FOSS in Education: It teaches you twice (if not more)
John "Maddog" Hall
Vendors respond to universities...
- university discount
- student editions
- Universities turn to Microsoft
- "Lock them in when they are young."
Goals of University?
- Create a thinking electorate, thinking workforce
- Research: public research with public money, private research with private money
Importance to Country
- local jobs (high tech)
- balance of trade
- eliminate piracy
- security of country (economic, military, longevity)
Do not be afraid of the word service:
- more than just "installing software"
- this is Brain Surgery
- this is like being a lawyer
Things to Teach in the New Model:
- how to do distributed development
- how to license sofware
- how to develop formal standards
- how to motivate software developers
- how to locate and engage the community of users and developers
- how to innovate, everywhere, always
Teach:
- fundamentals
- comparison evaluation
- how to share
- Do not teach specific products
Hackerteen (brazil):
- create hackers, not crackers by teaching them real skills, create pride, self-confidence, employ them
- Computer based training
- used japanese style cartoons to RPG plot
- psychologists and group work once a month
- karate belt style advancement
Results:
- hackerteen graduates now employed
- heckerteen interns teaching at favalas and telecentros
- Hackerteen is a "for-profit" business
Telecentros:
- computer centres created from "bombed out" stores that are cleaned out and refitted with recycled computers. city pays people to staff.
- reverse blight happens, new stores are opened up. telecentros become "cultural centers".
Soweto:
- photographic museum of Alf Kumalo who taught poor kids to do photography, was using photoshop to do digital imaging.
- photoshop encourages piracy: uses GIMP instead.
Software Piracy:
- people outside of Beijing make 60 USD/month = 10 months to buy MS Office
SAGU: http://sagu2.solis.coop.br/
Kuali Project
Summary
- students see how software works
- easy exchange of research results
- creation of free software