Speaker
Description
There is a need in educational communities to have open source software and operating systems. Many school computer labs, in particular, need something that is tailor-made for them and is set-up out-of-the-box with as little administration overhead in mind.
When in Prague, Czechia for Ubuntu Summit 2022, Amy Eickmeyer learned that the flavor of Ubuntu she used in a former preschool classroom of hers, Edubuntu, was no more. She expressed this disappointment to her husband Erich, the lead for Ubuntu Studio, and they looked into what it would take to bring it back. Together with their son Jonathan as their test candidate and student advisor, they did just that.
This talk would talk about that journey, why they chose the software they chose, what role each of them plays, and what they see the future of open source software bringing to classrooms.
Amy would be sharing her perspective as an Early Learning Education professional. Erich would be talking about the technical aspect of the desktop environment and certain software as examples and the challenges that were faced, and Jonathan would be answering questions from the perspective of a child using the sofware that helped choose the software. Jonathan is in an unique position being in elementary (primary) school when this journey started and will be in middle (secondary) school by the time Summit occurs in Riga.
Session author's bio
Amy Eickmeyer is an Early Learning Education Professional with 15+ years of experience. She graduated from the University of Washington with High Honors with a Bachelors in Early Childhood and Family Studies.
Erich Eickmeyer is an audio/video professional with nearly 30 years of experience, currently working as an on-call and freelance technician. He has been leading Ubuntu Studio for over five years and has an associates degree in leadership. He is an Ubuntu Master of the Universe.
Jonathan Eickmeyer showed extreme promise from the day he was born, being able to track his father's camera when his dad was trying to get pictures of him. He not only said his first words, but spoke a complete sentence on the same day he took his first steps. When he was four years old, he tested into the 92nd percentile for IQ range, and has constantly been well above average in his reading and vocabulary levels for his grade.
| Level of Difficulty | Intermediate |
|---|---|
| Social Media | edubuntu@ubuntu.social @edubuntuproject |