Joe Smith (OSSIE)
Topic:
College and Open Source
Title:
Student Joe Smith is a Computer Science major at Chapman University, where he is a Student Network Technician at the Network Operations department as well as the president of the ACM chapter. After switching to Linux in the winter of his freshman year in college, he's constantly amazed by the opportunities Open Source presents to the world. He is an active member of the Ubuntu California Local Community Team, and a contributor to Mozilla, Ubuntu and Gnome.
Abstract:
This presentation will discuss ways to encourage and improve awareness of Open Source on the college campus. There is a huge untapped pool of students who are passionate, excited, and innovative; however, they are also lazy, bored, and skeptical. This dichotomy unfortunately means that companies and communities can spend vast resources without much return- unless they learn to target their efforts properly.
Schools and professors may be wary of open source, but will discover increased participation and a greater sense of community on campus as students work together to solve real problems. Students will gain important experience, learn more than they ever would in the classroom, and make contacts for the future. By focusing on current efforts to motivate students, we'll see what communities, colleges, and students can do to help make the future an open one.