SCALE 8x - 2010 Southern California Linux Expo - OSSIE

Programming Lego Mindstorms with leJOS and Linux

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

Programming Lego Mindstorms with leJOS and Linux

This presentation is an introduction to programming Lego Mindstorms NXT with the open source project leJOS and Linux. The presentation gives an overview of both the Lego Mindstorms NXT and leJOS with a hands on demonstration of installing leJOS and running a leJOS application. The presentation also discusses the endless possibilities both Lego Mindstorms NXT and leJOS provide the audience in creating and controlling their own Lego Mindstorms NXT robots.

The presentation also discusses the endless possibilities both Lego Mindstorms NXT and leJOS provide the audience in creating and controlling their own Lego Mindstorms NXT robots.

Speaker: Steven Doran

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Saving Money by Using Linux to Deploy Windows

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

Keep a Microsoft Windows desktop, but save money by using GNU/Linux to implement it. Save even more money by switching to Free Software applications. Employees don't have a visible difference on their desktops. Companies get to save money and IT effort.

It's obvious that moving to Free Software from proprietary software reduces cost and improves ROI. Using Free Software to deploy that proprietary software and keep the same desktop experience also reduces annual cost. See examples of how using GNU/Linux to deploy Microsoft Windows in a multi-campus K12 environment saved money every year. Not only did it reduce desktop software costs, but it reduced server licensing costs. The students, teachers and staff get to keep using the same software and don't have a visible difference on their desktops. They do get better stability, backups, data security and flexibility. Using GNU/Linux as the deployment infrastructure also improves security and reduces firefighting for IT. When also moving to Free Software applications the cost savings and flexibility increase. The presentation includes tips on how to get users to request Free Software rather than forcing them to move over.

Using GNU/Linux to deploy Microsoft Windows in a multi-campus K12 environment reduces annual desktop and server licensing costs. In this session, you'll learn how to realize many of the benefits of Free Software without visibly changing the end-user desktop experience. You can realize additional savings by moving to Free Software applications.

Students, teachers and staff get to keep using the same software software they are used to, but with better stability and flexibility. Using GNU/Linux as the deployment infrastructure also improves security and reduces firefighting for IT.

The presentation also includes tips on how to get users to request Free Software rather than forcing them to move over.

Speaker: Brian Cluff

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TextBooks 2.0

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

Using an open-source, web-based model termed the "FlexBook," this talk will present our efforts to pioneer the generation and distribution of high quality educational webtexts that will serve both as source materials for a student's learning and, as well,

Today, textbooks that are used in K-12 system are limiting, expensive and are difficult to update. Because of this, K-12 teachers find it hard to introduce new concepts and cater to different needs. What we need is a more flexible and less expensive system to create and distribute books and online content. "FlexBooks", by their very nature, satisfies this need. They contain high quality online content, and are easy to create, update and print as traditional books. They provide a new system that will follow an open source philosophy to place content online that can be "mixed, modified and printed", following the models of Apache.org and Wikipedia.org. CK-12 will actively moderate the expansion of its content base while creating a framework for aligning its assets with an expanding base of learning standards. CK-12 intends to make use of the Creative Commons attribution license, which grants freedom to anyone to use and reuse its core materials. For print versions, the organization envisions working with a marketplace of on-demand presses to provide traditional paper-based materials at low cost.

"FlexBooks" are a more flexible and less expensive system for creating and distributing books and online content. They contain high quality online content and are easy to create, update and print. They provide a new system that will follow an open source philosophy to place content online that can be "mixed, modified and printed", following the models of Apache.org and Wikipedia.org.

CK-12 moderates the expansion of its content base while creating a framework for aligning its assets with an expanding base of learning standards. CK-12 intends to make use of the Creative Commons attribution license, which grants freedom to anyone to use and reuse its core materials.

Speaker: Murugan Pal

The New 1-to-1 : Scalable and Affordable Ubiquitous Computing using Open Source

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

See a new approach to 1 to 1, managing netbooks, laptops and thin client with Linux

In this session, you will see how the concept of "Ubiquitous Computing" could help bring your 1:1 project to life by removing barriers that prevent access to technology. Learn to provide access to the same computing environment no matter the device or the location! See how you can use Ubuntu Linux Netbook Remix in your netbook 1:1 environment, and see the possibilities available to manage a large number of mobile devices like laptops, netbooks and thin clients in a flexible and scalable way.

See how you can use Ubuntu Linux Netbook Remix in your netbook 1:1 environment, and see the possibilities available to manage a large number of mobile devices like laptops, netbooks and thin clients in a flexible and scalable way.

