Re: [Dfey-general-discuss] Remember *that* meeting?....

[Joe O'Dell]

Hey Paul,

> Sounds good to me,  can the dclug Jump in on this one,  as we are
> looking at doing something similar,  
> Perhaps they would be interestred in helping or even sponsoring, esp if
> you can give them some space to write articles etc

I'd be happy for DCLUG to assist in the writing of sections/articles and the 
production of the booklet.
The more the merrier!

> so i have no problem burning copies
> of the opencd for use locally (torbay)

That would be great, but it would be even nicer to have pressed media for use. 
I'm investigating the ThinkBig Funding, which initially grants £300 for the 
project and then the £2000, so perhaps it's something we could conquer first?
Or perhaps we could ask somewhere like the Linux Emporium to co-brand the disks 
with us for no-/low-fee?

theingots.org looks good - I will have a proper look through them when I get 
back later today :)

Thanks!

Joe
-------------------------------------------------------
Joe O'Dell

GreenerClassrooms Project Co-Ordinator
http://www.greenerclassrooms.org.uk

Fedora Ambassador & Contributor (FreeMedia)
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Ascenseur

bedsLUG Co-Ordinator
beds.lug.org.uk

DFEY Member (SouthEast)
dfey.org



On 3 Aug 2010, at 11:57, Paul Sutton wrote:

> On 03/08/10 10:50, Joe O'Dell wrote:
>> Hello All,
>> 
>> It seems such a long time ago since we held the meeting at the hackspace - 
>> and nothing really has been done since!
>> 
>> I've got a lot of free time now, as I've just come back from holiday, so I 
>> am willing to get cracking on the main idea - a booklet describing and 
>> explaining FOSS in schools.
>> 
>> Here are the key points that I think should be included - please add points 
>> or expand on them, but bear in mind it is a booklet, not an essay!
>> 
>> 1. Introducing FOSS
>> Describe (in short terms) the philosophy of FOSS, the fact it has nil cost, 
>> and that it is improved and repaired by the whole community?
>> 
>> 2. Taking Baby Steps
>> Here should be ideas of the first things a school should use if it were 
>> going to change over to FOSS - things like OpenOffice.org, Moodle, Firefox, 
>> Audacity and Inkscape.
>> 
>> Do a "Popular Misconceptions" section like "Oh, it's open source so I can't 
>> lock it down - FALSE: Many applications that are open source can be locked 
>> down, and some made even more secure than proprietary alternatives"
>> Perhaps it would be worth getting some of us to ask IT 
>> Teachers/Lecturers/Technicians what their main fears/thoughts about using 
>> FOSS are? I can ask mine when we get back in september.
>> 
>> Also talk about the open education disc?
>> 
>> 3. Complete Overhaul/Starting Afresh
>> Explain that if they are thinking of a complete overhaul, or if they are 
>> just venturing into IT Solutions, that Linux and FOSS alternatives are a key 
>> player.
>> Expand on the cost aspects, the compatability, the fact there are not 
>> viruses, that it can be locked down heavily (sometimes even more secure than 
>> MS), and the fact that it is much more resource-friendly.
>> 
>> Give options such as Ubuntu (Edubuntu for Primary schools) for desktops, 
>> Easy Peasy for laptops (based on ubuntu), SmoothWall for proxy filtering, 
>> Ubuntu Server/CentOS as an alternative to WIndows Server.
>> 
>> 4. Providing Resources
>> I am thinking that it would be worth including CDs/DVDs of Ubuntu, Ubuntu 
>> Server, SmoothWall, the OpenEducationDisc and perhaps another distribution 
>> (fedora? I can get a fair amount of fedora dvds direct from fedora if you 
>> want them). These could then go into plastic wallets at the back?
>> 
>> The only reason I am thinking this is because we are only going to send them 
>> to schools/LEAs - not hand them out in public - and as such if we can ply 
>> them with as much FOSS stuff as possible, they have a higher rate of using 
>> it.
>> 
>> Also include links to DFEY, Ubuntu etc. etc. - please add them if you want 
>> to see them here!
>> 
>> So that's my idea at the moment - the only thing I will request is an EPS of 
>> the DFEY logo - as we discussed at the hackspace, FOSS DTP software is far 
>> from brilliant, and as I have a Quark license, I am happy to build it on 
>> that.
>> 
>> Finally, there is the printing (and postage) charges for all of this - 
>> Outsourcing printing is the only reasonable option, as in-house printing on 
>> an A4 inkjet is going to look terrible. The only problem being paying for it.
>> However, there is O2 ThinkBig that can provide up to £2000 for projects - 
>> this fits into their "Learning" category - as well as providing mobile 
>> credit, a laptop and internet etc. etc.. If we could tap into that, it could 
>> pay for a print run of the booklets, plus postage, plus media.
>> 
>> Please, give me as many ideas as you can - I am definitely all ears.
>> 
>> Joe
>> -------------------------------------------------------
>> Joe O'Dell
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As I am working to promote dfey in the south west then any resources
> would be useful,
> 
> some useful links
> 
> http://theingots.org/
> on a related (savings) note
> http://theingots.org/community/ITQdevelopment sounds excellent 4 figure
> sums of savings,
> 
> 
> 
> Paul.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> 
>> GreenerClassrooms Project Co-Ordinator
>> http://www.greenerclassrooms.org.uk
>> 
>> Fedora Ambassador & Contributor (FreeMedia)
>> http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Ascenseur
>> 
>> bedsLUG Co-Ordinator
>> beds.lug.org.uk
>> 
>> DFEY Member (SouthEast)
>> dfey.org
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Next Paignton meeting - Saturday 7th August 2010 - 3pm Lighthouse, Paignton,
> Next Holsworthy Meeting -  Saturday 21st August @ The White Hart,
> Holsworthy.
> 
> 
> Thursday 22nd Tea Party 2pm - 5pm
> Saturday 31st Salsa Night 8pm - 12:30
> please e-mail address@hidden for more details.
> 
> 
> SOFTWARE FREEDOM DAY 2010
> SATURDAY 18th SEPTEMBER 2010  - LIGHTHOUSE, PAIGNTON
> 
> 
> 
>