[Ubuntu Chicago] quiet around here

[Eddie Martinez]

hey alll. I like the ideas thoughts, concerns, etc. we are all having. I
think a meeting is in order. can we make it the 23rd? im available on the
16th as well, but i would like to use that day to go visit my brother and
sister instead. however, you can meet without me if you want. the 23rd would
also give us more time to figure out more ideas, clarify any points that we
want to make, etc.

thanks all for your efforts,

-eddie m.

On Jan 31, 2008 3:03 AM, Robert Stolorz <robert at feratechinc.com> wrote:

>  Hey guys,
>
> Sorry for not contributing earlier, but I've been very busy. Be warned
> this will be a long e-mail. A lot of the things discussed I have already put
> some planning into. As always feel free to take in or disregard anything
> here.
> *
> Skills**:
> *In terms of skills and experience. I'm pretty comfortable with most
> technologies. I know both Windows and Linux pretty well from the standard
> user perspective to the more technical side. I run my own web server and
> have plenty of experience with the software involved. I also do all my own
> graphic designs meaning I can do any design work and have thorough
> experience with Gimp and Photoshop.
>
> As for teaching experience I have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. I
> have taken several courses in education. I also have experience teaching
> both large lectures and private tutoring. I was hired by the Chicago Public
> Schools to do some part time teaching as well but in the end turned down the
> position.
>
> *Courses:
> *1. Free is always good. It is a great advertising strategy and will
> guarantee exposure.
> 2. Not everything should be free but no charge for introductory courses is
> a good start.
> 3. Provide free access to all teaching materials. This is huge! I deal
> with companies that train teachers on technology like Word, Excel and
> PowerPoint all the time. Every single time I talk to any of the teachers
> their biggest complaint is that teaching materials aren't provided, there is
> nothing to refer back to. These companies copyright all their materials and
> refuse to distribute them.
> 4. Having a website is essential. A wiki system is good because teaching
> resources can updated and changed on the fly. Also students can update and
> provide input on the content as well.
>
> *Course Structure:*
> 1. Free introductory classes to Ubuntu. This would cover differences
> between Windows, general use like internet, e-mail, and documents.
> 2. General public courses for document processing, graphics, e-mail and
> website design. OpenOffice is so similar to Microsoft that the classes can
> even be marketed as a general class for both. Also, classes can be
> advertised that the software is distributed for free. No need to worry about
> licenses or fees the cost of the classes would be less than the software
> itself. Now that's a great advertising program.
> 3. Advanced programs for businesses which would be a little more
> expensive. This would cover things for businesses like using the OpenSource
> available finance programs, shared calendars, and other office productivity
> applications.
>
> All software should be distributed free of charge with each class.
> *
> Advertising:
> *There is nothing better than doing projects. I haven't had much time to
> follow up with the project I brought up. It will take a at least a month to
> do an inventory and get to the point of proposing the project to the school.
> So far they have been very receptive. For this there would at least be an
> article in the paper about it. Also, for the free classes I could easily
> distribute those to all the schools I work for.
>
> *The Future:
> *The Chicago Arch Diocese spends millions a year to teach teachers simple
> things like Microsoft Office. This could easily be replaced by OpenOffice
> and additional training to include Linux/Ubuntu. I have several meetings
> planned with the head of teaching technology within the Arch Diocese to try
> to promote Open Source software.
>
> --
> Ubuntu-us-chicago mailing list
> Ubuntu-us-chicago at lists.ubuntu.com
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-chicago
>
>


-- 
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<Please exit in an orderly fashion>
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