[K12OSN] Northeast Linux Symposium shaping up nicely! Hope you can come!

[David Trask]

For more information and to register visit  http://www.nelinux.net  (sign
up soon!)

Hello everyone!

I hope that everyone is enjoying the warm spring weather!  I'm taking a
few days off from the classroom and heading to LinuxWorld in Boston.  I
had a blast last year and learned a lot.  Hopefully I may see some of you
there too!

This years Linux Syposium is shaping up very nicely!  I'm particularly
excited about the offerings at UNH and the new "Teacher Track" at Gould
Academy.  Matt is working very hard at lining up great presenters for all
of the sessions.  I think you'll be very impressed this year as Matt and I
have gotten a great head start in the planning process.

Teambuilding and planning!

One of the biggest things we've seen in the past symposia is the aspect of
teambuilding and planning.  As the years have progressed (the Gould
conference is going into it's fourth year!) we have noticed more and more
districts sending teams of tech people to the conference.  The end result
is that these folks learned new things and had the time to sit, discuss,
and plan together.  We present a nice releaxed atmosphere (with GREAT
food) for folks to chat with others about what they are doing in their
schools and to bounce ideas off one another.  Tech folks and teachers will
get a chance to work together and discuss the direction and role of
technology in their schools without "rules" or being in a
"committee".....you'll simply have time...time to talk and get excited
about all the new possibilities!

More about the sessions...

Each symposium will have a "beginners track" consisting of:

Day 1: Intro to Linux (Fedora Core & Ubuntu)
Day 2: Linux Terminal Services (K12LTSP & Edubuntu)
Day 3: More LTSP &/or SME Server

This is designed specifically for the total newbie to get from ground zero
up to having configured a server and having some understanding of how to
administer it.  This is the oldest part of the symposia; it's the core of
what's been going on at Gould for the past three years.

The symposia are intended to be very hands-on, so that you can bring your
future servers (or a spare laptop if you prefer to move around less
hardware) and actually install and configure the software under discussion
during the sessions you attend.  In a way it's like Linux boot camp, but
with a highly cooperative environment.

We design the symposia so that people can and should benefit very highly
from attending both.  Some sessions will be repeated, and attending the
introductory track at both symposia would probably be redundant (unless
you install Ubuntu and Edubuntu the first time, and Fedora Core and
K12LTSP the second).  BUT many of the other sessions that will be repeated
will have a specifically different focus the second time, and in any case
you could attend the intro track at Gould and move on to one of the more
advanced tracks at UNH.

Also of note:   

Both symposia will feature sessions on how to integrate Linux, Windows,
and Mac OS X into the same network.  We'll learn about deployment,
authentication, profiles....and much more!  

For teachers:  Being a classroom teacher myself I'm really excited about
the prospect of seeing many folks just like me at the "teacher track"
sessions at Gould Academy.  We'll be learning all about Free and Open
Source software and how you can easily integrate it into your classrooms. 
We'll learn about software not only for Linux, but for Windows and Mac OS
X as well.  We'll show you how you can make this software available to
your students so they can use it at home!  (Just think....if a kid doesn't
have MS Office at home...you can provide them with a free alternative
that's just as good or better!)  You'll learn how to save a bundle of $$$
so you can spend it more wisely on other things for your classrooms. 
Moodle?  This is my first year using Moodle in my own classes.  I like it
so much that I'm now teaching classes in my own district on how to use it!
 We have fantastic presenters for the Moodle sessions!  

More about UNH:

This will be the first symposium at UNH.  Many folks had asked for a
symposium in southern NH for the folks from Southern NH, Mass, Vermont,
and Southern Maine  (and anywhere else).  Rather than simply duplicate the
Gould Academy symposium, Matt and I felt it would be beneficial to design
them so that they complement each other.  UNH will have tracks that are
more focused on "tech" end of things.  Scripting, system set-up and
administration...etc.   UNH will also feature the "core" sessions designed
for the folks who have never used Linux before or feel they'd like to
learn more about the basics.  

Some of the cool things you'll learn:

Scripting....learn how to automate just about any task you can think of!

Free internet content filter  (stop paying big bucks for content
filtering)  You'll get better results...have more control and use better
blacklists than the commercial offerings!

K12 Linux Terminal Server Project!  (turn old computer into new powerful
thin clients!  Leverage more tech $$$ and provide more access in your
school!)

Free mail server, web server, and much more!

Participate in the development of a Student Information System (SIS)! 
(the SchoolTool folks will be conducting a development sprint at
UNH....you get to see your ideas go into a program!)

and so much more!

For more information and to register visit  http://www.nelinux.net   
also....if you have any questions...feel free to ask myself
(dtrask at vcsvikings.org)  or Matt Oquist (moquist at majen.net)....we'll be
happy to answer them for you.  

Hope you can join us!





David N. Trask
Technology Teacher/Director
Vassalboro Community School
dtrask at vcsvikings.org
(207)923-3100