As part of FATIH project, run by Turkih Ministery of Education, and supported by National Academic Network and Information Centre (ULAKBİM); Pardus GNU/Linux (and LibreOffice as part of it) has been installed on more than 53,000 smart boards at classrooms in Turkey! :)
This number represents the smart boards which are connected to the Internet, and registered on the central management system. It keeps counting as we speak, and the status can be seen on the stats page of ETAP (Interactive Board Interface Project): http://tahta.etap.org.tr/
Pardus GNU/Linux
Pardus is a GNU/Linux distribution jointly developed by the Scientific & Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) and National Academic Network and Information Centre (ULAKBİM). It started its life as a Gentoo-based project before developing its own unique identity. Since late 2012, the distribution is based on Debian.
Pardus has open-source subprojects that meet institutional needs for easy dissemination in public institutions and organizations and SMEs. Leader Ahenk Central Management System, Viper Identity Management System, Octopus Integrated Cyber Security System, Interactive Board Interface Project (ETAP), ULAKBÜS Integrated University System are the main ones.
Interactive Board Interface Project (ETAP)
ETAP is aimed at developing a solution for the interactive smart boards at schools, based on Pardus. It is designed and developed to achieve easier and more effective usage of the devices with a touchscreen in the classrooms.
During its development, several schools were chosen as part of the pilot phase, and needs and requests of the teachers were taken into account. Its features include:
- ETA Panel
- ETA Keyboard
- Interactive & Adjustable Screen Blanking
- Custom touch gestures