Empowering
Students
with
Free/Libre
Software

John IglarASB UnPlugged * February 2012

johniglar.net

Begin in the beginning...

The International Community School of Addis Ababa, accredited in the United States, develops the talents and intellects of a multicultural student body using learner-centered, holistic instructional methods, empowering each student to contribute in an evolving world.

ICS Mission Statement

The International Community School of Addis Ababa, accredited in the United States, develops the talents and intellects of a multicultural student body using learner-centered, holistic instructional methods, empowering each student to contribute in an evolving world.

We inspire all of our students to continuous inquiry, empowering them with the skills, courage, optimism, and integrity to pursue their dreams and enhance the lives of others.

ASB Mission Statement

We inspire all of our students to continuous inquiry, empowering them with the skills, courage, optimism, and integrity to pursue their dreams and enhance the lives of others.

acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning

exercise initiative

in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication.

seeking and evaluating a range of points of view

approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought

independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies

open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities

The IB Learner Profile: values

The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who... help to create a better and more peaceful world.

What does that mean?

EMPOWER

Teaching the skills of how to use things is important.

Teaching the skills of how to fix, maintain and adjust things is even more important.

When we teach students to use applications and gather information, we are training them to be readers, shoppers, viewers, players:...consumers.

When we teach students to build and program we are training them to be managers, administrators, controllers: creators.

Program, or be programmed.Choose the former, and you gain access to the control panel of civilization.Choose the latter, and it could be the last real choice you get to make.

FREE

Freedom

To use as you wish

To modify

To share

To share your changes

But everybody uses Windows.NOBODYuses Linux!

Top 500 Supercomputer OS

Trying to learnto hack on a Microsoft Windowsmachine or under any other closed-source system is liketrying to learn to dance whilewearing a body cast.

Oh, come on.This stuff isn'tused by normalbusinesses or groups.

Open Source Organizations

Free software is acrucial development forthe field of education. Anyonewith computer programming ordesign skills, money, resources, ornetworks, can now take time toimprove the general educationlevel of this planet.

But we haveto teach the kidsMicrosoftOffice.Everybodyuses it!

Productivity Software

Over-reliance on a standard office application and operating system restricted (students') opportunities to develop generic and transferable skills.

Over-reliance on a standard office application and operating system restricted (students') opportunities to develop generic and transferable skills.

Opportunities: Try + Use + Share

Use it yourself & with classesfree/libre software

Linux

Android

Explore the communityopensourceschools.org.uk

opensource.com/education

www.schoolforge.net

www.k12opensource.com

Opportunities: Make & Command

Teach programmingscratch.mit.edu

www.alice.org

www.squeakland.org

Make stuffArduino

Try free/libre hardwareRaspberry Pi

Opportunities: Serve the Community

Give backCode

Documentation

Tutorials

ConnectHackathons

FOSS conferences

We encourage studentsof any age and situationto read the source code andlearn as much as they want to know.Schools that use free softwarewill enable gifted programmingstudents to advance.

Are we

EMPOWERING

our students to

CONTRIBUTE

in an

EVOLVING

world

?

Do our technology choices

COMMUNICATE

our

VALUES

of

FREEDOM

and

OPENNESS

to our students

?

WhatAreWeWaitingFor?

Works Cited

"About ICS." International Community School of Addis Ababa. Web. 04 Feb. 2012. .

Bonk, Curtis Jay. The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2009. eBook.

"The GNU General Public License V3.0" The GNU Operating System. Free Software Foundation, 2007. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. .

IB Learner Profile Booklet. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organisation, 2006. PDF.

The Importance of ICT: Information and Communication Technology in Primary and Secondary Schools, 2005/2008. London: Ofsted 2008. PDF.

"Mission & Core Values." American School of Bombay. Web. 04 Feb. 2012. .

Raymond, Eric S. "How to Become a Hacker." How to Become a Hacker. Thyrsus Enterprises, 2001. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. .

Rushkoff, Douglas. Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age. New York: Soft Skull, 2011. eBook.

Stallman, Richard M. "Why Schools Should Exclusively Use Free Software - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)." The GNU Operating System. Free Software Foundation, 2 Oct. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. .

Images

Unless cited otherwise, all photos by John Iglar (CC-By-SA) - j_iglar on flickr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_iglar/ Ebbeson, Bill. Richard Stallman at DTU in Denmark 2007/03/3. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons, 31 Mar. 2007. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. . Public Domain.

Hughes, Ian. Arduino Board. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons, 5 Sept. 2011. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. . Licensed CC-By.

Iglar, John.

Jerone2. Eric Stephen Raymond. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons, 8 Oct. 2004. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. . Licensed CC-By-SA.

May, Paul. Douglas Rushkoff. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons, 2 Apr. 2009. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. . Licensed CC-By.

Ridgeway, Stephan. Curtis Bonk as Pirate. Photograph. Flickr, 19 July 2010. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. . Licensed CC-By.

Links

"FOSS." DoD CIO. Department of Defense. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. .

"Jobs | Weta Digital." Weta Digital. Weta Digital, 25 Nov. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. .

Majma, Raphael. "New Hampshire Legislature Passes Open-Source Software Bill." TechPresident. Personal Democracy Media, 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. .

"Opensource." Intelligent Systems Division. NASA. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. .

Shankland, Stephen. "How Linux Saved Amazon Millions - CNET News." Technology News - CNET News. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. .

"Software Protection Initiative - Lightweight Portable Security." Software Protection Initiative - Main. Department of Defense, 15 June 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. .

"Time to Dispel Open Source Myths, Says Liam Maxwell " The Guardian. The Guardian, 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. .

"TOP500 - Statistics." TOP500 - Sublist Generator. Top500.org, Nov. 2011. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. .

johniglar.net

Empowering Students with Free/Libre Software by John Iglar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.