[Scale-planning] Open Source in Education Track at SCALE 6x

[pele_smk]

I work for a private university, The University of Advancing Technology in
Phoenix, AZ. We had a group of about 10 students make the journey to Scale5x
this year and I would like to say thank you, we had a great time. We
unfortunately missed the education talk held on the last day due to having
to make the drive back to Phoenix before classes started the next morning. I
would love to see an education track next year and I also would like to
volunteer my time to help anyway possible. Until then, thanks for a great
conference. See you next year.

On 2/24/07, Steve Glasser <steve at fpig.net> wrote:
>
> Tim Frichtel wrote:
> > Orv and I talked about possibly having a track dedicated to Open Source
> > in Education at the next SCALE.
> >
> > Here are some initial thoughts, I hope this isn't too long.
> >
> > Tim Frichtel
> >
> > "Education Day" at SCALE 6x
> >
> > * Key topics for Educators:
> > * * Software that can be used in classroom and at home
> > * * General purpose software (OO.org, Gimp, N|Vu, Inkscape, Scribus,
> > Jashaka?)
> > * * Educational software (GeoGebra, TuxMath, TuxType)
> > * * "Web 2.0" -- blogging (Wordpress) and wikis (Mediawiki)
> > * * Possibly programming – Logo, Python, PHP, Java etc.
> >
> > * Software for school management
> > * * Moodle - this is a no-brainer! Great tool, lots of success stories,
> > solves a real need.
> > * * SugarCRM - seemingly odd, but for private schools, managing donors,
> > tuition etc is a logistical challenge
> > * * Content Management System - Joomla, Plone etc - show how schools can
> > have a great, up-to-date website with minimal web building skills
> > * * Possibly OpenLDAP for managing authentication in large schools
> > (possibly too narrowly technical)
> >
> > * Benefits/Risks of Open Source
> > * Successfully migrating to Open Source
> > * How to get Support
> > * * Books, websites, resources for _non-tech_ users
> >
> > How to get Educators and Administrators to attend:
> > * Position the presentations as ways to get great software into
> > curriculum. I don't think putting the emphasis on free, freedom, or it
> > isn't Microsoft/Apple will be a strong pull.
> >
> > * Focus on how this is a great continuing-development opportunity for
> > teachers/administrators. Schools actively look for ways to offer
> > development to their staff. This is usually focused on things that get
> > continuing ed credit, as these help credentialed teachers maintain their
> > credentials, but the lack of college credit may not be a deal killer.
> >
> > * Offer practical labs. Logistically, this would be challenging, but if
> > the conference rooms are big enough, we should be able to use LTSP
> > setups that will provide a great environment for working with Open
> > Office, Blogging, etc. It might be possible to get HP (who has a big
> > K-12 sell) and/or Dell, IMB etc to provide some equipment. Maybe
> > Linspire, Novell or RedHat would be willing to chip in. They don't need
> > to provide much. For instance, HP could provide thin clients and LCDs,
> > with Linspire providing giveaway software. Failing that, we might be
> > able to get used equipment resellers (who often market to schools) to
> > loan us equipment. Old laptops can make decent thin clients, or can run
> > Knoppix, livekiosk etc. If you look at Educational Computer shows like
> > CUE (www.cue.org) the hands-on sessions for editing photos, web pages,
> > blogging, podcasting etc are always packed.
> >
> > * Provide practical "take-aways". Giving out an Open CD or a Ubuntu disk
> > is nice, but if a short document with some tips on getting started and
> > using the software in the classroom could be passed out as well, I think
> > that would be a lot better. Maybe something like "10 Great Creative
> > Writing projects with Blogs" or "Key features for creating research
> > papers with Open Office Writer" or "Demonstrating Geometry fundamentals
> > with GeoGebra".
> >
> > * Get speakers who are educators and have success stories to tell. A bio
> > that states an experienced teacher is using Linux | Moodle | GIMP etc is
> > a much stronger draw than just talking about how great the software is
> > and what _might_ be done with it. There are some great success stories,
> > here are few I've heard of:
> > - Riverdale High School in Oregon (http://k12ltsp.org/rhs_casestudy.html
> )
> > - Indiana Schools:
> >
> http://www.doe.state.in.us/INaccess/pdf/inACCESS_readiness-assessment.pdf
> > - Vassalboro Community School in Maine
> > http://www.desktoplinux.com/articles/AT8952848817.html
> >
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>
> If this idea gets any traction I would like to volunteer to help develop
> it.  Anything that helps our schools...although I think this will have
> greater appeal for private schools than for public schools.
>
> Of course you can still count on me to pull wire at scale 6x.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve G
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