Teaching Linux to Kids With openSUSE Leap 16.0

A Community Effort to Teach Linux Early

Published on behalf of Coly Li, with his permission

To help children interested in artificial intelligence and information technology grow up with basic Linux skills, Coly Li started a voluntary Linux study group. He created it together with other parents from his child’s school who share an interest in Linux and open-source software.

The group includes 12 third-graders from the local primary school, with both boys and girls participating. Coly Li, a former Linux kernel developer at SUSE Labs, teaches the sessions. Using openSUSE Leap 16.0, he introduces the basics of Linux distributions and open-source software.

The long-term goal is ambitious but fun. By the end of the program, the children should be able to install a Minecraft server on a virtual machine running Linux in a public cloud service and then play together online. Some parents rent the classroom, while others volunteer as teaching assistants and help answer questions. The program lasts two years, with one 60-minute class each week. All teaching is voluntary, and the children attend for free. Parents simply share the classroom rental cost, which is around 25 euros per session for all participants.

Learning Linux Through Hands-On Practice

The course began with installing openSUSE Leap 16.0. Thanks to its new installer interface, the process was simple and friendly even for third-graders with no previous computer experience. The children finished their installation in about 20 minutes. Soon after, they were already exploring the menu and searching for small games to play.

In the following classes, the children learned to use both the graphical interface and the command-line tool zypper to update the system. They installed wget and VLC media player, browsed the web with Firefox, and downloaded audio and video files using wget for playback in VLC.

Next, they will practice typing skills with KTouch and use Vim for simple text editing. During the last 10 minutes of each session, they are encouraged to explore and try new games available on their openSUSE Leap 16.0 system. When it comes to gaming, the children don’t care about the operating system at all—having fun is what matters most.

Strong Engagement and a Promising Start

The program has been running for only a month, yet none of the children have dropped out. This is unusual for third-graders, who often struggle to stay focused for long periods. We are deeply grateful to openSUSE for providing the excellent Leap 16.0 distribution. It gives children a playful way to discover Linux, computers, and open-source software. As a result, it opens the door for them to explore the broader world of information technology in the future.

Thank you, Coly, for everything you’re doing for these kids, the open-source community, and for bringing fun back into education.