One of my favorite things about teaching students about computers is introducing them to the world of Linux. It’s an operating system that is in computers all over the world, as well as phones, appliances, and even cars. It’s incredibly flexible, and because it’s open-source, many people customize their own versions of Linux and then share them with one another.
I like to point students to distrowatch.com, the website that hosts these open-source version of Linux. Names like Mint, Ubuntu, Fedora, and Zorin might seem foreign at first, but as students get more and more familiar with the world of Linux, those names become more recognizable.
Of course, we also look at the main Linux site at linux.com to grow more familiar with what Linux does, where it can be found, and where they’ll be most likely to encounter it in their IT careers.
The Cybertex IT program is geared toward real-world application. The core of the coursework prepares students for certification, including Linux certification, giving students the very skills the employers will be looking for. By showing students where to find versions of Linux, I’m thinking not just about what they’ll learn and what will help them now, but also what knowledge will help them once they’ve graduated from Cybertex and onto network engineering jobs where Linux will be a very real part of their lives.
