Lowell:Penguin Day Agenda

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Penguin Day Lowell - Proposed Agenda

Location:

UMass Lowell - Wannalancit Building 600 Suffolk Street Lowell, MA 01854

The following is the preliminary agenda for the first-ever Penguin Day Lowell, on June 22, 2007.

Note that possible additional sessions are listed at Penguin Day Additional Session Topics including a special series about F/OSS in Grassroots / Community Radio Stations. We welcome you to have a look, and let us know of any sessions you might like to help facilitate! And we welcome new ideas...

8:30am - Coffee, juice, pastries

9:00am - Introductions and Opening Circle

9:45am - Spectrograms!

Spectrograms are interactive group opinion polls, intended to encourage participation by everyone. Spectrogram topics will be revealed in the moment; come prepared to explain where you stand :^)

10:30am - Break with coffee and snacks

10:45am - 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. [must haves in bold]

  • Introduction to Free and Open Source Software
    • Facilitated by TBD
      • 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.
  • Introduction to Free and Open Source Desktop Applications
    • Facilitated by TBD
      • 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.
  • Creative Commons And Open Content
    • Facilitated by Bryan Person
      • While there is much discussion about the promise of "Open Source" software, there is arguably more promise and potential in creation and utilization of "Open Content" for nonprofit needs. This session will define core concepts including the Creative Commons license, and then offer examples of how open content is already benefiting the nonprofit sector. Participants are encouraged to bring their own open content ideas, questions and challenges to the dialog.
  • Making sense of Free and Open Source Content Management Systems
    • Facilitated by Laura S. Quinn
      • 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.
  • Healthy and Sustainable Free and Open Source Communities
    • Facilitated by TBD
      • "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.

12:30pm - Lunch and Open Discussions

1:30pm - 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

2:30pm - Break with coffee and snacks

3:00pm - 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.

  • Helping Techies and Non-Techies Communicate and Cooperate
    • Facilitated by TBD
      • 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 successful models for productive collaboration and communication.
  • Free And Open Source Online Advocacy: Tools And Best Practices
    • Facilitated by TBD
      • The range of platform available to support online advocacy is rich to a point of overwhelming. This session will start by characterizing the different types of available tools for different advocacy and campaigning models, and address best practices for getting started and sustaining online advocacy efforts.
  • Business Models for FOSS developers and providers
    • Facilitated by TBD
      • Many providers of FOSS implementation, support and development struggle to find the right business model in the absence of proprietary licensing and royalties. What are "competitors" in the FOSS market places? How can FOSS providers structure business models that support the larger FOSS ecology and serve their customers best? In this session, various FOSS providers will discuss their business models and ways to encourage the three "C"s (Communication, Cooperation, Collaboration).
  • Starting Open Source Projects
    • Facilitated by Michelle Murrain
      • So, you want to open source your code? You want to start an open source project to do a nonprofit-focused function? How do you start? What do you need to think about, and what's important? How do you get people to use your software? How do you get other developers interested?
  • Public GIS access and open source GIS
    • Facilitated by Alex Brown
      • Cities and towns are moving rapidly to publish their GIS data on web mapservers, and with free and open source GIS software tools, the dialogue between citizens and planners can become more equal. We will demonstrate some of these tools and help you decide whether open source GIS is right for your project.
  • Content Management System (CMS) Crash Courses
    • Following from the morning CMS discussions, these workshops will offer overviews of several popular platforms, explaining core concepts and terminology, in part by demonstrating sites based on the respective techologies.
    • Plone CMS crash course
      • Facilitated by Cheryl Jerozal - We will discuss what a content management system such as Plone is and why an organization might want to use one for a bit. Then we will look at some Plone features and check out some websites running on Plone.
    • Joomla CMS crash course
      • Facilitated by TBD
    • Drupal CMS crash course
      • Facilitated by TBD -- - Doug McCabe from Union Web Servies may be willing to do this and could bring a client as well (doug@unionwebservices.com)

4:40pm - Closing Circle

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

Adjourn to nearby watering hole for further Penguin Antics