Evolving Free Technology Education together A vision for the Free Technology Academy Proposed by the Free Knowledge Institute 4 April Heerlen

Background Software has become fundamental in our societies Free Software allows interoperability and freedom Commons-based production holds the promise to lead to sustainability and a more inclusive society. Problem: the lack of knowledge and expertise on FS A growing need for skilled specialists, but most educational programmes in Computer Science and other related fields do not reflect this reality.

Mission At a high level, the FTA strives to: contribute to a society that permits all users to study, participate and build upon existing knowledge without restrictions; contribute to the building of a critical mass in the use of Free Software and Open Standards.

Objectives At a more concrete level, the FTA aims to: upgrade knowledge on Free Software and Open Standards of ICT professionals, learners, teachers and decision makers; build a sustainable Free Technology Academy; build a network of partners to share the costs and benefits of education on free technologies.

What differentiates the FTA? Its distance education methodology Its virtual campus completely based on FS + OS Its course materials are all OER under free licenses Its course programme specialised in FT Its shared quality assurance and recognition at module level Its international and multidisciplinary aspects Its network and community dimension

Challenges Sustainability: ● Of the course module development ● Of the course programme ● Of the campus

Routes to solution Working together: ● On the development of materials ● On a common curriculum ● Expanding the campus and community platform ● Enhancing the quality of the courses … with a community of peers: enroled and informal learners, partner staff, external experts, volunteers

Include and empower peers In the FTA teams: ● Encourage contributors to the systems maintenance of community services ● Open development of course materials ● Common curriculum ● Encourage publication of FTA certificates ● Strengthen peer learning ● Activities in the campus and community ● Online discussions, groups and social networking → help communicate the FTA ●...

Ecosystem 1.0

FTA Partners More universities More specialist community oriented organisations

towards a common master curriculum Encourage open develop- ment

Peer producing course books

➔ Tutor ➔ Course book ➔ 13 weeks ➔ Asynchronous ➔ Activities ➔ Continuous assessments ➔ Guest Lectures ➔ Encourage contributing to the wiki, community ➔ Encourage peer learning Educational methodology

FTA Certificate More institutions who recognise FTA courses Publish Your certificate

FTA Campus & Open Learning Network FTA Bsc + MSc Courses FTM Master Programmes FT Peer Learning (VET) school VETs Hacklabs Free Culture Hotspots Uni- versities FT Com- munities schools Online Campus Tools Open Education & Peer learning models Connect with other networks FK/FT Research Projects openSE P2PU Wiki- Educator..... Translation Tools & Facilitation Ecosystem 2.0 Print-on- Demand Book service FK/FT Development Projects FK/FT Advocacy & Activism learners & educators: peers from cso's, public sector, business, communities Collaborativ e Authoring Tools

Conclusions The FTA is unique and is becoming a reference The FTA can and should be improved We see: ● the FTA as a commons ● the FTA as a community of peers We should actively take the lead to encourage others to co-own and develop the FTA We should encourage other projects to built upon and extend the FTA materials, platform, network and community

- Wouter Tebbens - - Free Knowledge Institute Wouter Tebbens - - Franco Iacomella - Stay informed: