Basic Orientation to Linux : Course outline


"Orientation" vs "Training"
In February 2016 , I had the privilege of working with employees of STARR Computers on an orientation to Linux. STARR is one of the oldest technology resellers in Guyana and they wanted interested employees to understand FOSS and Linux.

The course was designed as an orientation course, rather than a training course. I believe a training course would be designed to transfer skills , and there are different methodologies involved to ensure that the skills can be used by each participant.

I was not sure how to approach the course since there are a thousand and one different things which could be taught. I updated an outline which was developed by Andrew Mancey in 2004 and  then modified the discussions to respond to the needs of the participants.

One of the reasons for the lack of adaptation of FOSS and Linux is the lack of awareness.  Some persons might 'play around' with a distro, but might not do more unless there is some specific need.  A structured approach can help interested persons to discover more.

This blog shares some of the experiences which could be of use to people who would like to conduct similar sessions.

Objectives of the course
 The course was designed so that by the end, participants should be able to
  • explain free and open source software (FOSS), and explore options
  • select and install any distribution of Linux
  • recommend various free and open source software options to people who are interested
  • explore some of the system management issues related to the Linux operating system
  • find answers to questions about Free and Open Source Software including Linux
Methodology
The orientation should be  delivered using a methodology which :-
  • uses a mix of presentations, and hands on practice. Computers and network infrastructure would be needed.
  • meets the needs of participants
  • is organised around multiple sessions, with about 90 to 120 minutes per session depending on participant needs. (Some persons might prefer shorter sessions)
  • gives participants a chance to interact
There should be a participant evaluation at appropriate points in the orientation .


Topics covered

Each group of participants might have different questions depending on their knowledge. Some questions which could come up are :-
  • How much 'like Windows' is Linux?
  • Do you have to know commands?
  • Can you print, are all printers supported?
  • If you are not paying for it, then how can it be good?
  • How to do networking?
  • What about viruses?
In this particular orientation, we agreed on the topics.  I compiled some slides which can be  downloaded and used. All sources of the images are acknowledged. None of the information belongs to me originally.


Free and Open Source Software, Linux
 I think it is important to introduce the orientation with the concepts around Free and Open Source Software and the different types available. 
Explain Linux as the kernel, and the distributions.


Installation of distros

There are many distributions available.  I recommend using more than one so that the participants can get a feel for the variety. We used Ubuntu 14.04 and Linux Mint. I recommend trying a light distro as well. (The one we tried had some hiccups). This is a good time to demonstrate different desktop environments, and some of the applications which come with the distros.

Drivers 
There are questions around drivers. The group of participants were amazed that they could print and scan immediately from an HP printer/scanner without any additional installations.  It is good to demonstrate how companies provide drivers for other devices.

Navigating the Linux the File System
Some participants would want to understand the way the Linux OS is designed. Others might get lost in the discussion about shells, inodes etc. This is a good time to introduce the command line interface. Many persons would not understand commands so some time would be needed to explain how to use commands.


File permissions
 There might be need for discussion on binary arithmetic to understand the permission structure on files.


Managing Users
Some participants would want to know how to add users. We did not get into a discussion around Active Directory and use of LDAP.

Adding software
We looked at the different package managers, and at different ways  of adding software - from the repositories of the distro, from third party sources, and compiling from source code. (Some participants might need an explanation of source code, binary, etc )


Networking
There was a demonstration and installation of OpenSSH. The group assignment on 'Help) was using the installation of  Samba since this was a first time for me. There was a machine with Windows installed on the network. The printer sharing was demonstrated.
 The networking was demonstrated with both eth0 and wireless interfaces.


WINE
FOSS advocates might not want to demonstrate WINE. However, the participants wanted to see how 'Windows' applications could be run on Linux.

The participants' evaluation will identify any points which would need more explanation , or topics for discussion.

I hope that there will be more interest in Linux and FOSS as Guyana implements more solutions.









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