Education

Poll: Open*Education 2010 best images

The visual components on opensource.com are an important element to the look and feel of our content. The images help set the tone for the site. The imagery embodies several qualities such as motivational, editorial, authoritative (but not authoritarian), human, and optimism.

Without our imagery, the content on the site would be plain and unsightly. We'd like to highlight some of the images from 2010 and give you a chance to pick your favorite. » Read more

0 CommentsPosted 28 Dec 2010 by Jason Hibbets (Red Hat)

The potential for Project REALISE

We got a chance to catch up with some of the folks behind Project REALISE. REALISE is an acronym that stands for Refining and learning from online tools for Internet shared enterprise. The project focuses on accessibility and ease-of-use in the field of assistive technology, and has made breakthroughs in the education, employment, and health sectors. The key, they say, is finding the right partnerships.

Lately, they've been adding to their idea lab and incubator, while growing their community and getting ready for others to participate. Dr. Mike Wald, Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton, is part of the core project team. He is a principal investigator and conducts research into accessible technologies for the project.

Dr. Wald was happy to help us understand how Project REALISE is primed to make the world more accessible. » Read more

0 CommentsPosted 23 Dec 2010 by Jason Hibbets (Red Hat)

Studio H: A real-world experiment in design-based education

As 2010 comes to a close, I thought I'd write my last post of the year about a project that has really moved and inspired me. The project is called Studio H, and is the brainchild of two brilliant designers, Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller, who have found a new calling as teachers in one of the poorest, most rural counties in my home state of North Carolina. » Read more

0 CommentsPosted 22 Dec 2010 by Chris Grams

Seven things I would change about my schooling

Teacher-bashing and union-bashing seem to go hand-in-hand these days, especially in the opening remarks of school reform discussions. Yet when I look back with a critical eye on my own schooling—a hodgepodge of rural and suburban public, private, and homeschool experiences—it's not bad teachers or active unions that come to mind.1 Rather, a series of systems, opportunities, and curriculum gaps needed the most improvement.

So without further ado, here are seven things I would have changed about my own school years. » Read more

1 CommentPosted 15 Dec 2010 by Rebecca Fernandez (Red Hat)

Operation: Stick Figure Army turns 2D teaching into 3D learning

In Meadville, Pennsylvania, it's snowing. And when we get lake effect snow this many days in a row, the only thing to be done is to pour a cup of hot chocolate, put your feet up by the fire, and tell a yarn about open source in education.

Specifically, I'm going to tell you a story of how the research and development work of two women in computer science is going to be transformed into a service to support blind students in the classroom by 20 first-years at Allegheny College. And we need your support.

» Read more

1 CommentPosted 14 Dec 2010 by Matt Jadud

Keynote by Twitter: following the action at Big Ideas Fest 2010

You know what's fun? Watching an entire conference unfold on Twitter. That's what I'm doing at Big Ideas Fest 2010 (#bif2010). It's amazing how much you can rightly infer by paying close attention to a dozen people tweeting about the same speaker -- and it's also a great way to learn which elements of a speech had the most impact. » Read more

0 CommentsPosted 6 Dec 2010 by Greg DeKoenigsberg

Student participation in open source projects (A professor's perspective)

I must start by thanking Mel Chua for visiting us in Connecticut and for prompting/prodding me to think more deeply about how open source and academia work together to accomplish education. I believe I now have a better picture of student and academic participation in open source projects.

» Read more

11 CommentsPosted 2 Dec 2010 by Heidi Ellis

Cooperative principles can be applied in school settings

Most schools today involve rows of students seated at desks, looking toward a teacher. That teacher, who is the focus of all the students, holds the power in the classroom, but has little power to make structural changes within the school system. The educational system in the United States right now is set up to teach kids how to follow directions—and it's not doing that very well, either. Our students learn how to break the rules and not get caught. » Read more

1 CommentPosted 23 Nov 2010 by Kiran Nigam

How open access to research benefits us all

Nearly a decade after the launch of the open access Malaria Journal, the publication released a report about how open access has impacted the study of malaria. Launched in 2002 as the only scientific journal devoted exclusively to malaria research, Malaria Journal became a top ranked journal for tropical medicine within just a few years.1 » Read more

2 CommentsPosted 22 Nov 2010 by Rebecca Fernandez (Red Hat)

What's your teaser trailer for open source and student engagement?

5 minutes. A ballroom full of administrators, faculty, and students looking for ways to transform student engagement in engineering education. They may have heard of open source before (vaguely), but you've got 20 slides to convince them that it's actionable. What would you tell them? » Read more

0 CommentsPosted 19 Nov 2010 by Sebastian Dziallas