I have always used Edubuntu rather than Ubuntu because I have many children including home educated ones who casually use the education offerings. I appreciate many but not all of the extra offerings. I never got beyond 8.04.4 LTS, so am considering updating. I note now with Edubuntu 12.04 it is >2GB i.e.4 times bigger, even apparently using squashfs. I do now have to consider whether the extra resources are worth it in each computer in my household.
I am sick of reading over and over again 'Edubuntu is Ubuntu with extras such as blah blah', and in a different place the same thing but with a different blah blah. I downloaded Edubuntu 12.04 and ran it 'live'.
Can't say I got on at all with the Unity Interface (this can be changed when installed), but the apparent education stuff seemed quite small and pathetic, I am obviously not finding it. Is there anywhere a FULL LIST of what Edubuntu has pre-installed has over Ubuntu, so a sensible decision can be made whether to go for it, or just add packages that look relevant to me to Ubuntu.
Is there truly no other difference between Ubuntu/Edubuntu but the extra educational packages? (I for example have no school server, but if I understood exactly what is involved, with the number of computers in the house, it may be worth creating one!)
The Edubuntu website has a FAQ on this that points to a virtual tour so it might be a bit easier to see what Edubuntu is all about:
And indeed, Edubuntu is Ubuntu with some extra packages specifically targeted on education for young people. You can yourself install Ubuntu, add these 4 packages and except for the background you should have Edubuntu installed:
ubuntu-edu-preschool - Preschool (< 5 years old)
ubuntu-edu-primary - Primary (ages 6-12)
ubuntu-edu-secondary - Secondary (ages 13-18)
ubuntu-edu-tertiary - Tertiary (university level)