[OSGeo-Discuss] [Geo4All] GeoAmbassador / OSGeo Advocate – Teacher badge?

Sat Nov 5 12:15:11 PDT 2016

Hi Cameron,

It would be great to have an OSGeo badge created for  GeoAmbassodor role which is for both educators/teachers and students. The main criteria for this is work done to promote Open Principles in GeoEducation in any capacity (this can be organising courses, training programs, attending FOSS4G workshops, helping organise local FOSS events, sharing GeoForAll ideas through emails, networks, giving OSGeo Live DVDs USBs for expanding education etc). Once badges are created, i can invite all interested to add thier profiles and add the badges.

It is also important that there is low barriers to entry for GeoAmbassodors. Students are our biggest GeoAmbassadors. The work they are doing spreading our ideas for Open Principles in Education is amazing. In the last two years i have been asking digital natives that i meet how they came across open platforms and tools like QGIS. I was expecting most of them to get the info through university, teachers etc. But to my surprise the majority found the information by themselves (searching the internet) and others mostly from thier peers. Hence i am fully confident that the days of properitery GIS vendors trying to control geoeducation are over.

Just last week when i was in Kenya, i was invited by the students  directly to deliver an open lecture on Open Geospatial Science at thier university. These students are bypassing all traditional hierarchies. The irony is that just last year one of the properitery GIS vendors gave some free licences to the same university but the students and staff are too smart  :-)  These students  are thousand times more smarter and intelligent than me and i am impressed by thier thinking and abilities . They are also so much connected to the global developments and have lot of the strong alumni networks that connect them internationally. So we want to make sure all these students are all welcomed as our GeoAmbassodors.

Best wishes,

Suchith

________________________________________
From: Cameron Shorter <cameron.shorter at gmail.com>
Sent: 04 November 2016 6:56 PM
To: Anand Suchith; discuss at lists.osgeo.org; geoforall at lists.osgeo.org
Subject: Re: [Geo4All] GeoAmbassador / OSGeo Advocate – Teacher badge?

Hi Suchith,

As I've noticed a couple of GeoAmbassadors not being listed in the OSGeo Advocate page, I suspect that these people are not aware of the Advocate page. As part of your process of introducing people to GeoAmbassadors, I suggest that you invite them to write up a personal profile for themselves on the OSGeo Advocate page.

When we created OSGeo Advocates, we created OSGeo roles [1] which people could assign to themselves, but I notice that we don't have a badge for "Teacher", "Educator" or similar.

Would people like an OSGeo badge created for a Teacher role?

If so, what term should we use? Is "OSGeo Teacher" suitably descriptive?

What criteria should we use to describe a teacher? (See link below for example criteria)

a. A teacher within an official University or School?

b. Someone who has run an OSGeo based Workshop?

c. Someone who has presented at a conference or similar on OSGeo topics?

d. Someone who has told their workmates about OSGeo after attending FOSS4G

[1] https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/OSGeo_Advocate#Understanding_OSGeo_roles

On 4/11/2016 6:43 PM, Suchith Anand wrote:

Thanks Cameron. This concept was build up from your excellent ideas and discussions back in 2012 though we started this initiative specifically for those contributing in widening geoeducation opportunities in some form by supporting Open Principles in Education. Everyone who is working to expand geoeducation opportunities for all is a GeoAmbassodor and in fact, now lot of students have volunteered themselves as our GeoAmbassodors. Through the GeoAmbassodor of the month column in our newsletters, we want to highlight and thank one of them every month. Anyone is welcome to nominate thier choice for the  GeoAmbassodor of the month. Just make sure you confirm with the nominee that they are happy to be nominated and then email Nikos or myself thier details and contributions by the 24th of each month.

All GeoAmbassodors are all invited to join OSGeo-Advocate and have thier details published.

I am also welcoming all GeoMentors to be TrueMentors and start supporting Open Principles in Education. Just share GeoForAll ideas with everyone and you are a True GeoMentor and true ambassador of Geography. So easy [😊]

Best wishes,

Suchith

________________________________________
From: Cameron Shorter <cameron.shorter at gmail.com><mailto:cameron.shorter at gmail.com>
Sent: 03 November 2016 7:34 PM
To: Anand Suchith; discuss at lists.osgeo.org<mailto:discuss at lists.osgeo.org>; geoforall at lists.osgeo.org<mailto:geoforall at lists.osgeo.org>
Subject: Re: [Geo4All] GeoAmbassador of the month – Victoria Rautenbach

Hi Suchith,

It is great to see Geo Ambassador's getting called our and recognised for their good work.

I suggest inviting them to join the OSGeo-Advocates page [1]

A Geo Ambassador concept was originally discussed in 2012 [1], and after discussion about what criteria should be used to select Ambassadors, the concept of OSGeo Advocate was created and then put into practice. (We decided that anyone who wished to stand up and champion OSGeo could self nominate themselves as an Advocate. We additionally provided the facility to show badges such as "Charter Member" to show the experience of each member, which would help conference organisors to select appropriate presenters).

[1] https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/OSGeo_Advocate

[2] https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail//discuss/2012-April/thread.html#10267

On 3/11/2016 11:33 PM, Suchith Anand wrote:
Dear colleagues,

It is my great pleasure to introduce Victoria Rautenbach from the Centre of Geoinformation Science (CGIS) at the University of Pretoria (UP) in South Africa. as our GeoAmbassador . It is even more great pleasure to have another GeoAmbassodor Dr. Serena Coetzee (the GeoForAll chair of Africa and who all of our colleagues will already know) who nominated Victoria for us. I have been always amazed and inspired by the work that Serena and colleagues have been doing in South Africa. I first met Serena at ICC Dresden in 2013 where she also presented her ideas at the ICA Commission meeting of Open Source Geospatial Technologies . I have not yet got the opportunity to meet Victoria but I am aware of her great work and contributions to Open Principles in Geo Education. I want to thank Serena for introducing to us a great colleague as our GeoAmbassodor of the month and sending us all the details of her excellent work and contributions.

Victoria is an enthusiastic contributor to open source / open data / open education work at University of Pretoria. She uses open source software, such as QGIS, GeoServer and PostGIS, in the modules that she teaches and is the first port of call for open source software support for students. She engages students in open data events and has arranged a number of events to introduce geoinformatics to school children. More details of her excellent work at http://opensourcegeospatial.icaci.org/2016/11/geoambassador-of-the-month-victoria-rautenbach/

More details will be published at our newsletter later this month at http://www.geoforall.org/newsletters/

GeoForAll is a worldwide movement that provides immediate benefit to the world. We aim to create openness in Geo Education for developing creative and open minds in students which is critical for building open innovation and contributes to building up Open Knowledge for the benefit of the whole society and for our future generations.

I am truly inspired to understand more about the amazing work done by Victoria and colleagues at the University of Pretoria. We are proud to honour Victoria as our GeoAmbassodor and we are extremely grateful for her contributions to Geo for All.

Best wishes,

Suchith

Dr. Suchith Anand
http://www.geoforall.org/
http://opensourcegeospatial.icaci.org

GeoForAll - Building and expanding Open Geospatial Science

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Cameron Shorter
M +61 419 142 254

This message and any attachment are intended solely for the addressee
and may contain confidential information. If you have received this
message in error, please send it back to me, and immediately delete it. 

Please do not use, copy or disclose the information contained in this
message or in any attachment.  Any views or opinions expressed by the
author of this email do not necessarily reflect the views of the
University of Nottingham.

This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an
attachment may still contain software viruses which could damage your
computer system, you are advised to perform your own checks. Email
communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as
permitted by UK legislation.