Re: Edu-EU digest, Vol 1 #136 - 1 msg

I am starting to put together a system of certification for competence in OpenOffice.org. This is to counter things like MOUS and to an extent ECDL which are MS Office focused. I will be starting with a certificate for complete beginners, but will then develop more advanced certificates initially in line with the English vocational qualifications framework. Have entered intial discussion with OpenOffice.org for endorsement. Already have 3 potential pilot sites for the basic certificate herein England with all 3 running large Linux at the desktop installations with OO.org or Star Office. If others are interested, drop me an E-mail and I'll keep you informed. It should not be too difficult to make certificates fit any national qualifications frameworks should this be desirable.

Having certificated qualifications is a low cost way of marketing and providing credibility for the use of free software. It also provides a potential service revenue stream for commercial companies wanting to make free software part of their business strategy.

Regards,

Ian Lynch

> From: [email protected]
> Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 06:41:59 -0400
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Edu-EU digest, Vol 1 #136 - 1 msg
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>    1. Re: Edu-EU digest, Vol 1 #131 - 4 msgs (Wiebe van der Worp)
> 
> --__--__--
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2002 14:56:33 +0200
> From: Wiebe van der Worp <[email protected]>
> Organization: ViaISN
> To: [email protected], [email protected]
> Subject: [edu-eu]Re: Edu-EU digest, Vol 1 #131 - 4 msgs
> Reply-To: [email protected]
> 
> As a reaction to your request to form an educational task force of the 
> "Free Software Foundation" here is a short reply
> 
> I do send a copy to our Dutch EU member P. Plooij, hoping she gets the 
> point and sees the challenge in what is written below.
> 
> > If you want to be part of this effort (which means that you are devoted to 
> > it, not just observing), we have some requirements:
> > - experience with GNU/Linux, Free Software and education
> > - a clear "No" to non-free software
> > - advantageous: previous work in that field
> > - you should live in Europe (i.e. NA, India and China have their own FSF
> >   educational efforts, so please join them if you live there)
> 
> We just started the Dutch vrijschrift.org initiative. Our first concern 
> is translating patent stuff to Dutch and our second is education. Count 
> on me personal, although I don't have much time and I don't meet all 
> requirements.
> 
> > Because of that, they encounter a high resistance of their non-technical 
> > collegues to anything else than MS Windows. Some politicians are kicking in 
> > their neck as well: It is only a minority who calls for Free Software in 
> > schools; most of them haven't understood what's it about. Big software 
> > enterprises promote the use of their proprietary stuff with millions of 
> > Euro/Dollars/..., because they know how weak their case is.
> 
> I agree. Here in NL I see a government pouring money to organizations 
> top down, and what we have to achieve is making people aware. Those 
> people form our foundation Then we climb bottom up.
> 
> Help from our several governments can speed up this process. But they 
> are not aware of principals to, so we have to explain.
> 
> That is why I did send this message to a Dutch EU member P. Plooij 
> hoping she sees what we mean, and by giving her this text hoping she is 
> willing to take action by seeking a discussion with us.
> 
> Look at http://www.vrijschrift.org/actueel/overheid_01.html to read what 
> I mean.
> 
> > Besides whining ... yes, we all have got to build better networks. That's the 
> > reason for the FSFE educational task force. I really do invite anyone to 
> > join. Anyone who has contact to politicians in Europe is called to contact us 
> > and set up some campaigning plan with us. I'm doing this in Germany and it 
> > looks quite good. Someone just has to invest some time and good will.
> 
> A lot of teachers are idealistic. Once they understand our social 
> principals we have our own snowball! Besides politics, target on media 
> too. And don't forget your own local groups. For example the Dutch 
> OpenOffice.org and Linux user groups are going to help translating 
> patent stuff on ffii.org because of their idealism.
> 
> I am new in this group, so missing some information, but as said willing 
> to achieve our common goals.
> 
> It is true. We don't have money for campaigns. But..
> 
> ...we have better arguments by far!!!
> 
> Ms. Plooij, please help us to make people aware.
> 
> Regards Wiebe van der Worp, [email protected], http://vrijschrift.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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