[Aust-NZ] Re: Schools

[Cameron Shorter]

Hello Graeme from the Australian/New Zealand chapter of the Open Source 
Geospatial Foundation.

We have had interest in education from a number of sectors in Australia, 
including Universities and TAFE. I'm currently seriously considering 
developing material for TAFE and Universities commercially (as part of 
http://lisasoft.com ).
I hadn't thought about high schools yet. I'm not sure what sort of 
material you would be looking for to teach the children?

As a start, you might want to download and try the Geospatial Open 
Source LiveDVD, which runs off the CD without effecting your computer 
(similar to Ubuntu linux). Download the latest Arramagong iso image at:
http://download.osgeo.org/livedvd/

This shows a number of powerful open source applications which you can 
play around with and give to your class.

Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo) wrote:
> Dear Graeme,
> It's great to hear of your interest in GIS and related technologies.  
> I have a few ideas for you, depending on your level of interest and 
> time you have several options.
>
> As you are likely aware, our organisation is solely focused on Free 
> and Open Source software - without proprietary licensing and at no 
> cost to use or develop.  We believe that learning to use these tools 
> is beneficial to any student for several reasons.  With this in mind 
> we started an Education Committee to help find/catalog and promote 
> curriculum for use in schools.  This is still a young initiative, but 
> worth following and introducing yourself.
> Join the discussion list here:
> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/edu_discuss
> Also many links here to our education projects:
> http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Education_and_Curriculum_Committee
>
> You might already be aware but we have an active Australia-New Zealand 
> local group. I encourage you to also discuss with them:
> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/aust-nz
>
> They are part of organizing our major conference event for next year, 
> to be held in Sydney.  If you would like to connect with that group, 
> please let me know.  I'm cc:'ing a couple of our involved Aussies to 
> this email.
>
> Also, we have an international network of service providers who might 
> be able to help, if you are in need.  You can search for them based on 
> technology or country here:
> http://www.osgeo.org/search_profile
>
> I hope this helps, don't hesitate to ask for more information.
> Best wishes,
> Tyler
>
> Tyler Mitchell
> Executive Director
> Open Source Geospatial Foundation
> tmitchell at osgeo.org
> P: +1-250-277-1621
> M: +1-250-303-1831
>
> On 11-Nov-08, at 1:52 PM, Karabar Distance Education Centre wrote:
>
>> Good morning,
>> I am a high school teacher at Karabar High, a public high school in 
>> NSW, Australia.  We are currently looking at developing basic 
>> knowledge, understanding and application of GIS for classroom use and 
>> educational purposes.  There are many things happening in GIS and 
>> education in NSW but most of it is go and find out for yourself or 
>> buy this software application or data.
>> I am wondering if you are able to assist me with my request for basic 
>> introductory information on GIS to allow me and my faculty to develop 
>> this level of understanding.  We have numerous ideas about GIS in the 
>> classroom however, our base level knowledge is almost non-existant.
>> Any assistance would be appreciated.  Many thanks and I look forward 
>> to your response.
>>
>> Regards
>> Graeme Sixsmith
>> Head Teacher Social Sciences Faculty
>> Karabar High School
>>
>>
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>
>
>


-- 
Cameron Shorter
Geospatial Systems Architect
Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254

Think Globally, Fix Locally
Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
http://www.lisasoft.com