Workshop on Using Digital resources in a Public Library and educational institutions (Children’s Section)

Date and Time: Friday, 5th April 2013, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Venue: Bookworm Library, Taleigao (Location Map)

Session

A two hour session will include

· Orientation to Ubuntu Operating System. This will include the philosophy of free and open source software, installation and basic navigation of the operating system.

· ICT in society, education and teaching-learning, the philosophical aspects

· Typing in Indian Languages – accessing and creating digital resources in one’s own language and script

· Introduction to several educational tools listed below.

· End with an open session for feedback and discuss possible ways forward.

Soft copies of hand-outs will be provided to all the participants. If the participants bring an empty DVD, the Ubuntu Operating System and all the tools listed will be copied onto it.

List of Educational Tools

Subject	Public Software	Description
SCIENCE	Kalzium	Kalzium shows the periodic table and the properties of elements. It is an encyclopedia, explaining states of matter, evolution of elements. Basic equations can be balanced using this tool.
	Stellarium	This is a desktop planetarium software that can be used to explain all celestial objects
	PhET	Fun, interactive simulations of physical phenomenon
MATHS	Geogebra	An algebra and geometry package providing for both graphical and algebraic input, to create lesson plans and resources for maths learning
	Tux Math	A fun game through which children can practise their addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
	JfractionLab	To explain fractions and operations on fractions pictorially
LOGIC	KTurtle	K Turtle can be used to create exercises to learn logic.
	Freemind	Freemind can be used for concept mapping and lesson planning
SOCIAL STUDIES	KGeography	Quiz on different states and capitals across the globe
	Marble	This acts as a dynamic desktop atlas.
ENGLISH	KHangman	Guess the correct work with a certain number of guesses allowed
	KAnagram	Unscramble the word
	Tux Typing	Tux Typing” is an educational typing tutor.
Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu etc…	IBUS with LibreOffice	IBUS can be used for text editing in most Indian and many foreign languages.

The proposed workshop an in-person session that will be provided at the library to discuss key ideas that will guide public library administrators, educators in understanding use, enhancing the impact, efficiency and value of public digital resources to improve the digital learning environment for the children’s section of the library or a computer lab in any school.

World over public libraries a promote literacy, reading, personal development and cultural understanding for the individual and her community. Access to, and effective use of digital libraries is regarded in today’s world as essential to social and economic mobility and overall well-being. More and more information is being digitised and in fact accessible more easily via the internet. For example, e-government services, railway and bus ticketing and many internet-only media news resources. Public libraries represent critical information access points for those populations that lack access to the computer and the World Wide Web elsewhere.

Digital literacy and understanding the digital world has become a necessity in today’s networked society. Hence schools are the best place for children to meaningfully engage with Information and communications technologies (ICT), learn the skills and understand the social and ethical dimensions of ICTs including the computer. The new generation of children are ‘Digital Natives‘ who are born into a digitised world. They acquire skills very easily but need to be facilitated by an adult to make use of these skills meaningfully. . Teachers, this generation, who are ‘Digital Immigrants‘ must become digitally literate as well as have the ability to use digital technology for meaningful teaching-learning activities.

Digital resources are not limited to textual material, but are available in multiple medias such as images, videos, simulations, animations. In fact some of the digital educational material is dynamic and interactive to enable children to explore concepts they may have learnt in school through different media. These digital tools when initially facilitated by an adult eventually enable children to explore and learn on their own. Apart from the resources available on the World Wide Web, there are many free[1] education applications that are available for educators and children to use.

About Free and Open Source Software (Public Software[2])

Free and Open Source operating systems are Linux based operating systems. One such operating system which is now user friendly and easy to use is Ubuntu. Ubuntu also comes with a large number of software applications for creating digital resources in multiple mediums. It also has a large number of educational tools, all of which are free to download. Once downloaded these tools may be used without internet access. As this software is created by the people and is free to download, share, modify and use, it comes with some distinct advantages.

· The Linux operating system security does not allow virus to affect it.

· One software application allows a user to type in any Indian/Foreign language. And only a keyboard click allows users to switch between languages.

· There are many free applications to edit images, videos and desktop publishing tools to create newsletters, posters and so on.

· Educational tools to simulate science concepts, astronomical phenomenon, mathematical concepts and interactive maps are also available for children to explore.

 

About the Facilitator

Bindu Thirumalai is a mathematics educator and has been training government high school teachers all over Karnataka for over three years on ICTs in the teaching learning process while working with IT for Change, a NGO based in Bangalore. She is currently a student of MPhil – Education at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad. Please refer to her article Titled “Using digital tools to animate the classroom ” in the Hindu http://www.thehindu.com/todays­paper/tp­national/tp­karnataka/article2802869.ece  to understand how digital resources may be used effectively to enhance children’s learning opportunities.

 

[1] The philosophy of the movement is that the use of computers should not lead to people being prevented from cooperating with each other. In practice, this means rejecting “proprietary software”, which imposes such restrictions, and promoting free software,[3] with the ultimate goal of liberating everyone “in cyberspace”[4] – that is, every computer user. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software_movement

[2] http://www.public-software.in/