Many European projects for development of the usage of free software and free resources share common tools, common goals, and a common enthusiasm. Unfortunately, efforts are duplicated more than necessary.
One goal of this worksop would be to gather enough informations to build a Socrates/Minerva project consisting in two complementary pieces :
- Making easier for free software developers to output coherent server solutions for educational establishments. It can be summarized with a plug metaphor : if each free project has its own set of plugs, the silent majority will prefer the plugs provided by the most widespraid company. If free projects have normalized plugs for their developments, they will grow and other companies will have to give adaptors.
- Providing tools for educational programs and educational contents. There are multitudes of educational resources given by teachers to colleagues and students, but some effort is wasted because they are not always accessible with perpetuable software, nor encoded in an open format. Tools to author educational contents accessible with free environements, tools to convert data from proprietary formats to open formats are targeted.
The Libre Software Meeting gives an excellent opportunity to gather groups of persons willing to collaborate at such a project and to decide what we want it to be. This meeting will allow people to debate about it even if they cannot go to the end of the project. The ordinary schedule of a Socrates/Minerva project begins with a preparatory visit, funded by the national Socrates offices, which has to be planned before November 2004.
At this latter date, only people knowing exactly what they can hold should meet. A Socrates/Minerva project must bear the signature of the chief of an educational establishment, or of an organization able to keep accounts, so there must be enough personals of a same establishment in each team participating to the project.
The reports
meeting in the french office of Socrates, by Frédérique Minicucci
report of the workshop, by Frédérique Minicucci
report of the workshop held in LinuxTag (2004-06-26)
Contact
Frédérique Minicucci , in the society Projétique.
