Edubuntu is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system designed for use in classrooms inside schools, homes and communities.

Edubuntu is a partner project of Ubuntu Linux, a distribution suitable for classroom use. The aim is that an educator with limited technical knowledge and skill will be able to set up a computer lab, or establish an on-line learning environment, in an hour or less, and then administer that environment without having to become a fully-fledged Linux geek.

Edubuntu, also previously known as Ubuntu Education Edition, is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system designed for use in classrooms inside schools, homes and communities.
Edubuntu has been developed in collaboration with teachers and technologists in multiple countries. Edubuntu is built on top of the Ubuntu base, incorporates the LTSP thin client architecture and several education-specific applications, and is aimed at users aged 6 to 18. It is designed for easy installation and ongoing system maintenance.

The primary goal of Edubuntu is to enable an educator with limited technical knowledge and skills to set up a computer lab or an on-line learning environment in an hour or less and then effectively administer that environment.

The principal design goals of Edubuntu are centralized management of configuration, users and processes, together with facilities for working collaboratively in a classroom setting. Equally important is the gathering together of the best available free software and digital materials for education.

It also aims to allow low income environments to maximize their available (older) equipment.

Updates (via Distrowatch):

Edubuntu 11.04, the educational flavour of Ubuntu, has been released: "The Edubuntu development team is really proud and happy to announce that Edubuntu 11.04 has now been released. This version builds on the excellent 10.10 release, making the installation process even more flexible and improves the desktop not only by updating it but also by updating the look & feel and choosing the best available software for each use case. Here are the major changes and choices we made for this 11.04 release: Edubuntu 11.04 ships with a classic Ubuntu desktop by default; it's now possible to do fine-grained package selection so you can install only what you need; ships with Arkose installed by default...."

Here is the complete release announcement.

Download (SHA256): edubuntu-11.04-dvd-i386.iso (2,768MB, torrent), edubuntu-11.04-dvd-amd64.iso (2,800MB, torrent).

Recent releases:

• 2011-04-28: Distribution Release: Edubuntu 11.04
• 2010-10-10: Distribution Release: Edubuntu 10.10
• 2010-04-30: Distribution Release: Edubuntu 10.04
• 2009-10-30: Distribution Release: Edubuntu 9.10
• 2007-10-18: Distribution Release: Edubuntu 7.10
• 2007-04-19: Distribution Release: Edubuntu 7.04

Here are the major changes and choices we made for this 11.04 release:

Edubuntu 11.04 ships with a classic Ubuntu desktop by default. Unity is available in both its 2D and 3D versions for these who want to test this new user interface as an option in the installer.
Building on the installer improvements done for the 10.10 release, it's now possible to do fine grained package selection so you can install only what you need.
To improve Edubuntu's security, 11.04 also ships with Arkose installed by default. This tool lets you easily run untrusted binaries in a safe environment (sandbox).
New software packages in Edubuntu include Pencil, Geogebra, Calibre, LibreCAD, Freemind and Stellarium.
The default wallpaper and the installation slideshow have been updated.
LTSP now ships with an Edubuntu theme for both the boot splash and the login screen
Thanks to WebLive, you may now try most software available in the Ubuntu Software Center online without having to install them. Simply pick a software and click the "Test drive" button below the screenshot. After a few seconds you'll be testing that software online.

Included Software and Screenshots.

Edubuntu is put together by many pieces of software that is written by many people working across many projects. We call these projects 'upstream' projects. Below, we include screen shots of some of the software included in Edubuntu, as well as links to the upstream websites. Upstream websites often contain additional screenshots, information and documentation.

The Edubuntu Wiki contains a section with more exact information on which applications are installed, and in which application bundles they are available from.