[Ubuntu-SG] Promoting Ubuntu among the very young

Fri Nov 13 10:51:11 UTC 2009

Hi Yi Hao,

Many thanks for your thoughts.  Responses below.

2009/11/13 Ho Yi Hao <hounited1 at gmail.com>

> Overall, I would see this as a good plan. But what are the chances that we
> can be approved?

Yes, this proposal is in a sense unprecedented and thus difficult to predict
the probability of it being approved.  But then, do also remember that this
Cyber Wellness concept is also rather new and novel, so the "approving body"
is similarly "disadvantaged" in determining what kinds of project will be
approved.

The point is if we don't try, we'll never know.

> Next, is there enough people to take up this task. For me, if it is gonna
> be every Saturday morning and all I have to do are as stated above and would
> benefit the open source society, I see no reason to not go for it.
>

Thanks for the indication of support.  Please remember that this is not a
short "set-up and forget about it" kind of project.  If we really do commit
to this, we'll support the PCs for at least 3 years after the installation.

What I am trying to achieve is for the volunteers to work in teams of 2 or 3
and let each team choose a preferred time that is also conducive to the
assigned kindergarten/childcare centre.

Yes, the intensive part is at the beginning which involves the physical
setting up and basic instructions/training of users who can be assumed to
have only basic Windows-type computing knowledge/experience or less.  Once
the basics are in place, then it is up to the interactive creativity between
the volunteers and the Centre teachers/staff to build on the basics.

One hope I harbour is to be able to interest student volunteers from nearby
Secondary Schools to supplement and enhance the whole experience for all
participants.  But that is only a good-to-have, not essentially to get this
project off the ground.

> I would also like to point out the PC specification. Seems a bot over kill
> don't you think? Linux is meant as a competitive to windows not just in term
> of software alternative but also hardware prices. Since Linux or rather
> Ubuntu in this case will not need such kind of specification, would it be
> better if we lower the specification first if we were to present this
> report? I am sure this will make the report more attractive as compared to
> other proposer who would want to use Windows OS.
>

Yes, I did deliberately set the hardware specs rather high.  But then, do
recall Moore's law and how today's high-end tech specs tend to become
low-end within months and that if approved, this project will only commence
from mid-2010.

Also, the PCs are expected to survive a range of uses over a period of at
least 3 years, preferably much longer.  As such, it is not a bad thing to
set the specs a little higher, especially since the idea is to purchase
brand-new sets, not recycle old ones.  The worst case scenario that I wish
to avoid is to give new users the wrong impression that Linux is slower than
Windows because of inferior hardware specs.

Furthermore, setting it high gives us maneuvering room should the final
approved funding be lower than requested.

> Either way, this is a good way to promote Ubuntu. But we would need to
> consider who are willing to take part and other factors that may affect this
> plan. If needed, I am willing to help out in anyway possible as long as my
> school and club schedule permits.
>

If we can garner the requisite number of volunteers, I'll be writing again
to you to confirm your participation before submitting the proposal to
request for funding.

Have a great weekend!

> cheers,
> with regards,
> Yi hao
>
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 3:23 PM, <kohsuhaw at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Instead of targeting those who are already "locked-in" to the Windows
>> lifestyle and resigned to the inevitability of the platform's
>> shortcomings,
>> why not reach out to the very young ? Imagine a project where volunteers
>> set-up 50 new Ubuntu/Edubuntu PCs in selected (10 to 15) kindergartens and
>> childcare centres across the island. Then, over the course of the next 3
>> years, undertake to provide technical advice and help maintain their
>> usability. I honestly believe this idea has a fair chance at obtaining the
>> funding from the Inter-Ministry Cyber Wellness Steering Committee (ICSC)
>> if
>> we work on it properly. More details of their call for cyber wellness
>> collaborations is available at these urls:
>> http://app.mica.gov.sg/Default.aspx?tabid=457
>> http://sgxtimes.com/wiki/index.php?NewsReport But what I cannot say with
>> any
>> certainty is whether we can recruit the volunteers needed to make this
>> work.
>> If we can find 15 volunteers who can spare an average of 3 to 4 hours a
>> week
>> (on Saturday mornings or a weekday evening), that should be sufficient to
>> get
>> this project off the ground. Looking at the big picture, I thought it
>> makes
>> good sense: Get the authorities to fund a project where volunteers
>> contribute
>> their time and expertise for the benefit of kids. Some details of what I
>> am
>> thinking about is at: http://sgxtimes.com/wiki/index.php?PreSchoolProject
>> Your thoughts and ideas on this is most appreciated. Have a great weekend!
>>
>>
>> --
>> Ubuntu-SG mailing list
>> Ubuntu-SG at lists.ubuntu.com
>> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-sg
>>
>
>

-- 
________________________
Koh Su Haw  许树浩
http://suhaw.teresaville.org/
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