[IAEP] Classroom of the Future (was Re: Looking for a school to see technology in education in action in Orlando or Miami area)

[Edward Mokurai Cherlin]

On Thu, January 10, 2013 11:35 am, Rita Freudenberg wrote:
> Hi,
>
> on behalf of my colleagues I'm looking for a school they can visit while
> they are attending FETC conference in Orlando at the end of this month.
> Here in Magdeburg, Germany, we are working in a project "classroom of the
> future", dealing with the technological and educational challenges when
> using laptops in the classroom.

Would your project be interested in discussing OERs and digital
learning materials technologies, such as Etoys, EPUB3, and HTML5? We
have established that computers with Free Software and OERs cost much
less than printed textbooks, and we know in principle that OERs can be
used to integrate Free Software into the curriculum in every school
subject, including gym/PE.

If the answer to the above question is yes, then consider this an
application for me, as head of Replacing Textbooks at Sugar Labs, and
a contributor to FLOSS Manuals and so on, to join your project.

Columbus, Indiana, where I now live, has started to put computers in
the classroom. California has a Free Digital Textbooks Initiative.
Bangladesh and South Korea are well along in developing free digital
textbooks and classroom computers. Indonesia has made a public
commitment to do so, and has made a strong start on digitizing
existing textbooks. India is sort of thinking about it with the
underpowered Aakash computer. This is in addition to countries
committed to OLPC projects, and other projects using other computers,
other software, and other OERs. Creative Commons, UNESCO, and UNDP are
all very active in OERs, although UNESCO needs some help to get
started on K-12 materials. UNHWR would also be interested, for example
in putting OERs into its school deployments in Palestinian refugee
camp schools in Gaza and elsewhere.

There will be an international conference on OERs in Bali, Indonesia
this year. I expect that school tours can be arranged.

http://conference.ocwconsortium.org/index.php/2013/2013
OCWC Global Conference 2013
Bali Ayodya Resort
May 8, 2013 – May 10, 2013

OCWC Global 2013, hosted by APTIKOM Indonesia, will be held in Bali,
Indonesia May 8-10. Partnering with the OCWC and APTIKOM for the
realization of conference goals is a local organizing team which
includes the National ICT Council of Indonesia, Ministry of Education
and Culture, Ministry of Information and Communication, and the
Indonesian Open University.

Held annually, OCWC Global reunites the OCW/OER community for three
days of showcasing new projects, debating issues of common concern,
and exchanging useful practices in matters such as pedagogy, policy
and technology.

> They are very much interested to see how
> these things work in other countries.
> If you know a school they could visit or a person they could talk to,
> please let me know. They are not only interested to see best practice, but
> also, what kind of problems arise. Since we are at the beginning of this
> here in our area, we want to learn what works and what to anticipate.
>
> For plan b, do you think I could just approach schools in the area and ask
> if they can visit? They are both computer scientists, but their first
> training was to become teachers. Now they work here at the university in
> Magdeburg in the teacher training group.
>
> Thank you for your help!
>
> Greetings,
> Rita
>
> Rita Freudenberg
> rita.freudenberg at ovgu.de

-- 
Edward Mokurai (默雷/निशब्दगर्ज/نشبدگرج) Cherlin
Silent Thunder is my name, and Children are my nation.
The Cosmos is my dwelling place, the Truth my destination.
http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Replacing_Textbooks