This document discusses facilitating student participation in free and open source software projects through academic courses. It proposes a pilot program called "MouseTrap" to involve students and professors in developing a GNOME application for mouse control via webcam head tracking. The goals are to make the module compatible with GNOME 3, define its roadmap, establish expertise among academic participants, and explore course materials for student involvement in order to build a sustainable contributor community around the module over the short, medium, and long term.
2. 2
Topics
● Win-Win Solutions that Don't JustWork™
● Putting the Professors in the Driver's Seat
● Building a Better MouseTrap
● Getting Involved
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
3. Free Software + Academia
`
A Win-Win Solution
that Doesn't JustWork™
4. 4
Academic Institutions
• Unite theory and practice
• Provide real-world, marketable skills
• Be seen as “cool” and innovative
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
5. 5
Free Software Communities
• More users
• More contributors
• More people who know about Free Software
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
6. 6
Corporate Contributors
• More, and more-qualified, job applicants
• Get to be known by the candidates they want
• Work with candidates before hiring them
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
7. 7
It Should JustWork™
• Everyone wins
• GNOME welcomes newcomers
• GNOME succeeds with student contributors:
✔ Google Summer of Code
✔ Outreach Program for Women
✔ HFOSS
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
8. 8
(Where are all the professors???)
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
9. 9
Barriers to Entry
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1. Unfamiliar tools
2. Undetermined projects
3. Unidentified resources
Every semester!
4. Unanswered questions
5. Unforeseen obstacles
6. Unestablished curriculum
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
10. 10
Root Causes
● Semesters have a fixed schedule
● Courses have fixed learning outcomes
● Faculty are expected to be in control
● Academia is a closed culture
● Faculty have limited time to teach
● Research is seen as a “better investment”
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
11. The “Season of Code” Problem
`
A(nother) Win-Win Solution
that Doesn't JustWork™
12. 12
How Could It Possibly Fail?
● Real needs ● Supportive mentors
● Great ideas ● Backing organizations
● Enthusiasm ● Infrastructure
● Time ● Financial support
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
14. 14
Post-Mortem Results
• Students move on
• Accessibility is not “shiny”
• Accessibility is highly specialized
• Existing team members have full plates
• An entity to ensure continuity is essential
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
15. Outreach Program for Professors
+ foss2serve
`
Putting Professors in the Driver's Seat
16. 16
Educate the Educators
● Community norms • Build tools
● Communication tools • Patch creation
● Issue trackers • Localization
● Version control • Releases
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
17. 17
Provide the Tools
• A module (new or existing)
• Infrastructure to maintain that module
• Ongoing mentorship
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
18. 18
Give Professors Ownership
• They set their road map (i.e. projects)
• They allocate their resources (i.e. students)
• They perform code review (i.e. assessment)
• They control their module (and their semester)
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
20. 20
Academic Efforts
• TOS – teachingopensource.org
Community of academics and developers
• HFOSS – hfoss.org
Humanitarian-centered to attract more students
• foss2serve – xcitegroup.org/foss2serve
New NSF-funded series of projects
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
21. 21
foss2serve's Main Goals
• Professional development for faculty in FOSS
• Small-group learning communities
– Connecting academia with FOSS projects
– Faculty become core participants
– Creation and sharing of learning materials
• Increase student interest in computing
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
22. 22
foss2serve's Participants
• Red Hat – POSSE
FOSS immersion experience for instructors
• GNOME – Outreach Program for Professors
Ramp-up and support for long-term participation
• (Your organization or institution here)
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
24. 24
Project Goals
• Financially self-sustaining
• Not limited to computer science
• International collaboration
• Professors mentor new professors
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
25. 25
Project Goals (cont.)
• Modules gain communities
• Modules become core GNOME
• Students remain as contributors
• Expands to include high schools
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
27. 27
MouseTrap
● Standalone GNOME application
● Mouse control via webcam head tracking
● Written in Python, based on OpenCV
● Created during GOPA: 2008
● Contributed to during HFOSS: 2009
● Last non-localization code change: 2010
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
28. 28
Short-Term Goals
• Make the module GNOME 3 compatible
• Define the module's road map
• Establish expertise in academic participants
• Explore/create course material for student
involvement
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
29. 29
Medium-Term Goals
• Regular releases
• Significant contribution by students
• Incorporation of the module into courses
• Increased visibility of students participation
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
30. 30
Long-Term Goals
• Module being included as GNOME “feature”
• Users actively participating
• Students and faculty doing core development
• Many disciplines and institutions contributing
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
32. 32
Program Participants Sought
• Computer Science • Art, Graphics Design
• Technical Writing • Foreign Language
• HCI, Usability • Marketing
• Special Education • Others
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com
33. 33 GNOME Accessibility Team
Alejandro Piñeiro Joanmarie Diggs
apinheiro@igalia.com jdiggs@igalia.com
Western New England University
Heidi Ellis Herman L. Jackson
ellis@wne.edu stoney.jackson@wne.edu
Drexel University
Gregory Hislop Sean Goggins
hislopg@drexel.edu sgoggins@drexel.edu
Nassau Community College
Darci Burdge Lori Postner
darci.burdge@ncc.edu lori.postner@ncc.edu
Facilitating Student Participation in Free Software within Academic Courses
Joanmarie Diggs | jdiggs@igalia.com