First they ignore you Then they laugh at you Then they they fight you Then you win

- Gandhi Neat quote on the FSMK T-shirt! :)

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi

With this message a few geeks at Free Software Movement Karnataka (FSMK) have been working on popularizing the open source software in the government schools and offices. "Karnataka Government decided to use free software for 8th 9th and 10th standards as a part of their ICT@Schools project(Information and Communication Technology). As of now It is vendor controlled project (Educom, EVeron, etc are implementing it) under BOOT (Build Operate Own & Transfer)scheme. For making it more accessible to teachers & students(IT enabled learning), we are initiating this training as a pilot project in bangalore. This is organised by DSERT and a Consortium of Free Software Organisations in Bangalore (FSUG Bangalore, Sampada, FSMK, ITfC, DeepRoot Linux, IT4Change & Moving Republic are the organisations associated.)", said Naveen Mudunuru, an active volunteer with FSMK.

1. A session on FLOSS (Free/Libre/Open Source Software) philosophy. 2. Basic usage of the desktop explaining the various hardware components. 3. Use of Open Office. 4. Educational games on the distro. 5. Use of Internet.

The team comprised of volunteers from various groups typically software techies from various companies some of who have moved to social sector for good. The hall was packed with almost every system occupied with about 25 teachers. The teachers very pretty enthusiastic about the training and sat patiently for the long sessions absorbing as much as they could. One teacher in particular didn't mind delayed lunch as they were in middle of something.

The first day was mostly basic stuff covering the different components like mouse (why it is so called?), CPU, etc. Many teachers were curious about typing and use of kannada. Ktouch, gtypist, gcompris, etc were suggested to the them. The afternoon session Naveen introduced the teachers to the concept of FLOSS. Naveen used the analogy of a bike. When someone buys a bike (s)he expects to use it the way (s)he wishes. If a neighbor is in need and comes ask for the bike for some work (s)he is free to lend the bike which may not be the cased with a product from Microsoft or Apple or such. If it has some problem one would like to have a look at the bike himself or herself first and only then goto a shop. Even if (s)he has to goto a shop the person is free to go to a local shop and doesn't have to go to the same vendor who sold the bike. This 'freedom' is not there in closed source software. There was a mention of how Einstein was able to come up with concepts like theory of relativity as Newton, who said, "If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants.", didn't keep his knowledge to himself. The way to go ahead in technology is to share and exchange knowledge. Reminds one of the words from George Bernard Shaw -

"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas."

The second day was entirely spent on Open Office where equivalents of Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint. People who were familiar with the office suite asked how they could do certain things they did in the MS counterparts. The sessions were exhaustive and covered most of the things the teachers would need. The day ended in a presentation on a one of the schools made by the Teacher from that school. Looked pretty well done. The teachers were briefly introduced to the use of Kannada - the idea was to encourage them to use English. The detailed coverage on the same is planned in the subsequent sessions.

The third day was devoted to the Internet. The teachers were also requested to work in groups to infuse in them idea of sharing and helping each other which is the basis for most development in FLOSS. The idea behind the sessions was to equip the teachers to help themselves by looking for help on the net. They were introduced to checking emails, google, wikipedia, youtbue, etc. An email was created for each teacher and also a mailing list containing all of them for future queries and discussions. The teachers expressed their heart felt gratitude.

If this initiative interests you please get in touch with

Naveen: naveenmudunuru@gmail.com 998640 3928 Vikram: vincentvikram@gmail.com 94488 10822

Software _must_ be accessible to people who could use it to bring about a positive change in their lives. Such programs are only making this a reality by touching the needier sections.

-- Mayank Rungta -- article released under creative commons