Python for students

[itgeek]

Hi

 

I have been tasked to get ready for computing in September. They are going to teach python to students. I have been looking into the different methods and think I have two options.

 

1. Create a virtual machine on every pc and map drive to there home area.

2. Install Python on the machines.

 

Does anybody see any problem with installing python on the existing network and any security risks? How is everybody doing this?

 

Thanks in advance

[TheScarfedOne]

Ive done both...a linux vm with it, scratch and other bits in (to be like the Pi's they also have), and a native windows install too. Shouldn't be a risk, as they cant do any real damage with it like shutting things down/shares etc so long as your permissions are ok

[Valyyn]

I've ended up publishing Pyscripter (pyscripter - An open-source Python Integrated Development Environment (IDE) - Google Project Hosting) as a RemoteApp from a 2012R2 server which has the firewall blocking everything but port 3389 (for the remote connection). With RemoteApp it behaves the same as if it was running on their PC, but they cannot do anything to affect that machine or anything on the network (such as trying a DDOS python script).

 

I briefly played with an Ubuntu server so they could practice using command line and *nix, but I couldn't get it to play nice with their fileshares, which was a pain and I ran out of time with it in the end so had to give it up. Still in the back of my mind to try again sometime though!

 

Edit: Initially, I did create a basic VM using VirtualBox. I then had them using it in "headless" mode, so they get no VM GUi. Downsides there were a) they had to turn on their PC, login, wait, fire up the VM and wait for that windows to start before they could do anything, b) it did feel a bit clunky having the two start menus and going back and forth between the VM and the live machine and c) it took up quite a lot of space, which is at a premium as all our newer PC suites have 128GB SSDs in them.

 

Edit again: With the VM, I didn't need to map their home areas - using VirtualBox Additions, it automatically added all the physical PC's drives to the VM, including their network shares.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Valyyn

[HTCPCP]

We've never had any problems with Python, in fact our LEA gave us a package of it that they had done for CC4.

[Oaktech]

We are running virtual box with a headless VM but with USB passthrough. they can program in a variety of IDE on the host machine, save it to a provided stick as well as their work area, and then access the stick in the VM. they then can run it in the VM, or take it home and break their own PCs with it (this has happened!)

[synaesthesia]

Virtualbox. Running something like python or much else on the network seems too risky to me; there's always someone talented enough (or with good google-fu) that could use it for the wrong means. Generally because you'd want to be able to run the finished/compiled product, and you're not letting executables on your user areas

[bobt]

Did this for our A level students. Just fired up a 2k8 R2 server, IIS 7.5 with PHP, Python. MySQL server with PHPMYADMIN front end for students to trash and finally Filezilla for FTP uploads. Works really well and is all internal so they can trash it without any real consequence apart from their area on that web server.

[HELPme]

Which version of python did you LEA use ?