Can users edit laptops on a public laptop?

Question

I am considering an IPython laptop for educational purposes. The idea is to provide students with website-based demos that illustrate some of the lecture topics. I would like students to be able to change code parameters so they can study their impact or even create their own examples.

I found out that Ipython public server for laptops can be configured . As I understand it, it provides the full functionality of laptops (and not just their display), but is exposed to the public. Is it correct?

Bonus question: how can I prevent users from constantly changing laptops, but provide a “session copy”?

Answer 1

• Yes this is correct. IPython's public laptop server provides full functionality for anyone connecting to it through a browser. Therefore, everyone who has a server password can edit / create / delete notebooks on this server.

• As far as I know, there is no way to prevent users from constantly changing laptops on the server. A workaround would be: Each student copies your central notepad (File → Make a copy) and works only in a copied laptop. This, however, does not prevent student abuse / inadvertent changes to the central notebook.

Answer 2

As for the second point, I have a working setup on my local machine. I have not tested it on the server, so your mileage may vary. Simple solution: I made the * .ipynb file read-only. A quick test showed me that I can access it through an online notepad, make changes, run the code, try to save ("save the laptop"), upload the modified file to the * .ipynb file, since the save did not work, and continue with another local laptop. I hope this matches your case.

Edit: I feel that I need to clarify the behavior a bit. In principle, each user has his own temporary session, which is saved to a large extent until they move from the page. If it's in the university lecture hall, I'm sure you'll hear the random "Oh &% $ #!" when someone closes their browser by mistake, but the laptop makes a request before allowing you to move around, so I feel it should be pretty rare. As soon as they move far from the page, all of their work disappeared. I think this meets the criteria for a fickle copy of the session.