FLOSS Desktop For Kids Incubator Project
Start date: January 2015
Working Group C0-Chairs: Kristopher Navratil
Working Group Sponsor: Josh Simmons
OSI General Manager: Patrick Masson
Monthly OSI Board if Director Reports: Report Archive
Community:
Please note: the names and organizations listed here are provided for reference only, and include those who have engaged with the program at very different levels. These are provided here for reference only, and should not be assumed to support the FLOSS Desktops program, or the Open Source Initiative.
- Aspen Academy - Penguin Corps
- Stu Keroff, Director
- Boys & Girls Club of Orange County
- Ben Hall, Volunteer Community Organizer
- Community School of Excellence, Asian Penguins
- Luke Burris, Director
- Greenville High School
- Tadhg Russell, Computer Club Advisor
- Ferguson Youth Initiative
- Matt Bremehr, Account Executive, OCI
- Dwayne James, Director, Ferguson Youth Initiative
- Open Source Tour
- Kokou Elolo AMEGAYIBO, Founding Member, Minodoo Community
- North Colonie Central School District
- Kerry Flynn, Principal, Loudonville Elementary
- Annie Gersztoff, Librarian, Loudonville Elementary
- Schodack School District
- James Derby, Principal, Schodack Central Schools
- Matthew LaClair, Superintendent of Buildings Grounds
- Kristopher Navratil, Technology Faculty, Maple Hill Middle School
- Matthew Purificato, Computer Network Administrator
- Jim Yox, IT Director, Schodack Central Schools
- Siena College
- Madeline Hagen, Student Mentor
- Michele McColgan, Program Director, Urban Scholars
- Tristen Protzmann, Student Mentor
- Lindsay Clark, Student Mentor
- Nick Carpinello, Student Mentor
- Taconic Hills Central School District
- Ryan Proper, Technology Integration Specialist
- Troy Area United Ministries
- Colin Kuebler, Instructor
Social media
Description
Each year school districts across the United States discard thousands of computers as the hardware moves off of commercial service warranties (typically after three or four years) or are no longer capable of running the latest proprietary operating systems and desktop applications. The majority of these computers are still functional (i.e. not broken or damaged). At the same time, many schools are looking for opportunities to increase STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) within their curricula. The availability of surplus equipment and FLOSS software provides a unique opportunity for schools, teachers and students to learn about computer hardware and software.
The FLOSS Desktop Refurbishment and Distribution working group will develop a program and resource guideline for creating student workshops (school clubs, groups, etc.) serving K-12 and potentially the broader community (senior citizens, libraries, community groups, etc.). These workshops will be open to school children and run by their faculty and/or community mentors in cooperation with their schools, providing access to a variety of project-based learning activities, including:
- Hardware refurbishment: Students will rebuild and bring to operational condition decommissioned computers from local school districts.
- Software Administration: Students will install and configure FLOSS software: operating systems and various desktop applications (LibreOffice, GIMP, etc.).
- Mentorship: Students will develop a curriculum and teach "desktop literacy" to their peers and other members of the community using the refurbished FLOSS computers. After completion of the course, the participants will be able to take the computer home.
- Peer Support Center: Students will create, manage and operate a "help desk" providing those who complete the course and using the refurbished computers a resource for ongoing support.
Background
The OSI's FLOSS Desktops for Kids Incubator Project began within the Maple Hill Middle School of Schodack School District in partnership with the District's Business Incubator Program. The school administration identified the FLOSS Desktops project as a potential complement for furthering the District's academic goals in extending exposure to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) to students. Organized within the school as the Open Source Computer Club (OSCC) in the Fall of 2014, the program is managed by the school's Technology Teacher and meets after regular class. Since it's inception, the Schodack program has been a model for other districts and organizations (e.g. Boys & Girls Clubs).
Working Group Mission
- Initially, provide school districts and other community organizations with professional development, educational programs and support services related to FLOSS for faculty, students and/or staff.
- Create opportunities for school districts in Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) using low/no cost, low barrier resources.
- Develop and document an academic program, including educational, technology and staffing resources, as well as promotional and communications resources to help other districts across the U.S. understand and implement the program.
- Extend the awareness of FLOSS and the OSI within K-12 education and the institutions that support it.
- Create opportunities for regional "OSI Centers of Interest" within the K-12 system to extend the OSI mission and resources.
Alignment to OSI Mission
In line with the OSI mission to, raise the awareness and adoption of open source and build bridges between open source communities:
- Many faculty and administrators working within K12 are unfamiliar with open source software generally and as an alternative to proprietary options. This program will introduce open source software as a resource to schools, increase awareness of open source alternatives to software traditionally used within education, highlight its value as both a tool to support education (i.e. a platform for educational activities), and as a resource for instruction (i.e. a set of learning objects enabling teaching and learning).
