FlossManuals/Google Documentation Summit

I’m fortunate to be included in the group attending the Floss Manuals & Google hosted event Documentation Summit. Four really worthwhile and interesting projects were chosen and several freelancers (like myself) are also helping out. The format is part unconference and part book sprint. The goals are promote dialog among the various FOSS folks as well as produce a book about each project in three days. Pretty ambitious!

Dialog is easy, there is never a lack of ideas and suggestions. The projects include KDE, OpenStreet Map, Sahana and OpenMRS. Sahana is an emergency relief and disaster planning project and OpenMRS is a Medical Records System for developing areas. These were the two projects I knew the least about coming into the event but both have greatly impressed me with their scope and team members.

The books will be available for download by this weekend so I’ll update everyone on where to find them. Also, if you’re a developer looking to scratch an itch and help folks, one of these projects might be for you! If you’re a System Admin or make recommendations to organizations who might need a great OpenMRS or disaster planning software, we’ll have a book for you at the end of the week.

Follow the event on twitter #docsummit #flossmanuals

Kidsoncomputers.org Edubuntu Installfest at OSCON

If anyone is going to OSCON next week, please stop by the Kidsoncomputers.org booth:

http://www.oscon.com/oscon2011/public/content/exhibitors

The Expo is 27-28th (Wed-Thurs) next week. They will be collecting donations both days all day and will do an install-fest using Edubuntu on both days from 1-4pm. KOC is an amazing group of volunteers who have already setup several Edubuntu labs in the US and Mexico.

Please spread the word!!!!!

From consumers to contributors

Last week I was honoured to give a presentation at the Ministry of Education for Malaysia’s Open Source Software Conference. The government is making great strides in moving toward open-source software but like all organisations there are still a few hurdles to overcome. Legacy systems and web interoperability sometimes make it difficult to migrate wholesale but every small step in the right direction helps others follow the path they forged.

Malaysia has a great opportunity ahead of it. The new policy for ICT in schools announced at the conference culminated in a great document outlining their latest five year plan to enhance technology in all their schools. They have already invested a great deal in infrastructure and now all teachers, 1 million, have laptops. The next steps are netbooks or laptops for all 3.5 million students. Wouldn’t it be great to see all those system running Ubuntu?

It’s not just a technology issue but an education issue. Open-source is the right learning methodology and when you talk to educators they understand that. Open-source can offer something no proprietary offering can; true, authentic learning opportunities where the technology is a part of the learning, not just a tool to do tasks.

Think about this scenario: What if the entire country’s schools from preschool to University level adopted Ubuntu? The current proprietary operating system being used by all students is in English, not in Bahasa Malaysia. It’s too small a market to offer a fully translated system but what if we could enable older students to become translators as part of their curriculum process? The tools and processes are already there. Talk about an authentic learning project! We, the Ubuntu project, teach them how to use these tools and processes so that they can have a better learning experience for all their students.

An entire generation of learners moving from consumers to contributors.

Let the disruption begin.

 

Malaysia’s Ministry of Education OSS Day, Oct. 12 – 13

I found out 2 days ago that I will be traveling to Malaysia to attend this wonderful event! I will be giving a presentation on Ubuntu in Education on Wednesday morning. The community there is very FOSS and Ubuntu friendly so it’s a great opportunity to show just how important they are to us. I’m really looking forward to the trip and the opportunity to meet the LoCo team there. If you are near Kuala Lumpur maybe I’ll get to meet you too.

Schools using Ubuntu and derivatives list continues to grow!

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Education/UbuntuSchools

In case you ever doubt that your work is making a difference, just take a look at this growing list of schools using Ubuntu and its derivatives. And an entire project of kids building their own machines to take home and use after completing class – impressive!

Feel free to add other schools and learning projects you know about.