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Brian and grandchildren
The ELDER Project and First Nation school online workshops
by Brian Beaton - Tuesday, 19 October 2010, 06:29 AM
 

Michael ... How about organizing a a series of online information workshops for teachers, students and other school staff on the effective use of ELDER in First Nation school classrooms?

This series of workshops can be archived and made available on the ELDER meeting place as a set of professional development series that others can use as they explore these classroom learning and teaching tools. This PD series can use different e-learning tools available at KO-KNET including videoconferencing, Adobe Connect and MoodleFN.

Some of the possible workshop topics might include:

  • Introducing the ELDER Project including a tour of the meeting place environment;
  • Using older computers in the classroom - repairing the computers, loading appropriate software for the capabilities of the machines, etc
  • Setting up existing classroom computers so students and teachers can choose to use either existing operating systems (Windows or Mac) or a Linux systems such as Ubuntu
  • Asking teachers and students what type of information they might require to assist them in their classrooms and in their learning experience.

The workshops can be promoted with a poster for each session that is emailed and faxed to the school and asked to be placed in the teacher's mailboxes. They can be NEWS items in the FNSSP and ELDER meeting places.

Thoughts??

Brian

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Playing the Piano
Re: The ELDER Project and First Nation school online workshops
by Michael Mak - Tuesday, 19 October 2010, 11:00 AM
 

Brian,

That is an excellent idea.  I believe that "screencasts" can be created to narrate and record exploration of the elder site as well as the ubutnu interface. 

We can also create and host videcom sessions regarding exploring ELDER with teachers.  These videcom sessions can then be posted for everyone to watch.

M

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Brian and grandchildren
Re: The ELDER Project and First Nation school online workshops
by Brian Beaton - Thursday, 18 November 2010, 11:48 PM
 

Michael ... The videos you are producing from each of your trips into the different First Nations is providing a lot of different strategies for updating and setting up the computers. The latest report from your Fort Severn trip is describes the use of Wubi to install Ubuntu on the computers.

Some thoughts that came to mind as I read your report from that experience, as well as your trips to Sandy Lake and Pikangikum.

  • Is there at least one local person who you worked with to complete these installations in each of the communities? This way there is always someone who is in the community and understands about the work that has been done to each of the computers. I think it is important to acknowledge the names of the people who can be contacted if there are problems with the machines or if someone needs some changes made to the DeepFreeze (for example, who has the teacher passwords to access the machines?).
  • There is the video and the slideshow that describes the 11 computers in the computer lab. Then there is the reference to 23 desktops in the report. Does that mean that there are other computers in each of the classrooms that now also have Edubuntu on them as well?
  • The manual and the presentation on the whiteboard look like great resources. Are you going to be able to share that presentation as a training resource on the ELDER site for others to use in their schools?

Brian

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Playing the Piano
Re: The ELDER Project and First Nation school online workshops
by Michael Mak - Friday, 19 November 2010, 12:59 AM
 
Hey Brian,

Thanks again for your input - it is invaluable as always. Here are my responses:

  • There is one local person who I worked with in the communities except Fort Severn. In Pikangikum it was Paul, the computer science teacher. In Sandy Lake it was Michelle Wotton. But there was no computer-oriented personnel in Fort Severn - I tried asking for one, but I ended up discussing the software and content with the principal instead.
  • Sorry about the 11 and 23 computer mix up - I made a typo. I corrected it already, thanks for spotting that!
  • The manual is available at: http://doc.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/edubuntu/handbook/C/index.html , it's a very good brief overview of what edubuntu provides. For a more detailed list, I would recommend the program list that I compiled here: http://meeting.knet.ca/mp19/mod/book/view.php?id=2515 ...and the whiteboard was a poor scrawl. If you want, I can re-create it as a mind-map and post it on the site.
  • Wubi is the latest method that I tested, and it was rather successful - as you may already know, wubi installs ubuntu (not edubuntu). What I've managed to do is place Edubuntu on top of the ubuntu system, without needing to access the BIOS at all!
Hope this helps!

M
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