[ubuntu-za] [Education] Introduction

[Hilton Theunissen]

Jonathan Carter (highvoltage) wrote:
> Hi Hilton
> 
> Hilton Theunissen wrote:
>> to the 1st Edubuntu summit in June 2005, which was really fantastic. I 
>> will never forget Jc explored the hotel room bar fridge - most expensive 
>> drinks and chocolates I ever paid.
> 
> I did apologise for that! I also swear that I've never touched a 
> mini-bar after that ever again!
with rand/dollar exchange rate I suggest you keep to that....lol

> 
>> Personally I am passionate about Open Platforms in the SA Education 
>> Sector, I have devoted myself since 2000 to get OSS into SA schools. I 
>> figure I will never give up...hope.
> 
> I'll always fondly remember my time at Shuttleworth Foundation and 
> Inkululeko. I think the government will have to /really/ but their 
> backing behind free *content* before things really pick up, and 
> currently our education system is so old-fashioned and behind the times 
> that I think it will take a real long time before education actually 
> catches up to the world we live in.
agreed Jono but we have to maintain some momentum otherwise we fall behind
> 
>> Newest tuXlabs to go up this month: join in if you wish
>> Pietermaritzburg 5 primary schools - networking starting next week
>> Joburg 1 primary school - this is a nice lab, 17"lcd, 40 x inveneo amd 
>> thin clients, phase 2 will be focused on going into the classroom, 
>> terminal for the educator.
> 
> Where in Jo'burg?
in Saxonwold actually have an interesting problem that require some input.
> 
>> Long e-mail ne' but I hope it inspire you to launch your project and 
>> make it known in SA to ensure OSS gets embedded in SA schools.
> 
> To be perfectly honest, I think any education project needs to be well 
> funded, even if it's a free-software-like project. I think a 
> loosely-knit group will always struggle, since education is one of those 
> problems that are considered non-sexy. People tend to come and go often, 
> get busy and can't contribute for certain periods... and while this is 
> generally not a big problem in a big software project, in educational 
> projects it seems to be a very specific problem.
agreed Jono
> 
> Actually, Edubuntu is making some interesting turns. The next version of 
> Edubuntu will be an add-on CD for Ubuntu, Kubuntu or Xubuntu. This means 
> that Edubuntu administrators can easier choose the desktop environment 
> they want to use, etc. The real benefit though is that the Edubuntu CD 
> will have much more space for content, language packs, etc. The CD size 
> limit has always been a significant challenge for the team, since the 
> Ubuntu CD was already pretty much maxed out. There will be lots more 
> space (very literally) for improvement in the future versions of 
> Edubuntu. I think that if you are serious about improving education with 
> Ubuntu, then get involved in the Ubuntu 8.10 (Intripid Ibex) release 
> cycle for Ubuntu, and add your ideas and input there.
looking forward to this

> -Jonathan
>