Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Webinar Today: Open Source - A Guide for the School District Technology Team

Date: Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Time: 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 5pm GMT (international times here)
Duration: 1 hour
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
Event and Recording Page:  http://www.learncentral.org/event/60486

Join me for the first in a new series of Webinars on Open Source Software for NSBA's Technology Leadership Network.  Today Benoit St-AndrĂ© from Revolution Linux presents on "Open Source: A Guide for the School Districts Technology Leadership Team."

Description:  Because of the low costs associated with Open Source software, people install it easily at home and in the classroom with few problems. Additionally, because Open Source software is promoted by many enthusiasts, who communicate their enthusiasm very well, generalizing Open Source at the organizational level seems a no-brainer. The problem is that installing software on a computer isn’t the same as making it work on dozens or thousands of computers. There are challenges that you must consider before taking on a transition to Open Source. This webinar presentation is about getting to know what you could avoid in implementing Open Source in your organization.

Benoit St-André started his career as an high school science teacher and did planning for technology in those schools. Afterwards, he was appointed educational consultant on technology for the school district and was responsible for technology integration through the district. He then became curriculum specialist for science and technology, and was in charge of professional development for curriculum reform at that time.

He then was one of the authors of a science and technology textbook series for secondary curriculum. During that time, just before working at Revolution Linux, he also did some consulting, professional development and conferences about Free and Open Source software and Open Content.

Benoit has been around Open Source in Education for about ten years now, and believes Open Source is a key instrument on getting students and teaches to learn more efficiently with technology.  At Revolution Linux, he is Educational Resources Director, bridging the gap between IT and educational needs.

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