[Geo4All] Vision for an OSGeo education program

Mon Nov 7 11:06:53 PST 2016

Dear colleagues,

I'd like to add a further aspect into this discussion: The question of 
certification.

Inspired by a talk given by Arnulf Christl at FOSS4G 2014, Portland, and 
a motivating BoF meeting at FOSS4G Europe 2015 in Como, Tanzeel Khan, 
Philipp Davis (GeoAcademy) and I developed a certification framework 
comprising three main categories with eleven sub-categories, as well as 
a business case for open source certification and a corresponding SWOT 
model to support the goals of our Geo-For-All initiative [1].

Each certification is described by pre-conditions, scope and objectives, 
course content, recommended software packages, target group, expected 
benefits, and the methods of examination. Examinations can be flanked by 
proofs of professional career paths and achievements which need a peer 
qualification evaluation and a re-certification after a couple of years.

We hope that this certification approach will contribute to the quality 
of OSGeo-oriented education and to the acceptance of our FOSS tools and 
skills in the Geospatial business field.

I encourage you to form a group of people which seek to push OS based 
education and certification forward. We need partnership, support and 
endorsement by OSGeo (or Geo4All or similar bodies), educators and 
universities worldwide.

Best regards - Franz-Josef

[1] 
https://www.conftool.pro/isprs2016/index.php?page=browseSessions&search=Behr

Am 07.11.2016 um 18:07 schrieb SERGIO ACOSTAYLARA:
> Your thoughts are great! (I think I should translate some docs: http://www.ceibal.edu.uy/Documents/Articulos/Marco20teC3B3ricoCartografia20y20SIG.pdf; http://valijas.ceibal.edu.uy/storage/app/media/MANUAL%20de%20USO.pdf)
> Regards,
>
> Sergio Acosta y Lara
> Departamento de Geomática
> Dirección Nacional de Topografía
> Ministerio de Transporte y Obras Públicas
> URUGUAY
> (598)29157933 ints. 20329/20330
> http://geoportal.mtop.gub.uy/
>
> ________________________________________
> De: GeoForAll <geoforall-bounces at lists.osgeo.org> en nombre de Cameron Shorter <cameron.shorter at gmail.com>
> Enviado: viernes, 04 de noviembre de 2016 17:05
> Para: Kurt Menke; geoforall at lists.osgeo.org
> Asunto: Re: [Geo4All] Vision for an OSGeo education program
>
> Hi Kurt,
>
> I suspect that the GeoAcademy's training material is the most advanced
> FOSS4G based material developed to date. As such, I agree that it would
> make an excellent starting point for anyone considering building future
> training material.
>
> The opportunity I see is to work out a way for external contributors
> (such as these professors adapting your material) to become effective
> creators and maintainers, extending your current baseline, while
> maintaining existing quality standards. How can we do this?
>
> If someone wanted to create a Spatial Database course, which met
> GeoAcademy's quality standards, and complemented rather than duplicated
> existing material, how would they do that?
>
> What should they do to ensure they met requirements of the US Department
> of Labor’s Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM)?
>
> What vetting process should be put in place to ensure quality?
>
> What tools should they use to ensure that the module can be built the
> same way as existing GeoAcademy material?
>
> If someone wanted to translated the course into Spanish, and use gvSig
> instead of qgis, what pipeline should be put in place to ensure the
> material is kept up to date?
>
> If someone wants to tailor the course to target primary schools
> children, how should they do that?
>
> I'm effectively asking for an "OSGeo Education Cookbook". A definition
> of the quality of material expected by the GeoAcademy, and description
> of the tools and process used to create educational material. Is this
> something that the GeoAcademy would consider documenting and leading?
>
> The business case is: "If we invest in our process instead of just
> writing courses, we can expect a 10 fold increase in course authors and
> maintainers, and we will be recogised as the international coordinators
> of OSGeo education".
>
> --
>
> A slightly different question: Can we integrate OSGeo-Live (or a
> derivative of OSGeo-Live) into the GeoAcedemy?  Integration should
> benefit both projects. It would help OSGeo-Live (and the projects
> packaged on OSGeo-Live) to reach our target market of students. To help
> the GeoAcademy, workshops could be pre-installed on OSGeo-Live. It
> should make it easier for educators to provide a known, fully working
> environment (probably as a VM) to students. (Some educators might be
> locked to a Windows platform, which would be an issue). It would
> introduce students to Linux and the greater Open Source ecosystem.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> On 3/11/2016 2:55 AM, Kurt Menke wrote:
>> I've been super busy with a lot of trips this fall, so I haven't had time to respond to this, but I've been following (as best I can). It's a great discussion.
>>
>> Also I apologize in advance if I've missed something along the way, and if this is off the mark or has already been discussed.
>>
>> Just as a reminder, the GeoAcademy was built for this. http://spatialquerylab.com/foss4g-academy-curriculum/  It is 32 labs worth of material!
>>
>> One of the biggest hurdles to people teaching with FOSS4G is a lack of material. Teachers just don't have time to learn FOSS4G and built lessons/labs/curriculum around it. So our model was, "build it and they will come."  This has worked to some degree, with the material having been adapted by numerous professors.
>>
>> Personally I've used this for: A) working professional needing to learn QGIS, B) college students learning GIS, and C) high school students learning GIS. It adapts really well.
>>
>> It is licensed under the  Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license and is out there ready to be used.  Even if it isn't exactly what some want  it is a great starting place and can be modified and added to as needed. There is even a workbook for it. It's far easier to modify something that exists than to start from scratch.
>>
>> Importantly it has also been heavily vetted and is based on a standard (US Department of Labor’s Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM)). It's updated to the current QGIS LTR and current version of GRASS. Another important aspect of it, is that it's about teaching GIS with FOSS4G, not just about learning how to use QGIS or GRASS.
>>
>> For example, includes everything in Randy's list, except the web portion.
>>
>> The trickier parts to me are things like:
>> * how to work with different age/national groups
>> * how to package it - it may need to be paired down
>> * who does what?
>> * how to present it on the web
>> * is there an online workspace or learning platform or just a package of educational material?
>>
>> Boston does seem like an achievable test bed for something
>>
>> Kurt
>>
>>
>> **************************
>> Kurt Menke, GISP
>> Bird’s Eye View
>> www.BirdsEyeViewGIS.com
>> Work: 505-265-0243
>> Cell: 505-362-1776
>>
>>
>>
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> --
> Cameron Shorter
> M +61 419 142 254
>
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