::fc-announce:: Forum: Learning from Free Software, Sydney June 2

Chris Chesher chris.chesher at arts.usyd.edu.au
Tue May 24 10:48:43 EST 2005


               =A5=A5=A5 LEARNING FROM FREE SOFTWARE =A5=A5=A5
                   teaching the net generation

     A forum on free software in secondary and tertiary education
     hosted by the University of Sydney=D5s Arts Informatics program

=A5=A5  EVENT DETAILS
     6pm-8pm Thursday June 2, 2005
     Rogers Room John Woolley Building
     University of Sydney

     RSVP by May 30 essential: 9351 2226
     or patricia.ricketts at arts.usyd.edu.au


=A5=A5 Chair
     Dr Chris Chesher
     Director of Arts Informatics

=A5=A5 Panel

     Dr Elizabeth Gordon-Werner
     NSW Department of Commerce

     Roger Buck
     Studio of Arts And Sciences

     John Tonkin
     Arts Informatics, University of Sydney
                                                    =A5=A5=A5

=D4Free=D5 and =D4open source=D5 software are increasingly viable in =20
educational contexts as alternatives and supplements to commercial =20
software. Beyond its price, free software is attractive for the open =20
and participatory models it offers for making and sharing knowledge. =20
However, there remain significant practical and institutional obstacles =20=

to their widespread adoption.

This seminar is the =DErst in a series on =D2Teaching the Net =
Generation=D3 =20
organised by the Arts Informatics program at the University of Sydney. =20=

This series aims to bring together educators from secondary and =20
tertiary institutions to discuss practical and policy issues around =20
using information and communication technologies in teaching and =20
administration. The panel will discuss examples of free software being =20=

used in education, as well as the implications of creative commons =20
licences and systems for collaborative authorship such as wikipedia.

=D4Free=D5 software is most famously successful in Internet technologies =
=20
such as the Apache web server, and the GNU/Linux operating system. =20
=CAMore recently, though, educators have taken up open source learning =20=

management systems like Moodle or LAMS, as well as blogs, wikis and web =20=

content management systems in teaching and administration.

The panelists will present brief talks that will be followed with an =20
open discussion of the role of free software in teaching network =20
literacy and fostering cultures of collaboration.

Free software needs to offer better user experience, more comprehensive =20=

documentation and more effective models for supporting users. Therefore =20=

open source and free software communities increasingly need involvement =20=

of people beyond the traditional information technology sectors, =20
including educators and those in the humanities.

The =D4Learning from free software=D5 seminar is presented by the Arts =20=

Informatics program, which co-ordinates the Bachelor of Arts =20
Informatics, an undergraduate degree based on a cross-Faculty =20
collaboration between the Faculty of Arts and the School of Information =20=

Technologies in the Faculty of Science. Arts Informatics is also home =20=

to a growing research program concentrating on the intersections =20
between information technologies and the humanities.=CA=CA


=A5=A5=A5
Refreshments and light snacks will be served.
Entry is free, but RSVP is essential.
For further information, see the Arts Informatics website:
http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/informatics

Event info (including a link to a PDF brochure and map):
<http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/informatics/?=20
page=3Devents&id=3Dinfosem2005>
                                                    =A5=A5=A5




-- -
Dr Chris Chesher                 Woolley Building S314
Director                         (02) 9036 6173
Arts Informatics Program         mob  0404095480
University of Sydney
chris.chesher at arts.usyd.edu.au
http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/informatics/=



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