



Most of the computers’ problems could be fixed by wiping the disks and reinstalling the operating system—but buying new software for every donated computer would be prohibitively expensive. So Robert began to research more affordable options. An acquaintance at the Alameda County Computer Recyclers suggested he use a free operating system, such as GNU/Linux. Having never ventured into the world of open-source software, Robert scoured the internet for help. He came upon a local Linux user’s group, a friendly group of people dedicated to helping people get started with free software.

With the help of his local LUG, he got Linux up and running on his 18 donated machines. Suddenly, they were fast. They were clean. They worked well in the classroom. Robert was invigorated, as were his students. His principal saw how excited they all were, and decided to give Robert four hours of teaching leave per week to give him time to find more computers for a full lab for ASCEND. And so Robert became a “teacher on special assignment,” as he puts it.

Finding computers was less difficult than he originally anticipated. Most families and businesses have an old computer (or ten) sitting in storage. Robert began to call businesses and ask for donations of equipment they’d otherwise be sending for recycling. People were generally very receptive. Most people would rather their used computers do good than rot in a landfill or get shredded; they just don’t usually know how to get computers to where they are needed. “Underfunded schools are starving in the midst of plenty,” Robert explains. “Discarded computers are our nation’s most wasted educational resource.”

In fact, donations were easy enough to find that Robert began turning down equipment that had less than 512 megabytes of RAM or was made before 2002. He wouldn’t turn down computers people said were “broken,” however. “Many computers people say are broken are actually experiencing software problems,” he found. When he’d install Linux, many of the supposedly broken computers would work just fine.

Six months later, Robert had his first full ASCEND lab, filled with donated computers running free, open-source software. But he wasn’t done. As he continued to make connections with people, donations kept pouring in. Soon, he got in touch with a local non-profit called Partimus (, which is dedicated to “providing computers and Free Software system administration support” to schools in the Bay Area. Partimus helped Robert set up an install server, so that he could install Linux on multiple machines at once.

This year to date, he has acquired over 70 computers for ASCEND.



Robert will be moving to a new school this coming Fall, where he hopes to continue teaching technology meaningfully. And he calls on other teachers to do the same: in a digital world, teachers are responsibile for making students “better digital citizens.”

Check out some video of Robert speaking at Maker Faire below.

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