Speaker: Benoit St-Andre

A Comprehensive Linux Back-End Infrastructure

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

See real examples of school districts using a cost-effective approach to a global open source back-end infrastructure

This session will describe a cost-effective approach to a global open source back-end infrastructure large number of students as deployed by Revolution Linux in various school districts in North America. The main goal of these projects is to centralize various information services (such as file servers, printing services, email and collaboration tools, web and authentication) in order to better manage resources and to transfer expertise locally. Using open source software enables the school board to offer more efficient services, such as automated schoolwork management and the automated generation of school website CMS.

This session describes Revolution Linux's cost-effective approach of using open source software to build large scale back-end infrastructure for various school districts in North America. The main goal of these projects is to centralize various information services (such as file servers, printing services, email and collaboration tools, web and authentication) in order to better manage resources and to transfer expertise locally. Using open source software enables the school board to offer more efficient services, such as automated schoolwork management and the automated generation of school website CMS.

Speaker: Benoit St-Andre

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Linux in Small Environments

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

Small environments can benefit from implementing a Linux based network with cost savings, but more importantly, with reliability, security and flexibility. This talk takes a common scenario and with various components builds a Linux based network.

Interested in the opportunity of reliable, low-cost computing infrastructure with Open Source Software but not sure how to begin? This session is for you! We'll look at how to put together the right software and hardware for your needs. From selecting a Linux “distribution” to connecting and managing client PCs, we'll explore the options for administration and security.

Speaker: Ken Leyba

Building Early Knowledge with Gcompris

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

GCompris is a free program for early learners ages 2-10.

Participants in this session will walk through the GCompris edutainment suite. They'll then see a short video of students at Westside Neighborhood School using the software and reflecting upon their learning and technology experience. The speaker will touch on the practicalities of using this project in a classroom or computer lab, and will point to the value of this and other open source programs in education. Participants are also encouraged to share their experiences with open source edutainment and/or learning software and discuss the potential for building and sharing knowledge with open source.

Participants are also encouraged to share their experiences with open source edutainment and/or learning software and discuss the potential for building and sharing knowledge with open source.

Speaker: Tim Stutt

Open Source Content Filtering with DansGuardian

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

Installation, configuration and usage of the application.

Are you a parent trying to protect your kids from unwanted internet content? IT for a business with slumping productivity? Whatever your needs, DansGuardian is the Open Source solution that can handle it. This session is a DansGaurdian overview and will cover the installation of DansGuardian and squid. From installation and basic configuration to filtering group management, blacklists, exceptions and regular expression matching, we'll cover what you need to know about DansGuardian.

From installation and basic configuration to filtering group management, blacklists, exceptions and regular expression matching, we'll cover what you need to know about DansGuardian.

Speaker: Andrew Vandever

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Sugar In Your Classroom: How Sweet It Is!

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:53 +0000

Participants will learn about Sugar's wonderful educational Activities and how to bring them to their own classroom through purchase of XO machines from OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) or using free usb downloads for the intel computers they already have.

Educators and Developers worldwide are teaming up to bring Sugar's OS Software to students everywhere. The programs they create, called Activities, can be run on OLPC's XO, and, via usb downloads, on PCs, including Macs with Intel processors. The list of Activities has grown from a few dozen when the XO first made its public debut in 2007 to over 300 by the end of December 2009. In addition, using other web based resources via Sugar has been made easier. As the collection of Activities has grown, more programs of interest to older students, and even adults, have been added. Participants will learn about the latest and greatest Sugar Activities and the simple processes for getting them for their students. We will look at Sugar on a Stick, buying XO laptops for their school, and the Contributors Program which supplies a small number of free XO computers to educators and developers who want to contribute programs or other content to the greater OLPC/Sugar Labs community.

Educators and developers worldwide are teaming up to bring Sugar's OS Software to students everywhere. The programs they create, called Activities, can be run on One Laptop Per Child (OLCP)'s XO, and, via usb downloads, on PCs and Intel Macs.

The list of Activities grew from a few dozen in 2007 to over 300 by December 2009. In addition, using other web based resources via Sugar has been made easier. As the collection of Activities grew, more programs of interest to older students, and even adults, were added.

Participants will learn about the latest and greatest Sugar Activities and the simple processes for getting them. We will look at Sugar on a Stick, buying XO laptops for their school, and the Contributors Program which supplies a small number of free XO computers to educators and developers who contribute programs or content to the greater OLPC/Sugar Labs community.

Speaker: Caryl Bigenho