0:00–0:15
Pre-lab
0:15–1:50
Lab 1
1:50–2:00
Debrief
0:00 – 0:15
Pre-lab briefing · 15 min
Before anyone touches a mouse — a walkthrough of what we're about to decide
The Ubuntu installer has one moment where students must make real decisions: disk partitioning. Walk through this on the projector before students start, so no one is surprised mid-install. Everything else in the installer can be clicked through with defaults.
- Verify Day 1 work: Quick show of hands — desktop1 and desktop2 both in Hyper-V Manager in the Off state, correct settings (Secure Boot off, 4 processors, ISO attached)? Anyone who isn't ready gets 5 minutes to finish now while the briefing continues.
- Walk the installer on the projector: Boot desktop1 from ISO, show the boot menu (let it time out or press Enter — both work). Walk through each screen verbally so students know what's coming: language → accessibility → keyboard → internet (skip) → installer update (skip) → install type (Interactive) → application set (default) → third-party drivers (default) → disk setup. Stop at disk setup — this is the key decision point.
- Partitioning — the one decision that matters: The installer offers "Erase disk and install Ubuntu" — simple but gives you no control. We are choosing Manual Installation. Explain why: real-world Linux systems have separate partitions for a reason — if
/var fills up with logs, it doesn't take down the whole OS. If /home is separate, you can reinstall the OS without losing user data. These are professional conventions, not complexity for its own sake.
- Partition plan on the board: Write the target partition layout before students start. They will reference this during the lab:
· /boot/efi — 512 MB — FAT32 — EFI System Partition (required for UEFI boot)
· / — 15 GB — ext4 — root filesystem
· /home — 5 GB — ext4 — user files
· /var — 3 GB — ext4 — logs and variable data
· /tmp — 2 GB — ext4 — temporary files
· /opt — 3 GB — ext4 — optional/third-party software
· swap — 2 GB — swap — virtual memory overflow
· (~22 GB unallocated — left free deliberately for future labs)
- Account details — write on the board: Name: your name · Username: student · Password: Room225 · Computer name: desktop1 · Location: Brandon. Keeping the username and password consistent across every student's machine makes instructor troubleshooting vastly easier. Students may personalise later.
Instructor note: The pre-lab walkthrough saves 15 minutes of flailing during the install. Students who see the partition screen for the first time without preparation tend to either panic or click "Erase disk" to get past it. Five minutes on the projector prevents both outcomes.
0:15 – 1:50
Lab 1 · 95 min
Lab 1 — Installing Ubuntu 24.04 LTS on desktop1 and desktop2
Students work through the installer independently, using the partition plan from the briefing. The install itself runs for 15–20 minutes unattended — that time is used for research questions rather than watching a progress bar.
Step 1 — Boot and installer setup (10 min)
- In Hyper-V Manager, right-click desktop1 → Start, then right-click → Connect to open the console window. The VM should boot from the ISO and show the Ubuntu boot menu. Press Enter or let it time out.
- Work through the early installer screens — accept defaults unless noted:
· Language: English
· Accessibility: Note the hearing accessibility options available — the lab asks students to record these. Don't skip past too quickly.
· Keyboard layout: English (US) or English (Canada) — next
· Internet connection: next (no need to configure during install)
· Installer update: Skip — we want to control what version we're installing
· Type of installation: Install Ubuntu — next
· Installation type: Interactive installation
· Applications: Default selection — next
· Optimise your computer: Default — next
Step 2 — Manual disk partitioning (20 min)
- At the Disk Setup screen, select Manual Installation. You will see your 50 GB virtual disk listed as unallocated space.
- Create partitions in this order, matching the plan from the briefing exactly. For each partition: click the free space → Add Partition → set size, filesystem type, and mount point.
· 512 MB · FAT32 · /boot/efi — this is the EFI system partition. Required for UEFI boot (which Gen 2 VMs use).
· 15 GB · ext4 · / — the root partition. Everything that isn't in another partition lives here.
· 5 GB · ext4 · /home — user home directories.
· 3 GB · ext4 · /var — logs, package manager data, mail spool.
· 2 GB · ext4 · /tmp — temporary files, cleared on reboot.
· 3 GB · ext4 · /opt — optional/third-party software packages.
· 2 GB · swap — swap space, no mount point. Used when RAM is full.
The remaining ~22 GB should show as free — leave it. You will use it in Lab 5.
- Verify the partition table looks correct before clicking Next. Your screen should show seven entries with approximately 22 GB remaining as free space. Call the instructor over if you are unsure.
- Research task — do this while the partition screen is still visible: In your lab notes, briefly explain in your own words why you would use each filesystem type and mount point:
· ext4 vs. XFS vs. VFAT (FAT32) vs. swap — one or two reasons each
· / · /home · /var · /tmp · /opt — what each is typically used for
Common mistake — wrong size units: The installer uses GB. Make sure you're entering gigabytes, not megabytes. 512 MB for /boot/efi is correct and small — it will look much smaller than the others in the partition list, which is expected.
