The project SWOI has started classes on and employing Free and Open Source Software (FLOSS) in middle and upper secondary schools in Poland, it was announced on 4 October 2011.
SWOI is the ‘Implementation strategy for the use of open and free software as an innovative model for supporting the development of pupils and students' key competences in the field of ICT’. The first group of students' work began in the ‘Circles of Interest’ activity. Under the supervision of ‘Guardians’, the participants explore the secrets of free and open source software.
The first classes are mainly organisational matters, during which young people are introduced to the basic ideas of free and open source software and the timetable. They will also make test runs of the school’s remix of the Ubuntu operating system (Szkolny Remiks Ubuntu, in Polish) - the main tool of their work - and verify the functionality of the SWOI website. At the next class they will create their own photo albums in the form of a web page.
The classes in schools were preceded by presentations, attended by 287 persons, which took place during the recruitment of participants to the project. Trainers introduced participants to the concept of free and open source software, as well as the objectives, activities and benefits from participation in the project for both students and schools. Presentations involved not only students, but also parents, teachers and headmasters. Due to the diverse range of attendees, discussions soon developed on the opportunities offered by FLOSS, forms of teaching, opportunities to raise the competence and skills of students posed by the current system of education, and funding extracurricular activities through the European Social Fund.
The presentations were interactive and encouraged participants to become involved. For the youngest participants there were quizzes on FLOSS, with the best contestants receiving gifts.
Note: The original article in Polish is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Further information:
• Original news article - FWiOO (in Polish)
• SWOI website (in Polish)
• Related OSOR.eu news article - PL: School curriculum to be modernised with courses on free software (in Polish)
• Background information - ePractice eGovernment Factsheet for Poland