SF2012:Agenda

Penguin Day SF 2012 - Agenda

The following is the final agenda for Penguin Day San Francisco, which took place April 6, 2012.

9:45am - Interactive Plenary

Using "Spectrograms", which are interactive group opinion polls, we'll encourage participation and opinions from everyone. Spectrogram topics will be revealed in the moment; come prepared to explain where you stand :^)

10:45am - Agenda Brainstorm

Brainstorm Capture

11:15am - Morning Break-Out Sessions

Facilitators for each workshop will briefly describe what they will be discussing in their session. Participants will be able to ask questions and choose which session to attend.

Sessions will run for 75 minutes each in parallel, with the large group re-convening for 15 minutes of report-backs at the end.

• Introduction to Free and Open Source Software
  • Facilitated by Jonah Silas Sheridan
    • This session will introduce the history, philosophy and practicalities of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Key terms and concepts will be discussed, including "source" and the differences between "free", "open" and "proprietary", and participant questions will drive the course of the dialog. The nature and role of software communities and user support will also be explored.

• Publishing on the Web: Making sense of Free and Open Source Content Management Systems
  • Facilitated by Matt Garcia
    • Selecting the right platform for web publishing is a ubiquitous and vexing challenge that many nonprofits face. This session will provide an overview of several "Content Management Systems" (CMS) and offer perspectives on how they differ and how to compare them for nonprofit web publishing needs.

• How to Run and Participate in Free and Open Source Communities
  • Facilitated by Ben Sheldon
    • "Community" in its many and varied manifestations is a dynamic that sets Free and Open Source software projects apart from proprietary ones. This session will discuss what makes for vibrant communities that sustain and enhance software projects, and Michelle will explain core concepts for those wanting to actively contribute to a Free/Open Source project. The role of community process, repositories, bug reporting, discussion lists, release cycles and roles/responsibilities will be explained. Bring your questions!

• Introduction to Blogging
  • Facilitated by Misty Avila
    • There are many powerful open source blogging tools. This session will enumerate and differentiate the most popular, and discuss how to set up a basic blog and start publishing.

• Introduction to Social Media
  • Facilitated by Jessica Steimer
    • This session will introduce core social networking and social media concepts, and address how to apply open source philosophies even when using proprietary tools.

• Open Source IT Management
  • Facilitated by Jon Goldberg. palanteech.com
    • Description forthcoming (this session generated on the fly).

• Working with Wikis
  • Facilitated by TBD
    • This session will explain what a wiki is, and how they can be used as powerful community collaboration tools. When is a wiki most effective? What is the difference between wikis and other tools? How do you grow a wiki and encourage participation? What are wiki gnomes, gardeners? Bring your questions!

12:15pm - Lunch and Open Discussions

• What Should a Web Site Cost? (notes posted)
  • Facilitated by Allen Gunn
    • Two of the most pervasive sources of angst in nonprofit technology budgeting are the tasks of web site creation and redesign. There are relatively few well-defined models for specifying, costing and managing web site projects in a transparent fashion, let alone ones that engage all organizational stakeholders in the process. Cost overruns are the norm, and processes for dealing with the evolving feature definition of most sites are usually elusive at best. This session will cover a range of cost points for different types of web sites, from basic "brochure-ware" to higher-end web applications, as well as philosophical approaches to framing and managing Web projects to maximize internal and external approval while constraining cost.

1:15pm - SpeedGeek Extravaganza!

Speedgeeking is a chance to see a lot of Free and Open Source tools and projects in a short amount of time! Small groups move in a circle from station to station in five minute intervals, learning rapid-fire about tools and projects. A complete explanation of Speedgeeking can be found at http://facilitation.aspirationtech.org/index.php/Facilitation:SpeedGeeking

We encourage participants to let us know of projects they would like to present SpeedGeek-style!

• Social Source Commons - Matt Garcia
• Wordpress Themes - Matt Senate
• Code for America - Ben Sheldon
• Identity - Kaliya Hamlin
• Aspiration eAdvocacy Capacity Building - Misty Avila
• TOR - Jonah Silas Sheridan

2:30pm - Breakout Workshops

Afternoon break-outs will follow the same format as morning sessions: sessions will be briefly introduced, participants will ask any questions they have, and we'll break into small groups.

• Introduction to Free and Open Source Desktop Applications
  • Facilitated by Jonah Silas Sheridan
    • From Firefox to Open Office to the Gaim instant messaging tool, there are plenty of Free and Open Source applications that rival or even exceed their proprietary counterparts. This session will offer a guided tour of those tools, while also leaving room for discussion of what's still missing and what's hard to install and use.

• Content Management System (CMS) Sessions
  • These workshops will offer overviews of several popular platforms, explaining core concepts and terminology, in part by demonstrating sites based on the respective techologies.
  • Intro to Drupal
    • Facilitated by Jim Craner
  • Intro to WordPress
    • Facilitated by Misty Avila

• How to Write an RFP for a Nonprofit Technology Project
  • Facilitated by Matt Garcia
    • You can't get a good technology solution if you don't follow a good process. And most good technology processes not handled by in-house staff require the authoring of a Request for Proposal. Matt will explain Aspiration's RFP proposal process and introduce the RFP proposal template, and answer questions from participants looking to get the best price on their next web or technology project deliverable.

• Free Culture, Creative Commons And Open Content
  • Facilitated by Matt
  • (Happy to facilitate or help, though I'm unsure if there is a specific training game intended. Msenate 15:48, 3 April 2012 (CDT))
    • While there is much discussion about the promise of "Open Source" software, there is much promise and potential in creation and utilization of "Open Content" for nonprofit needs. The building blocks for Open Content are the Creative Commons licenses. This session will use a training game that was created by remixing other similar content licensed by the Creative Commons license. The game will offer an opportunity for participants to discuss their open content ideas, questions and challenges. We will also take a look at other open content projects benefitting the nonprofit sector.

• Open Source Constituent Relationship Management (CRM)
  • Facilitated by Jon Goldberg. palanteech.com
    • This discussion will focus on the range of ways available to manage supporter data

• Values-Driven Social Entrepeneurism
  • Facilitated by David Haskell, Dreams Indeed

• Digital Inclusion, Digital Divide and Free/Open Source Software
  • Facilitated by Dan Hastings, CTN Bay Area

• Free and Open Source Mapping and Geo Tools
  • Facilitated by Briley

4:00pm - Closing Circle

Participants meet in final plenary to summarize the day, imagine next steps and prepare for post-event beveration and merriment.

Additional Sessions Still To Be Scheduled

Let us know if you want to facilitate one or more of these!

• Free and Open Source Firewalls
  • Facilitated by TBD
    • A discussion of FOSS firewalls, and answering of participant questions about security and networking.
    • (+1 would be interested in attending Msenate 15:48, 3 April 2012 (CDT))

• Helping Techies and Non-Techies Communicate and Cooperate
  • Facilitated by Allen Gunn
    • Penguin Days exist to allow nonprofit "end users" to meet and share ideas with Free and Open Source Software developers. This is session will provide a forum for discussing the language and perspective differences that exist between those who identify as "Non-Techie" and "Techie", and offer suggestions on processes and succeshul models for productive collaboration and communication.