#241 Pre-Conference Workshop - Half-Day

Sunday 15 April 2012 10:00 - 13:00 Rushmore Room, St Catharine's

Making Open Courseware Together

Edward Cherlin, Sugar Labs, US   

Brief Biography: Edward Cerlin is Project Manager for Replacing Textbooks at Sugar Labs, the software and Open Education Resources partner of One Laptop Per Child. The basis of the program is that OLPC XOs cost much less than printed textbooks, so as soon as we replace enough of the textbooks with Open Education Resources, we can explain that OLPC + Sugar delivers better education while saving money.
Edward graduated with a BA, Honors in Mathematics and Philosophy from Yale University in 1967. He has also been a teacher of Buddhism, a Peace Corps Volunteer, and a High-tech Senior Market Analyst and Senior Technical Writer in Silicon Valley.    

Conference Theme: Collaboration

Summary: Using the FLOSS Manuals collaborative booki software in a Book Sprint to create an Open Courseware resource on the spot

Abstract: FLOSS Manuals pioneered the Book Sprint methodology for writing manuals for Free Software in five days, and wrote the booki software to improve the process. Sugar Labs has adopted the methodology and the software for creating Open Courseware integrated with Sugar education software, including Logo, Smalltalk, art and music software, and much more. This workshop will teach attendees how to use booki and will conduct a Book Sprint to create an Open Courseware module on a topic to be selected by attendees beforehand. We will be able to exhibit and even distribute the resulting printed book at the conference immediately afterwards.

If there are enough attendees to form more than one Book Sprint team, we can write more than one book. If there are enough bilingual attendees, we can translate an existing book at the same time. (Spanish is most immediate need of the 2 million + children in One Laptop Per Child programs, but French and many others would be welcome.)