The most challenging deployment is one where Internet service is spotty or unreliable and there is no on-site technical resource to support the deployment.  Still, the aim is to maximize the educational value to students while keeping maintenance requirements to a minimum.  Our strategy is this case is to deploy a network of free-standing computers (the computers do not communicate with each other).  Each computer has its own copy of all software and other digital resources students need.  The systems run the Linux operating system which is stable, resistant to improper shutdown and easily re-imaged.  The base software packages installed on each station includes

• ONLYOFFICE - An MS Office equivalent for MS-Word, Excel, PowerPoint.  ONLYOFFICE also includes a PDF editor.

• Kiwix - A utility that provides off-line access to select Internet content including Wikipedia, Wikitionary, the PhET suite of web applications, Khan Academy, and the Gutenberg Library of French books.

• Standard O/S utilities, including web browsers, image editors, sound editors, etc.

• Other client-requested software packages.

The advantages of this configuration include

• Minimal maintenance requirement.  There are no complicated network configurations (no servers, no shared drives, no shared resources, etc.) and none of the associated potential points of failure.

• No Internet connection required.  The system has high educational value whether or not an Internet connection is available.  

• Every computer on the network is identically imaged, and re-imaging a problem station is simple.

The disadvantages of this configuration include

• Limited or no access to the broader Internet.

• Reduced user storage space.  The local copies of Kiwix Internet contents can take up more than 50% of the available disk storage space.

• If a new Kiwix resource (called a book) is needed, it must be manually installed on each station and to any station re-imaged in the future.

• This is a Linux only configuration.

• This configuration offers no automatic software updates.

• There is no mechanism to quickly disseminate content to every student station.

• Static snapshots of Internet content does not include recent events.

• Limited or no access to on-line AI systems like ChatGPT.

Case 2: Minimal or no on-site technical support; stable Internet connection

In this configuration, we aim to offer greater academic value while maintaining low maintenance requirements.  Because student computers have direct access to the Internet, locally storing core elements of the Internet as in Case 1 is unncessary.  This frees up a significant amount of storage space on each system that can be used to install a greater set of academic tools, packages and other resources.  Further, stable Internet connectivity permits students to work with frontier AI LLMs.  Every station in the system is free-standing and identically imaged.  Systems run on Linux with the following installed software packages:

• ONLYOFFICE - An MS Office equivalent for MS-Word, Excel, PowerPoint.  ONLYOFFICE also includes a PDF editor.

• Standard O/S utilities, including web browsers, image editors, sound editors, etc.

• Other client-requested software packages.

The advantages of this configuration include

• Minimal maintenance requirement.  There are no complicated network configurations (no servers, no shared drives, no shared resources, etc.) and none of the associated potential points of failure.

• Students have full access to the Internet.

• Every computer on the network is identically imaged, and re-imaging a problem station is simple.

• Students have access to web-hosted frontier AI models (like ChatGPT).

The disadvantages of this configuration include

• This is a Linux only configuration.

• There is no mechanism to quickly disseminate content to every student station (no shared network folder).

• Even with a stable Internet connection, software updates for multiple student stations can result in multiple, large, redundant downloads.

• Peak Internet bandwidth demand may exceed the capacity of the Internet Service.

Case 3: Adequate on-site technical support; unstable or no Internet connection

In this configuration, we add an instructor's station to the network of student stations.  The instructor station doubles up as a Kwix server, a file server and an update server.  This configuration increases the utility of the system as an educational resource while remaining relatively easy to maintain with the support of on-site technical support.  The tech support person doesn't need to be a professional.  He or she simply needs to be comfortable with computers and willing to take on the role.  ZL provides the basic training.

In this configuration, the instructor station houses some of the digital resources used by the student stations, eliminating the need for multiple local copies.  For example, Kiwix--the software that makes copies of portions of the Internet and makes it locally available--can reside on the instructor station and operate in "server mode".  In this arrangement, all the student stations can access the contents without the need to maintain its own local copy.  This frees up space on the student stations, making room for student work and additional software and resources that need to be locally stored.  The instructor station has a shared network folder (file server) which permits the instructor to instantly share digital content (homework, files, etc.) with all students.  Lastly, the instructor station can serve as an update server in cases where Internet service is unstable, but available.  The update server (manually or automatically) downloads software updates.  Student stations then receive the updates from the server.  This eliminates the need for each student station to download large update patches.   The base software packages installed on student stations includes

• MS Office on Windows systems and ONLYOFFICE on Linux systems.  ONLYOFFICE is an MS Office equivalent for MS-Word, Excel, PowerPoint.  ONLYOFFICE also includes a PDF editor.

• Standard O/S utilities, including web browsers, image editors, sound editors, etc.

• Other client-requested software packages.

The base software packages installed on the instructor station includes

• MS Office on Windows systems and ONLYOFFICE on Linux systems.  ONLYOFFICE is an MS Office equivalent for MS-Word, Excel, PowerPoint.  ONLYOFFICE also includes a PDF editor.

• Kiwix - A utility that provides off-line access to select Internet content including Wikipedia, Wikitionary, the PhET suite of web applications, Khan Academy, and the Gutenberg Library of French books.

• Standard O/S utilities, including web browsers, image editors, sound editors, etc.

• Other client-requested software packages.

Advantages of this configuration include

• No Internet connection required.  The system has high educational value whether or not an Internet connection is available.  

• The instructor station serves as a Kiwix server, greatly decreasing the storage requirements on student stations.

• The instructor station is a file server, which greatly facilitates the exchange of files and digital content between instructor and students.

• The instructor station serves as an update server, reducing the challenges of updating multiple student stations.

• The system can be configured as a Windows 11 or Linux system, though Linux is strongly recommended.

Disadvantages of this configuration include

• Limited or no access to the broader Internet.

• Server configuration and maintenance adds complexity.  On-site tech support required.

• The server must be running for the classroom stations to be fully functional (access to Kiwix server, etc…).

• Static snapshots of Internet content does not include recent events.

• Limited or no access to on-line AI systems like ChatGPT.

Case 4: Adequate on-site technical support; stable Internet connection