Linux is a platform ready for everyone. If you have a niche, Linux is ready to meet or exceed the needs of said niche. One such niche is education.

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If you are a teacher or a student, Linux is ready to help you navigate the waters of nearly any level of the educational system. From study aids, to writing papers, to managing classes, to running an entire institution, Linux has you covered. If you’re unsure how, let me introduce you to a few tools Linux has at the ready. Some of these tools require little to no learning curve, whereas others require a full blown system administrator to install, setup, and manage. We’ll start with the simple and make our way to the complex. Study aids Everyone studies a bit differently and every class requires a different type and level of studying. Fortunately, Linux has plenty of study aids.

Let’s take a look at a few examples: Flash Cards ─ (Figure 1) is one of the many flashcard applications available for the Linux platform. KWordQuiz uses the kvtml file format and you can download plenty of pre-made, contributed files to use. KWordQuiz is part of the KDE desktop environment, but can be installed on other desktops (KDE dependencies will be installed alongside the flashcard app).

Language tools Thanks to an ever-shrinking world, foreign language has become a crucial element of education. You’ll find plenty of language tools, including (Figure 2) the kanji browser for the KDE desktop. If Japanese isn’t your language, you could try. This dictionary is entirely in French and, so if you’re new to the language, you might want to stick with something like. Shin sangokumusou. Writing Aids/ Note Taking Linux has everything you need to keep notes on a subject and write those term papers. Let’s start with taking notes. If you’re familiar with Microsoft OneNote, you'll love.

With this app, you can create baskets for subjects and add just about anything ─ notes, links, images, cross references (to other baskets ─ Figure 3), app launchers, load from file, and more. You can create baskets that are free-form, so elements can be moved around to suit your need. If you prefer a more ordered feel, create a columned basket to retain those notes walled in.

Of course, the mother of all writing aids for Linux would be. The default office suite on most Linux distributions, LibreOffice has your text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, formula, and drawing covered. The one caveat to using LibreOffice in an educational environment, is that you will most likely have to save your documents in the MS Office format. Education-specific distribution With all of this said about Linux applications geared toward the student in mind, it might behoove you to take a look at one of the distributions created specifically for education.

The best in breed is. This grassroots Linux distribution aims at getting Linux into schools, homes, and communities. Edubuntu uses the default Ubuntu desktop (the Unity shell) and adds the following software: • • • • • • • • and much more. Edubuntu isn’t the only game in town. If you’d rather test other education-specific Linux distributions, here’s the short list: • • • • • •. Classroom/institutional administration This is where the Linux platform really shines. There are a number of tools geared specifically for administering.

Let’s first look at tools specific to the classroom. Is a powerful didactical environment for the classroom.

With this tool, teachers can view and control students desktops (supporting Linux and Windows). The iTalc system allows teachers to view what’s happening on a student's desktop, take control of their desktop, lock their desktop, show demonstrations to desktops, power on/off desktops, send text messages to students' desktops, and much more. (Figure 4) is an open source Learning Management System (LMS) focused on developing online courses and e-learning content. Where aTutor really shines is the creation and management of online tests and quizzes. Of course, aTutor is not limited to testing purposes. With this powerful software, students and teachers can enjoy: • Social networking • Profiles • Messaging • Adaptive navigation • Work groups • File storage • Group blogs • and much more.