[Koha] Call for Wkshop Proposals: BossEd Bangkok Conference Oct 31-Nov 1 @ KIS.AC.TH

[David M. Bucknell]

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Education is being challenged to change with the times.  Lately, we  
hear words like "transparency," "community," "teamwork,"  
"project-based," and "networked" in the same context as we used to  
hear, simply, reading, writing and math(s).  Project-based, teamwork  
led by students themselves has come to the fore.  This is the kind of  
learning, we are told, that enables students to develop the social  
learning skills and intellectual flexibility that is needed in this  
brave new world.

Such learning requires a different kind of software, a different kind  
of text as well as a different classroom-process than we used to use.

While some struggle to create new Web2 technologies that enable the  
kind of learning and teaching deemed necessary, many have noticed that  
Free and Open Software (LAMP.org) and Content (e.g. Wikipedia.org)  
already embody the very lessons we are trying to teach.  After all,  
they are made by teams via the Internet with flexible leadership  
positions gained by proven capabilities and dedication.  Respect in  
these groups is based on skill, accomplishment and social-networking  
effectiveness.

What's more, the tools and artefacts produced by these groups are open  
to scrutiny, dissection, and adaptation and exist at the pleasure of  
those interested.  They encourage curiosity, creativity and sharing:  
they embody what schools' mission statements say is important:  
lifelong learning, curiosity, respect across borders, etc.

In the day-to-day work of schools, teachers, students and school  
administrators look for "soulutions" to various problems in the  
Office, the library, the classroom or at home: a text, a puzzle, a  
tool for reporting, creating or analyzing; something else for  
organizing, sending and printing; another for storing, searching and  
dissecting.  There are now Free/Open Source (FLOSS) tools for almost  
anything that can be done on a computer.  This is no surprize given  
that they are generally created to fulfill specific needs or, as Eric  
Raymond observed, "to scratch an itch."

We know that system admins have long used FLOSS; programmers too; now,  
more and more teachers are using FLOSS. FlOSS itself is a product of  
idea-sharing; so we would like to extend the FLOSS development process  
with a technology-assisted physical gathering designed for sharing  
ideas, problems and Solutions which are being used now or planned for  
the near future in your schools.

Your ideas are welcome.

To the idealist:

What does Freedom and Openness mean for education?  Is your "practice"  
as a teacher or administrator or student being challenged to be more  
"open" in some way than before?  Does Free and/or Open Source Software  
(a.k.a. FLOSS) and Free and Open Content (e.g. wikipedia.org) play a  
part? Should it? Can it?

Propose a Session: Show, Tell and/or Teach us how you think/have  
experience using FLOSS can help you and colleagues meet students needs  
more effectively than with closed, proprietary solutions.

To the pragmatist:

Are you saving money while staying legal as a result of using  
free/open tools or resources?  What about security? Viruses and  
Hacking under control as a result of free/open strategies? Do you find  
that the tools you need are less stress-producing than the alternatives?

http://opensourceschools.org/bossed2009callforproposals

Propose a Session: Show, Tell and/or Teach us how you saved money (or  
plan to do so), increased security, stability and/or power and ease of  
use with FLOSS.

http://opensourceschools.org/bossed2009callforproposals

-- 
* IKN (International Knowledge Networks, Co., Ltd. Thailand)
* http://intknowledge.com
* Web Ideas, Tools and Sites for Teachers, Schools, Businesses and You.
* Cell: +66(0*)84 329 1183; Office: +66(0*)2 980 9464 (*No "0" if calling from
overseas.)* Skype: dbucknell

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