Teaching Linux Basics

[mfarquhar]

as the most experienced linux user in my techie class get to teach the rest of the class the absolute basics of linux.

the philosophy (freedom vs free beer)
partioning
installing
configuring
connecting to internet
some command line stuff
the absolute basics + dual booting windows

what tips can you give me on conveying my limited knowledge to other people

any help would be appreciated

[nanotube]

well... this here is a good link that will clarify a lot about the philosophy of gnu and "open source": http://www.gnu.org/events/rms-nyu-2001-transcript.txt

the first link in my sig shows a lot about configuring and installing ubuntu linux, and has some links to commandline tutorials as well.

the second link is about the various methods of installing software.

this ought to get you started. :)

[Engnome]

Lucky you. Im the most linux experienced guy in my class but when someone walks past my bench they just laugh:confused: Not mean but more of a "haha geek use windows and game some ffs!" The people in my class arent ready for linux sadly :( They game far to much, alot of WoW :rolleyes:

[aysiu]

I'd say to start with the basics and move backwards.

Show them a Knoppix live CD, including rebooting and popping the CD in the drive.
Explain some of the processes that are scrolling by in color.
As it's loading up, explain how the CD is running the computer's RAM.
Show them some of the applications that are available.
Show them how they can browse the Windows partition.

Next time, if you have multiple computers in class, set up live CDs (or install, if you're allowed to)--one with XFCE, one with KDE, one with Gnome. Show them some of the differences among the three. Demonstrate the switching of themes and some of the customization options.

Then, you can start showing off different ways to do things--via terminal and via GUI... installing software, resizing images, etc.

Work backwards--simple to difficult. Don't just show them how to install Gentoo and work your way up to creating a launcher on the panel.

[mlomker]

Not sure if this is one class or longer since you didn't specify. I agree with aysiu--focusing on a boot-cd like Knoppix and then highlighting some of the larger differences between linux and Windows would probably be the most useful.

What else you cover would depend upon the time you've got--talk about the highlights of the major distros, open-source, KDE & Gnome, application installation, logs files, etc.

[mfarquhar]

iv'e got about two to three (2-3) weeks to get through the basics before the semester is over. my class is a computer technician one, and linux is the last unit we cover.

thanks to all of you, your advice combined with a few linux books will hopefully help me not blow it.;)

[OffHand]

Maybe this Linux Fundamentals PDF is useful:

http://learnlinux.tsf.org.za/courses/build/fundamentals/fundamentals.pdf