Conclusion
Having a Linux club at school is still a fairly uncommon idea, but it is one that opens up many possibilities for fun, learning, and service for your kids.
When we started, we had no idea how big our club would get or how many different activities we would get into. But as we kept going, the club grew, the ideas grew, and the reach of our club grew. In the future, I am confident we will be doing some new things I have absolutely no knowledge of today!
How big or small your club gets is entirely up to you. Do what makes the most sense for you, your students, and your school. Let me give you a few last minute tips:
Start small. Grow as it makes sense to grow.
Involve kids in the decisions of the club whenever it makes sense to do so. The kids will not be a part of every decision, but they should have a hand in some things. For instance, if you are going to have t-shirts, they will definitely want to get a word in about the color of the shirts (trust me on that one).
Give your administrators regular updates on how things are going with the club.
Work with your school’s professionals to get support for your efforts. This could mean bringing on a partner to help you run the club. This could mean asking teachers to give you information about kids who need computers or who might benefit from being in the club. This could mean simply letting the other teachers know you have a mission today and four of your school’s students will be going on that trip to give away a computer.
Check your distro’s online resources for help with technical issues. Ubuntu and other Linux distros have a lot of online help when you have a computer problem.
If it’s not too much trouble, when you start your Linux club, please let me know about it. You can reach me at:
Finally, don’t forget to have fun. Good luck, and remember: this is an experiment. We don’t know what is going to happen!