Can we turn students from passive Takers into active Makers using Open Source solutions? Yes!
The current buzz in K-12 education is about 21st Century skills and self-directed learning. But this vision is at odds with the passive consumer attitude of many of our current students. FOSS solutions can be the transformative key.
While schools often adopt FOSS solutions to save money (a fine reason), the true value of Open Source for education is that Open Source shows the reality of engaged cooperation on a global scale on projects of substance. It is the model of cross-cultural, real-world, project-based learning that our education system is desperately seeking to inspire our students to gain these 21st century skills that are so important to future success.
This talk will explore this potential and review some exciting new developments such as open hardware Makerbot 3D printers appearing in high schools, HFOSS projects igniting participation of students to help with crisis situation around the globe and the launch in South Carolina of the Open IT Lab, a national FOSS resource for K-12 schools around the country.