FreekBox Adoption Class
From FreekiWiki
This class is for the many and diverse people who receive FreekBoxes from Free Geek. It's meant to be introductory to computers for those who have little to no experience with them, and introductory to Linux for those who have little to no experience with it.
Class contents
Setting up the computer
The student will learn to plug in all the parts of the computer, in order to gain confidence. Remember there may be multiple places that a cable can be plugged in if one wasn't covered by the QC person. This often happens with onboard network interfaces, and modems that have sound I/O.
Linux and Free Software
As many people are new to both the ideas of operating systems and Free Software, a brief introduction to each of these concepts is useful in order to explain why this computer is different from many they've seen, what that will mean to them, and why we use this software. (Our reasons are technical, philosophical, and financial.)
Setting up account for the new user
Basic system administration tasks performed by the new user; the student takes ownership of the computer through this task.
Logging in, immediate environment
The concept of the multi-user operating system is introduced, and the parts of forms (fields, cursor, default button, use of tab keys) can also be introduced. Then follows an orientation to the bare desktop and to the vocabulary used throughout the class, such as icon, panel, tooltips. Left-clicking and hovering the mouse are covered, along with menu switching.
Word processor and saving files
This section introduces some of the vocabulary and functions of parts of windows, such as the title bar, the close, maximize, and minimize buttons, scroll bars, menus (including the help menu), and toolbars. We then move on to a brief description of the purpose and use of a word processor and demonstrate the spell checker. We also save a file, which can be taken as an introduction to the dialog window. Filetypes are considered, including situations in which the student want to change the filetype. What happens when a file is saved, and why to save frequently, and how to know where something is being saved.
Home directory/file system
Introduce the concept of the home directory on a multi-user system. Brief coverage of permissions (what permissions mean to everyday users) and the concept of the file tree. Navigate the file manager.
Root user
The role of the root user as the system administrator and why it's simultaneously powerful and dangerous. Also, a cursory introduction to the command line interface and the sudo command.
Introduction to Synaptic, Automatix, and/or Add/Remove
A introduction on how and where to find software for the computer, and how to use one of these programs.
Change desktop background
The student "moves in" to their new account by changing the appearance of their new account's desktop.
User-specific settings
Changing the background is used as an example of the many aspects of the user interface that are changeable. The look and feel of the interface are far from set, and many of the changes (color, menu items, mouse handedness) are user-specific. Benefits and implications of this. Hidden files may be covered if there is time.
The internet/ISPs
This section covers what the student would need to do to connect to the internet and the role of the Internet Service Provider in that connection. The internet dialer and web browser are introduced.
Support options
Various options for obtaining more information and/or tech support are covered, as well as the free geek freekbox support policy.
Links
- Adoption Class Schedule
- FreekBox Adoption Class Teacher's Outline is more in-depth
- Howto for teachers of this class covers logistics for the teacher
- FreekBox3 manual (in postscript format)
