Implementing a Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure to Facilitate ICT in Education

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors present the methodology and the results of their effort towards the introduction of cloud services as a means to simplify the adoption of ICT in education using Free/Open Source Software. A hybrid cloud infrastructure is established in order to provide Linux and optionally MS-Windows desktop environments with the Software as a Service cloud model. Legacy and modern school PCs function as stateless devices. To achieve this, their “Sch-scripts” application performs an unattended installation of the Linux Terminal Server Project software to a school computer that also hosts centrally maintained virtual machines. Classroom management is accomplished using their “Epoptes” application. Administration is only required in the school server while the educational software is provided with the Software as a Service model either in online form or through repositories that automate software installation. Four-hundred-twenty schools have already implemented this architecture and 117 responded to the evaluation survey. The statistical analysis of these answers confirms the design principles, which include minimal cost, as well as reusability of obsolete equipment, ease of administration, centralized management, patches and educational software provisioning, classroom management, and above all, facilitation of the educational procedure.

An Architecture Paradigm for Providing Cloud Services in School Labs Based on Open Source Software to Enhance ICT in Education

“…Exploitation of legacy computers is eagerly needed. Several schools report that their labs become useless because of obsolete equipment (Siahos et al, 2011). Schools should also not have to worry about upgrading their students' desktops.…”

“…With regards to the software infrastructure, two open source software applications are dispensable to the teacher for everyday operation and management of the school's computer lab. The first one, named "sch-scripts" (Siahos, 2011), can import or export users to a file, automate creation and deletion of group accounts (teacher must define the number of either group accounts or lab's desktops and optionally the number of classrooms), import user accounts from the GSN's authentication system (so that students can login in the school lab with the accounts they already use for GSN's services, such as email). "Sch-scripts" offer an easy way to customize the LTSP environment, by providing configuration examples (for instance, to auto-logon computers, or to define specific screen resolution).…”

“…In order to explore the pedagogic impact of the first tier of the architecture, a survey among the one hundred schools that had adopted the solution was conducted last year (Siahos et al, 2011). A total of 58 questionnaires (one from each school) were collected and processed.…”