- The program is designed to foster community development not only across districts, but across academic disciplines and administrative areas. Teachers and staff from different schools and districts will work together, as will Technology Teachers and Librarians, K12 instructors and university faculty, community organizers and school officers, etc., thus building bridges between various types and levels of educational institutions and even other types of community groups.
Deliverables
All academic resources, including those listed below and those under development, can be found the project's shared Google drive.
- Press release explaining the OSI sponsored initiative (complete).
- Web page on OSI site (complete)
- Program/resource guide for developing local FLOSS student groups / clubs based on the Schodack School District model.
- Curriculum for instruction (in progress)
- Learning objectives (goals for student learning through the project)
- Learning activities (recommendations for instruction)
- Schedule (recommended topics, activities, etc. toward learning objectives).
- Hardware resource guide (how to obtain and manage donated equipment)
- Worksheets, session planning (complete)
- Staffing (recommendations for teachers, aids, volunteers required to support students and projects)
- Policies (issues to be aware of and address for establishing and running the program).
- Curriculum for instruction (in progress)
- Opensource,com Article (complete)
- Program "Sell Sheet" (complete)
- Project Sponsorship Proposal (in progress)
- Develop resources for the program to position FLOSS Desktops as a "pre-Google Code-in" activity (in progress).
- Note, this could be a significant step in achieving deliverable #8 as well as securing funding from organizations supporting programs like, Code-in, Hour of Code, Summer of Code.
- Identify a permanent host for the FLOSS Desktops for Kids program.
Additional ideas, development status, and assignee(s) is captured in the, "Working Notes: Task List".
Current Activities
If you're interested in helping, see our list of current activities and how to start.
Resources
- Content repository: Google Shared Drive provides a common space for all of the documents (final & in-progress) related to the project.
- Promotional Materials
- "Sell Sheet" for FLOSS Desktops for Kids One page handout outlining the program, benefits, contacts, etc.
- Slide deck introducing FLOSS Desktops for Kids Presentation for districts, school staff, volunteers, etc. about the program. Mirrors the above "Sell Sheet".
- Promotional Materials
- IRC Channel: Interested parties may join #FLOSSdesktops on freenode.
- Mailing list: A group mailing list for all participants working with FLOSS Desktops for Kids.
- Wiki: A collaborative working space to discuss the project (this site).
Communications
The group will primarily communicate via the working group wiki page (and related discussion forum below) and the FLOSS Desktops mailing list.
If you have questions about the group, please contact Patrick Masson, the sponsor, or Kristopher Navratil, the working group chair.
Target Completion Date
- Pilot program: June 1, 2015 with annual renewal. The initial project--designing and delivering a K12 course on open source software-- was completed on schedule with the organization of the Open Source Computer Club at Maple Hill Middle School in the fall in 2015. The program culminated with a presentation by students of their work at the University at Albany's Open Source Festival.
- Program/resource guide: June 2016 with annual renewal. A comprehensive curriculum conforming to the ITSE standards was developed along with teaching and learning resources to, 1. ensure the program was in line with U.S. national standards, 2. give adopting schools/districts confidence that the educational program, is comprehensive and complete, 3. help schools just starting with the program deliver a standard course, and 4. provide a launching point for further development based on unique local needs.
- The final goal is to find a qualified and supported organization to hand the incubator project off to.
Ongoing OSI Support
It is expected that once the Incubator Project achieves critical mass, it will either, 1. become self sustaining, or 2. will be adopted by a permanent sponsor whose work is in line with the educational objectives/outcomes of the FLOSS Desktops for Kids program. Until that time, the OSI will continue to support the ongoing work of adopters as well as promote continued growth.
Additional Resources
Case Studies / Reference Implementations
This table is provided to index schools currently providing FLOSS Desktops.
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School Name | Contact | Reference Source | FLOSS Used | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maple Hill Middle School | Kristopher Navratil, Technology Faculty, Maple Hill Middle School | Middle School Students Present at University at Albany | Linux (Ubuntu), LibreOffice, GIMP, OpenShot | FLOSS only used in the School's Open Source Computer Club as part of the FLOSS Desktops for Kids program. |
Mirman School | Michael Taggart, Education technologist and writer. | via a Tweet from @mttaggart. | Linux | Linux in the Library (rPi kiosks) supporting digital signage, for VMs in CS classes, as a desktop for one faculty member. |
Siena College | Michele McColgan, director of Siena Urban Scholars | Ubuntu | Ongoing summer camp |
Photos
General 2015
- , typical of where the hardware supporting the FLOSS Desktops for Kids is acquired from (2015).
- from Maple Hill Middle School (Schodack CSD) working on their computers (2015).
- , Schodack CSD's Computer Network Administrator, provides students a lesson on "crimping" network Ethernet cables to OSCC (2015).
- works on "crimping" an Ethernet cable (2015).
