[Linux-aus] fwd: Education Expo - 24-25th June

[Pia Waugh]

Hi all,

We are having an LA booth at the NSW Education Expo in Sydney again this
year. Below is the report from last year and below is what was sent to SLUG
today.

http://lists.linux.org.au/archives/linux-aus/2005-May/msg00065.html

Thought it would be of interest to everyone :)

Pia

----- Forwarded message from Pia Waugh <greebo at pipka.org> -----

Hi all,

Linux Australia has secured a booth at the NSW Education Expo. This event
attracts over 9000 attendees including parents, teachers and students to
find out about all things to do with education. Last year we were there and
we spoke to loads of people, getting information about FOSS through to the
education sector. This year we are planning some extra activities for kids
K-12 to encourage them to actually use FOSS and get excited about it.

The purpose of the challenge is to encourage students to actually USE an
Open Source program and PRODUCE something on the day for the challenge and
THEN receive an LA pack. It's important that the students and parents feel
that the children were successful and achieved something and of course
understand that there are opportunities with Linux and Open Source. We need
to look at making the most out of this event. Programs to include: Tux
Paint, The Gimp, Open Office, a browser, email, Gcompris, etc making a point
that Linux/Open Source is user friendly and fun. The apps will be catered to
the childrens ages.

Students will win a "Linux pack" which will include a fluffy penguin, a
badge, a certificate and an Open CD (with added information like the OSV
FOSS in education guide and the FOSS in Australian education research by
Kathryn Moyle). Imagine 500 kids going to school news to talk about the
Linux challenge they did on the weekend :) That will get people talking
about it!

We'll then be inviting the older students (Yrs 10-12) to the linux.conf.au
Open Day (if you don't know about it, read the pitch. It's going to rock!)
which means a great chance to get people along to a community event for the
public.

Anyway, this will be on the 24-25th June, details on their website
(http://www.edexpo.info/) and we are looking for people to help out :) We
need people to:

- give out information and talk to people
- wear a penguin suit. The one at CeBIT was a hit :)
- help set up and pull down the booth (this only takes about 30 mins each)

If anyone has some tables/chairs we can use, that would be great. The
furniture we had at CeBIT was ok, but we need two nice looking tables and a
chair each to sit at those tables (and two chairs for volunteers = 4 chairs
total).

We will be making the badges, hopefully getting the penguins sponsored,
printing the certificates, and getting the CDs stamped, again hopefully by a
sponsor. Please email me offline if you are interested in getting involved.
It will be loads of fun :)

----- End forwarded message -----

Cheers,
Pia

-- 
Linux Australia                                         http://linux.org.au/
 
     "Beware of listening to this impostor; you are undone if you once
     forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all and the earth
                 itself to nobody." - Jean Jacques Rosseau