Step 3 — Account setup and install (10 min active, 20 min waiting)
- Account details — enter exactly as specified:
· Your name: use your real first name
· Computer name: desktop1
· Username: student
· Password: Room225
· Confirm password: Room225
- Location: Select Brandon on the timezone map (or type Brandon in the search box). This sets the system clock timezone.
- Click Install. The installation begins and will run for approximately 15–20 minutes. You do not need to watch it.
- While the install runs — use this time: Click the arrows at the bottom of the installer to browse Ubuntu feature highlights. Then click the terminal icon (bottom-right corner of the installer window) to see the live console output — this shows exactly what the installer is doing under the hood. Note a few interesting lines from the output.
Step 4 — Research questions (20 min — during install)
- Using a browser on the Windows host (not the VM — it's still installing), find and record answers to the following in your lab notes. Be ready to discuss any of these if called upon:
· What is the URL for the full list of Ubuntu 24.04 installer images?
· Where would you find the release notes for Ubuntu Desktop?
· Where would you find free documentation for Ubuntu Server?
· What is the main difference between the desktop and server versions of online help documentation?
- AI tool task: Using your preferred AI tool (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, etc.), ask it to give you 3 specific, real-world examples of where Linux is used — but not cloud/web infrastructure, Android phones, or supercomputers. Record the examples and the AI's reasoning. Come ready to explain them if called upon. The point of this exercise: AI tools are useful for research — but you need to understand the answers well enough to explain them, not just copy them.
Step 5 — First boot and GUI exploration (15 min)
- When the Installation Complete screen appears, click Restart Now. The VM will reboot. When prompted to remove the installation medium, press Enter (Hyper-V handles this automatically in most cases — if the ISO re-boots, eject it in VM Settings → DVD Drive → None, then reset the VM).
- Log in as student with password Room225. You should reach the Ubuntu 24.04 desktop. Take a moment to orient yourself — this is a GNOME desktop environment.
- GUI exploration tasks — record answers in your lab notes:
· How many directories are listed under your Home folder? (Open Files from the dock)
· What icons appear in the left sidebar (dock)?
· Change your desktop background to anything other than the default.
· Find the single screen that shows: OS version, Hardware Model, Processor, Memory, and Disk Capacity. Where is it? (Hint: Settings → About)
Step 6 — Install desktop2 (remaining time)
- Repeat the entire process — Steps 1 through 5 — for desktop2. All settings are identical to desktop1 except the computer name, which should be desktop2.
- If time runs out before desktop2 is complete, note where you stopped. The install can continue at the start of Day 3 — desktop2 does not need to be finished today, but it should be complete before Day 3's lab begins.
- Early finishers (both VMs done): Explore the terminal. Press
Ctrl+Alt+T on desktop1 to open a terminal window. Type uname -a and record the output — this shows the kernel version. Type lsb_release -a to see the Ubuntu version details. Type df -h and see if you recognise the partition structure you created during installation.
Lab 1 complete when: desktop1 is fully installed, boots to the login screen, and you can log in as student. Research questions are answered in your lab notes. desktop2 installation is in progress or complete.
1:50 – 2:00
Debrief · 10 min
Partition types, mount points, and the AI task
- Call on two or three students to share their partition type research — ext4 vs. swap vs. VFAT. What makes ext4 the right choice for most Linux partitions?
- Call on one or two students for their AI tool examples of Linux in the real world. Discuss: was the AI right? How would you verify it? What's the difference between an AI giving you an answer and you understanding it?
- Preview Day 3: Tomorrow we stop using the mouse. Once both VMs are confirmed working, we open a terminal and don't close it for the rest of the course. Ask: "You've seen the terminal icon in the dock. What do you think you can do with it that you can't do with the GUI file manager?"
Learning outcomes — by end of Day 2, students can…
Navigate the Ubuntu installerProgress through each installer screen, making correct choices at each step
Create manual partitionsAdd partitions with correct sizes, filesystem types, and mount points in the installer
Explain partition purposesDescribe what each mount point is used for and why separate partitions have value
Explain filesystem typesDistinguish between ext4, VFAT, XFS, and swap in their own words
Complete a first bootLog in to the Ubuntu desktop and locate basic system information
Common issues and fixes
| Issue | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|
| VM boots back into the ISO after restart | ISO still attached as the first boot device | In VM Settings → DVD Drive, change the ISO to "None", then Action → Reset |
| Partition sizes don't add up / installer won't proceed | Entered MB instead of GB, or left no unallocated space | Delete all partitions and start Step 2 again — there's no penalty for redoing it |
| /boot/efi partition not recognised as EFI type | Selected ext4 instead of FAT32 / EFI | Delete that partition and recreate — ensure "EFI System Partition" is the type, not just FAT32 |
| Install takes more than 25 minutes | Network activity or slow disk I/O on the host | Normal variation — let it run. If still going at 35 minutes, call the instructor. |
| Login screen doesn't appear after first reboot | Black screen — GPU driver issue or display adapter | Press Ctrl+Alt+F3 to get a TTY, log in as student, then run sudo systemctl restart gdm3 |
What to have ready before class
Lab 1 handout printed
Partition plan written on whiteboard before students arrive
Account details written on whiteboard
projector showing Hyper-V Manager at start