From the Edubuntu website:
Edubuntu is based on Ubuntu, a complete operating system that uses the Linux kernel and is freely available to anyone. As an education-driven operating system, Edubuntu provides a complete solution for:
- an organisation or Education Ministry that is wanting to take full advantage of the benefits that open source software offers to the educational environment;
- educators and school personnel who would like to set up Edubuntu in a networked learning environment;
- home users who would like to have a standalone computer system that focuses on education for the younger members of the household.
Edubuntu gathers together the best available free software and digital materials for education. It contains a large number of educational applications including GCompris, KDE Edutainment Suite, and Schooltool Calendar. Edubuntu is developed to enable teachers with limited technical knowledge and skills to set-up a computer lab, or establish an on-line learning environment, in an hour or less, and then administer that environment.
One of the key technologies included is the Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) which allows you to boot thin clients from an Edubuntu LTSP server. For educational environments, LTSP lowers hardware costs by enabling the use of older or less powerful machines as thin clients, as well as reduced administration overhead by having only to install and maintain the software on the server. When a workstation fails, it can simply be replaced without data loss or reinstallation of the operating system.
