Linux for kids: teaching the next generation

Education for kids isn't what it used to be, especially regarding the technology we use. We live in a world where exhausted parents have replaced baby pacifiers with smartphones and tablets to keep kids distracted, which doesn’t provide any meaningful mental stimulation beyond hand-eye coordination.

I believe it's time to explore another way that could potentially prepare them for something better. I'm talking about teaching kids Linux and using it as a platform to enhance their education and comprehension skills while allowing their curiosity about the operating system to guide them freely, without fear of losing important files.

Am I against teaching kids Windows? Absolutely not. Windows is recognized everywhere as the industry standard operating system. However, Linux is an alien environment to those unfamiliar with it, which helps to reduce distractions and the impulse to install Roblox and Minecraft as soon as possible.

Additionally, Linux is a perfect learning environment that makes it easy to repair any damage caused to the file system after curiosity has killed the computer.

My childhood journey

I was given my first computer for my 12th birthday. My mother was old-fashioned and didn’t want me near computers, knowing I’d obsess over it since technology fascinated me. But an entrepreneur and friend of the family insisted that computers were the future, and strong-armed her into allowing me to have it.

Rather than leaving me to my own devices, they hired a computer tutor, who showed me the ropes. After that, the world was my oyster. I played KidPix, and Sim Park, and surfed the web under adult supervision, and when I was unsupervised, I explored the file system and deleted the boot.ini file, effectively preventing the machine from booting up.

That’s the beauty of it. I was never chastised for making mistakes, because I was learning, and evolving my understanding of how computers work. Unlike many kids today who have virtually no clue how to use a computer other than for playing Roblox, Instagram, and YouTube, I learned invaluable lessons that helped jumpstart my life into the world of cybersecurity – although I probably should have stuck with AutoCAD.

From the cradle to the grave, we should focus on the benefits of using technology in a way that makes us stronger. In my house, tablets and smartphones are for playing games. But the laptop I gave my stepson is a sacred, safe learning space.

I’ve already had to reinstall the operating system after 3 days.

And that’s the point.

Edubuntu

Today, I was tasked with finding a new educational Linux distribution for my kid.

I installed VirtualBox so I could experiment with different Linux flavors myself, and see what works. You can also use Distrowatch to freely virtualize and experiment with Linux distros online.

I had him using Edubuntu – the operating system he somehow managed to break. I gave him an old Macbook from 2012 armed with a flavor of Ubuntu and watched him begin his journey. He started exploring different directories, and their subdirectories, and dragging files to the bin. I didn’t stop him. It’s all a part of the lesson.

Edubuntu: like the name suggests, is based on Ubuntu, which in my opinion is the most user friendly Linux distribution, with a special focus on education. It’s aim is to be privacy-centered, and easy to use for schools and universities. Edubuntu worked and kept him engaged for days.

I explored the apps with him, which were visually stimulating and not too difficult for him to comprehend. My goal was to show him educational games, but Edubuntu was equipped with more than what I anticipated:

• Art apps
• Games
• Language tools
• Mathematics
• Science
• Social studies
• Office utilities

For example, the typing app ‘Tux Typing’ is brilliant. Since he struggles in this area, I figured helping him match the shapes of letters to the keyboard would be ideal in familiarizing with the alphabet.

This is a safe bet, because I used to play ‘The Typing of the Dead’ which is based on the popular arcade game ‘House of the Dead’, which I played while under high anxiety, trying frantically to type the letters on my screen as fast as possible before zombies ate me alive.

Since he broke it, today he will come home to a new Linux distribution. Maybe breaking the operating system can become like an incentive to try new distros. After receiving a tip today, I decided to give Zorin OS 17.1 a try.

Zorin OS

This one is my favorite. Like the previous distro, Zorin OS is based on Ubuntu but feels like a new experience as a Linux user. The company advertises Zorin OS as an alternative to both Windows and MacOS and yet feels similar to Windows. They offer three different versions, Zorin OS 17.1 Pro, Core, and Education.

Not only does it run flawlessly on the antequated laptop without lagging, but it’s also highly customizable with animations that make interacting with different windows visually appealing.

The number of apps is appreciable, although it has fewer categories. Like with any operating system, apps can be added in order to suit your needs, so that’s not even an issue. It does come with programming tools suited for young minds, which is the ultimate goal because if he can master programming, then I can retire early. Here are a few examples:

• Fritzing is an electronic design automation (EDA) tool for developing prototype electronics.
• GDevelop 5 allows you to develop 2D and 3D games for the PC, web, and mobile devices without knowledge of programming.
• Minder is used for creating visual mind maps for brainstorming ideas.
• Scratch is a block-based visual programming language geared toward kids between 8 and 16 years old. This can allow them to create interactive stories, animations, and games. It simplifies programming by using visual blocks.

While my kid is probably not quite ready to tackle these, he is using the games to learn how to learn how to type. My next goal is to introduce him to a program called gbrainy, which I will use alongside him to help him strengthen his grey matter with quizzes. This is an excellent game for training memory to strengthen verbal, math, and logical skills in the form of exercises.

When I was a kid in grade school, we used to play Number Munchers on an Apple IIGS and DOS. To my 6-year-old brain this was exciting, while at the same time, it helped sharpen my math skills.

You can still run old programs like this using WINE, which works as an open-source compatibility layer for Linux and MacOS and allows users to run Windows programs. This is perfect. Because, if I am needing to lay down the law, I can grab a copy of ‘The Typing of the Dead’ and throw that into WINE until morality improves.

Just kidding. He’s not ready for that yet. But he’s proud to be a Linux user. He doesn’t even complain that there’s no Roblox or Minecraft. Wait until he’s resolving IP addresses, running DNS resolution, and flooding my website with ping packets. He is a mastermind, so it’s only a matter of time…