usually less resource-intensive than other proprietary operative systems; this permits to use old (not prehistoric, anyways 🙂 ) hardware and does not force to necessarily change hardware to create a new laboratory. This enables some money savings for the schools; +* **Helps family to follow didactics at home**: the same tools used at school by childrens and students can be downloaded from Internet, legally licensed and free to be used on home PCs, without imposing other expenses to the families (again, as proprietary software usually forces). Usually open source software is multiplatform (it can be used on many, if not all, operative systems, also if they are proprietary ones like Windows or macOS), so it can be used anywhere; +* **Technological updating**: as of today, a lot of laboratories in schools (at least in Italy) use the old Windows XP, which is deemed **unsupported** by Microsoft itself from April, 2014. This implies that in this OS any bugs or new security problems are not fixed nor corrected, leaving most of the laboratories and IT infrastructure **vulnerable** to newer types of attacks. Other details on the **LibreSchool** project are described on the [training offer][1] page and on the [technical solution][2] page. Further indications on how to contribute are available at the [join][3] page. diff --git a/content/project/features.en.md b/content/project/features.en.md index ad50bb1..d9a4b46 100644 --- a/content/project/features.en.md +++ b/content/project/features.en.md @@ -8,42 +8,42 @@ date: 2016-12-10T17:38:20+00:00 The technical implementation of the project includes the following steps: - * Audit the lab hardware, evaluating its compliance to the technical requirements of the project by checking the PCs and its networking; - * Conclusion of pending works to fulfull technical compliance of the lab; - * Deployment of the server system; - * Deployment of the client PCs in semi-automatic mode; - * Quality check/test based on the technical objectives of the project. +* Audit the lab hardware, evaluating its compliance to the technical requirements of the project by checking the PCs and its networking; +* Conclusion of pending works to fulfull technical compliance of the lab; +* Deployment of the server system; +* Deployment of the client PCs in semi-automatic mode; +* Quality check/test based on the technical objectives of the project. Deployment of the server, client PCs and the lab network is usually completed before the beginning of the training session, so that the lab can be available in its final form also for the training purposes. The proposed technical solution has the following objectives: - * **Centralized authentication**. Like in enterprise environments, where - accounts and permissions to available infrastructural resources are +* **Centralized authentication**. Like in enterprise environments, where + accounts and permissions to available infrastructural resources are managed at a single point, our solution also provides the ability to handle creation, modification, changing the password and granting permissions on the entire infrastructure or part of it from a single _web console_, available from any PCs inside the lab; - * **Sharing files**. Sharing is an integral part of our project and a key - feature in the classroom context. Our solution allows file sharing using +* **Sharing files**. Sharing is an integral part of our project and a key + feature in the classroom context. Our solution allows file sharing using common enterprise-level protocols, compatible with other proprietary operating systems, to allow maximum efficiency in sharing; - * **Web content filtering**. It is important to make students aware of the - non-positive and non-instructive nature of some web sites. We believe it +* **Web content filtering**. It is important to make students aware of the + non-positive and non-instructive nature of some web sites. We believe it is essential to provide a safe and trusted environment for teaching in the lab; we provide it by activating a web traffic filtering solution that comply with the law and with the specific requirements of the individual class. Our solution includes customizable web filters with a few clicks from the system administrators; - * **Optimize bandwidth connectivity**. Our solution implements an outbound - bandwidth optimization system (forward proxy) for Internet surfing and OS +* **Optimize bandwidth connectivity**. Our solution implements an outbound + bandwidth optimization system (forward proxy) for Internet surfing and OS upgrades, to ensure efficient and affordable performance even for schools that do not have good quality connections; - * **Efficient data backup of the lab**. We all know how important your data - is, so backupping important file is crucial. Our solution implements an +* **Efficient data backup of the lab**. We all know how important your data + is, so backupping important file is crucial. Our solution implements an efficient backup system with easy-to-use  interface for the administrators; - * **Roaming profiles**. All the data and configurations of all users will be - on the server. This allows the solution to be client-independent: in case +* **Roaming profiles**. All the data and configurations of all users will be + on the server. This allows the solution to be client-independent: in case of malfunctioning on the clients, they can thus be replaced without worrying about restoring their content. Also, this further helps the centralised management of the backups. diff --git a/content/project/training.en.md b/content/project/training.en.md index def29e4..a2ca910 100644 --- a/content/project/training.en.md +++ b/content/project/training.en.md @@ -18,20 +18,20 @@ didactics (teachers) or to who will maintain the laboratory in function. With some more details, the following courses will be offered: - * **Basics**: Course targets are teachers that are going to use the new +* **Basics**: Course targets are teachers that are going to use the new infrastructure the project will provide. Course goal is to explain how to -use proficiently a GNU/Linux operative system, making the most out of the [_**features** of our technical implementation_](/project/features/) to empower +use proficiently a GNU/Linux operative system, making the most out of the [**features** of our technical implementation](/project/features/) to empower didactics; - * **Office automation**: led by volunteers - from [**LibreItalia**](https://www.libreitalia.it/), certified trainers as +* **Office automation**: led by volunteers + from [**LibreItalia**](https://www.libreitalia.it/), certified trainers as [The Document Foundation](https://www.documentfoundation.org/) requires, which targets all the teachers and has the goal to explain most of the software included in the productivity suite [**LibreOffice**](https://www.libreoffice.org/) so to achieve a good knowledge of the tool itself; - * **Specific software training** (to be requested): targets the teachers - which want to understand and fully use a specific didactic software; - * **Lab maintenance**: targeted at the people which will be in +* **Specific software training** (to be requested): targets the teachers + which want to understand and fully use a specific didactic software; +* **Lab maintenance**: targeted at the people which will be in charge of maintaining the operativity of the lab, the goal of the course is to provide the basic knowledge to allow them to be autonomous on the following aspects: user management, backups, deploy/redeploy of the client PCs, basic