Edubuntu

Last updated
Edubuntu
Edubuntu-logo-new.svg
Edubuntu 24.04 Noble Numbat Desktop English.png
Edubuntu 24.04 Desktop
Developer Canonical Ltd. and community contributors
OS family Linux (Unix-like)
Working stateCurrent
Source model Open source
Initial release2005;19 years ago (2005)
Latest release 24.10 LTS (Oracular Oriole) / 10 October 2024;5 days ago (2024-10-10)
Kernel type Monolithic Linux kernel
Default
user interface
GNOME
License Mainly GPL and various others (free with some restricted components)
Official website www.edubuntu.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Edubuntu, previously known as Ubuntu Education Edition, is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system designed for use in classrooms inside schools, homes and communities. [1]

Contents

Edubuntu is developed in collaboration with teachers and technologists in several countries. Edubuntu is built on top of the Ubuntu base, incorporates the LTSP thin client architecture and several education-specific applications, and is aimed at users aged 6 to 18. It was designed for easy installation and ongoing system maintenance.

Features

Included with Edubuntu is the Linux Terminal Server Project and many applications relevant to education including GCompris, KDE Education Suite, Sabayon Profile Manager, Pessulus Lockdown Editor, Edubuntu Menueditor, LibreOffice, Gnome Nanny and iTALC. Edubuntu CDs were previously available free of charge through their Shipit service; since version 8.10 (2008) it is only available as a download in a DVD format.

In 23.04, Edubuntu's default GUI is GNOME. [2] From 12.04 to 14.04, Edubuntu's default GUI was Unity; however GNOME, which had previously been the default, was also available. [3] Since release 7.10, KDE is also available as Edubuntu KDE. In 2010, Edubuntu and the Qimo 4 Kids project were working on providing Qimo within Edubuntu, [4] but this was not done as it would not have fit on a CD. [5]

Project goals

The primary goal of Edubuntu was to enable an educator with limited technical knowledge and skills to set up a computer lab or an online learning environment in an hour or less and then effectively administer that environment.

The principal design goals of Edubuntu were centralized management of configuration, users and processes, together with facilities for working collaboratively in a classroom setting. Equally important was the gathering together of the best available free software and digital materials for education. According to a statement of goals on the official Edubuntu website: "Our aim is to put together a system that contains all the best free software available in education and make it easy to install and maintain." [6]

It also aimed to allow low-income environments to maximize utilisation of their available (older) equipment.

Versions

Edubuntu 7.04 package Edubuntu 7.04.jpg
Edubuntu 7.04 package

The first Edubuntu release coincided with the release of Ubuntu 5.10, which was codenamed Breezy Badger on 2005-10-13. With the 8.04 Hardy Heron release of Edubuntu it was given the name of Ubuntu Education Edition [7] and was changed to be an add-on to a standard Ubuntu installation instead of being an installable Live CD. From version 9.10 onwards, Edubuntu changed to be available as a full system DVD instead of an Add-on CD. [8] Edubuntu is also installable [9] via a selection of "edubuntu" packages for all distributions using the official Ubuntu repositories (Ubuntu and Kubuntu mainly).

Since 14.04, Edubuntu became LTS-only; [10] Edubuntu announced that they would skip the 16.04 LTS update and that they planned on staying with 14.04 due to lack of contributors. [11] It would then be discontinued for a number of years, but as of April 2023, the distro has returned as an official flavor.

ReleaseCodenameRelease dateEnd-of-life date
5.10 [12] Breezy Badger13 October 200513 April 2007
6.06 LTS [13] Dapper Drake1 June 200614 July 2009
6.10 [14] Edgy Eft26 October 200625 April 2008
7.04 [15] [16] Feisty Fawn19 April 200719 October 2008
7.10 [17] [18] Gutsy Gibbon18 October 200718 April 2009
8.04 LTS [19] [20] Hardy Heron24 April 200812 May 2011
8.10 [21] Intrepid Ibex30 October 200830 April 2010
9.04 [22] Jaunty Jackalope23 April 200923 October 2010
9.10 [23] [24] Karmic Koala29 October 200929 April 2011
10.04 LTS [25] [26] Lucid Lynx29 April 20109 May 2013
10.10 [27] [28] Maverick Meerkat10 October 201010 April 2012
11.04 [29] [30] Natty Narwhal28 April 201128 October 2012
11.10 [31] [32] Oneiric Ocelot13 October 20119 May 2013
12.04 LTS [33] [34] Precise Pangolin26 April 201228 April 2017
12.10 [35] [36] [37] Quantal Quetzal18 October 201216 May 2014
13.04 [38] [39] Raring Ringtail25 April 201327 January 2014
13.10 [40] [41] Saucy Salamander17 October 201317 July 2014
14.04 LTS [42] [43] [44] Trusty Tahr17 April 201430 April 2019
23.04 [1] [45] [46] Lunar Lobster20 April 202325 January 2024 [47]
23.10 [48] Mantic Minotaur12 October 2023July 2024
24.04 LTS [49] Noble Numbat25 April 2024May 2029
24.10Oracular Oriole10 October 2024July 2025
Legend:   Old version, not maintained   Older version, still maintained   Current stable version   Future version

See also

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