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.

1. Press release explaining the OSI sponsored initiative (complete).
2. Web page on OSI site (complete)
3. Program/resource guide for developing local FLOSS student groups / clubs based on the Schodack School District model.
   1. 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)
   2. Worksheets, session planning (complete)
   3. Staffing (recommendations for teachers, aids, volunteers required to support students and projects)
   4. Policies (issues to be aware of and address for establishing and running the program).
4. Opensource,com Article (complete)
5. Program "Sell Sheet" (complete)
6. Project Sponsorship Proposal (in progress)

Additional ideas, development status, and assignee(s) is captured in the, "Working Notes: Task List".

Resources

• Content repository: Google Shared Drive
• Mailing list: FLOSS Desktops for Kids, subscribe to list, view list archives, or post a message to the list.

As a result of the districts new approach, a Chris Olsen, a Schodack Board of Education member, wrote to compliment the districts innovative approach to teaching and learning through partnerships with the community and the OSCC specifically:

Communications

The group will primarily communicate via the working group wiki page and related discussion forum.

If you have questions about the group, please contact Patrick Masson, the sponsor or Katie Osterdahl & Kristopher Navratil, the working group co-chairs.

Target Completion Date

1. Program/resource guide: June 1, 2015 with annual renewal

Ongoing OSI Support

It is expected that once the resources have been developed and distributed the working group can be dissolved. However, as the Schodack student group is expected to continue, and new districts may choose to participate, additional work may be undertaken in maintaining the documentation and updating materials based on ongoing practice, lessons learned and new inputs.

Activities and Outcomes

Community

Documentation

DesktopRefurbishment and Distribution Co-Curricular

Students learn to crimp Ethernet cable from district IT staff

Students present at UAlbany's Open Source Festival (see more here: http://www.schodack.k12.ny.us/stories/2014-15/Open-Source-Computer-Club.php and here https://www.facebook.com/SchodackCSD/posts/590114801091043)
Students share there work with Raymond Blum, Site Reliability Engineer at Google

Press / Community

Times Union (http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Life-lessons-in-cooperation-and-sharing-6083089.php)