Feedback on Children Designated Computers
As we add more computers and maintain them, a new question has come up about computers for use by children under 12.
As you may know, our policy for minors on computers is that for anyone under 13, they must have a signed parental consent form or use a computer that has no Internet access. We maintain a small number of these systems that have software titles geared toward reading and mathematics among other subjects. However, with the phasing out of older computers and the push toward adding more public access computers, the children's computers may be falling behind the wayside.
Recently, one branch has asked us to remove their children's computer from the children's area for safety reasons as their computer is near the door and hence worried about children being left unattended.
However, other libraries have different needs and may want computers geared toward children. If so, it would be a good time to update the software they use, and retain some of the reading titles.
The specs for the computers would be:
Dell Optiplex GX270 or newer
Pentium 4 or newer
1GB RAM minimum
DVD/CDRW with DVD playback
17" LCD monitor
Ubuntu with Edubuntu and Wine (for running Windows children titles)
For reduced cost and improved security, as well as the availability of more software at no cost, Ubuntu Long Term Service 10.04 would be used as the operating system instead of Windows. Viruses and malware would be of no concern (for now) and the range of available free software is immense. The software centerpiece would be a suite of educational software collectively known as Edubuntu. Edubuntu is a version of Ubuntu geared toward education. There would still be no Internet access via a web browser, but printing and remote diagnostics and updates.
Another possibility is to include links to children-friendly sites, which is an area that we need to revisit.
We encourage anyone to post their comments or contact us.
As you may know, our policy for minors on computers is that for anyone under 13, they must have a signed parental consent form or use a computer that has no Internet access. We maintain a small number of these systems that have software titles geared toward reading and mathematics among other subjects. However, with the phasing out of older computers and the push toward adding more public access computers, the children's computers may be falling behind the wayside.
Recently, one branch has asked us to remove their children's computer from the children's area for safety reasons as their computer is near the door and hence worried about children being left unattended.
However, other libraries have different needs and may want computers geared toward children. If so, it would be a good time to update the software they use, and retain some of the reading titles.
The specs for the computers would be:
Dell Optiplex GX270 or newer
Pentium 4 or newer
1GB RAM minimum
DVD/CDRW with DVD playback
17" LCD monitor
Ubuntu with Edubuntu and Wine (for running Windows children titles)
For reduced cost and improved security, as well as the availability of more software at no cost, Ubuntu Long Term Service 10.04 would be used as the operating system instead of Windows. Viruses and malware would be of no concern (for now) and the range of available free software is immense. The software centerpiece would be a suite of educational software collectively known as Edubuntu. Edubuntu is a version of Ubuntu geared toward education. There would still be no Internet access via a web browser, but printing and remote diagnostics and updates.
Another possibility is to include links to children-friendly sites, which is an area that we need to revisit.
We encourage anyone to post their comments or contact us.
posted by Technology Coordinator at 2:45 PM
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