- Kris Navratil, Maple Hill Middle School Technology Teacher & Open Source Computer Club advisor, and Patrick Masson, Open Source Initiative GM & Board Director, with students of Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club, working on their computers. (Copyright Michael P. Farrell/Times Union, 2015)
- Patrick Masson, OSI GM and Board Director of Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club (2015)
- Maple Hill Middle School Principal James Derby and Technology Teacher Kris Navratil School Board with OSI GM Patrick Masson (2015).
- by Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club (2015)
- Installfest gone wild, Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club loads Ubuntu on a 2010 Lenovo C-Series All in One (2015).
Albany Open Source Festival, 2015
Kris Navratil, Maple Hill Middle School Technology Teacher & Open Source Computer Club advisor, with students (2015).
- Students from Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club , Site Reliability Engineer at Google, during the University at Albany's Open Source Festival (2015).
- Students from Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club during the University at Albany's Open Source Festival (2015).
- Kris Navratil, Maple Hill Middle School Technology Teacher & Open Source Computer Club advisor, with (2015).
- Student from Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club explaining his work at the University at Albany's Open Source Festival (Copyright, Schodack CSD, 2015).
- Principal James Derby of Maple Hill Middle School looks on as students from the Open Source Computer Club explain their work at the University at Albany's Open Source Festival (Copyright, Schodack CSD, 2015).
- Student from Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club explaining her work at the University at Albany's Open Source Festival (Copyright, Schodack CSD, 2015).
- at the Open Source Initiative Booth at the University at Albany's Open Source Festival (2015).
- Workstations completed by the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club at the UAlbany Open Source Festival (2015).
General 2016
Students from Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club (2016).
- Student from Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club (2016).
- Student from Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club (2016).
- Kris Navratil, Maple Hill Middle School Technology Teacher & Matthew Purificato, Schodack CSD's Computer Network Administrator, from Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club (2016).
- Matthew Purificato, Schodack CSD's Computer Network Administrator, works with the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club (2016).
- Students from the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club during "crimping" exercise (2017)
- Two students from Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club "crimping" (2016)
- The Maple Middle School Open Source Computer Club's (2016).
- Completed/refurbished computer by the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club (2016).
- Competed projects ( ) by Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club (2016).
- on completed/refurbished Maple Middle School Open Source Computer Club computer running Lubuntu Linux.
Games in Education 2016
- from Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club (2016)
- from Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club (2016)
Albany Open Source Festival, 2016
- Students from the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club at the University at Albany's Open Source Festival (2016).
- Kris Navratil, Maple Hill Middle School Technology Teacher , Open Source Festival organizer.
- Students of the Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club , Open Source Festival organizer.
- at OSI booth during UAlbany's Open Source Festival (2016)
- Students of the Maple Hill Middle School's Open Source Computer Club at the Open Source Festival (2016)
General 2017
- arrive on a pallet to Maple Hill Middle School ready for the Open Source Computer Club (2017).
- of the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club (2017).
- during meeting of the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club (2017).
- Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club students , "Make 0: Theorize and Illustrate" (2017).
- from "Make 0" of the FLOSS Desktops for Kids worksheets, "Theorize and Illustrate" (2017).
- by member of the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club (2017).
- by a member of Maple Hill's Open Source Computer Club (2017).
- of the FLOSS Desktops for Kids worksheets, "Theorize and Illustrate" (2017).
- Student from the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club from the FLOSS Desktops for Kids worksheets.
- Student from the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club (2017).
- Students from the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club and Kris Navratil, Maple Hill Middle School Technology Teacher (2017).
- Students from the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club and Kris Navratil, Maple Hill Middle School Technology Teacher (2017).
- from a meeting of the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club (2017).
- delivered to the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club (2017).
- during meeting of Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club (2017).
- Kris Navratil, Maple Hill Middle School Technology Teacher of the Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club (2017).
- by Maple Hill Middle School Open Source Computer Club (2017).
- Jim Yox, IT Director at Schodack Central Schools from North Colonie's Shaker High unpack discarded computers at Maple Hill Middle School (2017).
- Students from North Colonie's Shaker High School for use at Siena College's Urban Scholars program (2017).
- Students from North Colonie's Shaker High School for use at Siena College's Urban Scholars program (2017).
Press
- Life lessons in cooperation and sharing: Schodack district superintendent creates learning, community center (Times Union, Albany NY, Feb. 15, 2015)
- Middle School Students Present at University at Albany (Schodack Central School District, 2015)
- Out of the Trash and into the Class: Building a STEM Program by Re-Building Computers. (Open Source Initiative, Aug. 2016)
- Open Source Computer Club: Out of the trash, into the classroom (Opensource.com, Sep. 2016)
- Schodack CSD & Business Incubators (CapChips, 2017)
Conferences/Events
- UAlbany 2015 Open Source Festival: Open Source Computer Club / Schodack School District’s Open Source Computer Club
- UAlbany 2015 Open Source Festival: Open Source Computer Club / Schodack School District’s Open Source Computer Club
- Games in Education 2016: FLOSS Desktops for Kids