Education Program

A position originally held by laurel; one of the first paid positions created at Free Geek in order to make the education aspect of our mission a reality.

Hiring a new education coordinator can be a great opportunity for Free Geek to develop the education aspect of our mission, if we choose the right person and supply them with the appropriate resources and orientation. To do this, we have to have a coherent vision of what we want the education program to be.

It's intended that the entirety of this page (well, below the Table of Contents) be posted as the Education Coordinator job description.

Current Situation

Free Geek is an educational center where people can gain, through exposure, basic knowledge about PC architecture computer equipment and basic computer use. Those who join the Build Program can get more detailed information about hardware and troubleshooting and some GNU/Linux skills. If they assiduously ask questions and take advantage of our documentation and Internet access, motivated volunteers can learn a lot. The "Advanced Linux" classes also provide a way to learn some operating system basics that may not be touched on in the workshops. The Laptop, Mac Build, and Advanced Testing Programs are also beginning to provide more structured educational opportunities for Build Program graduates, but they are all relatively new and in some cases unstructured.

Volunteers with an independent bent can serve the community and learn about more esoteric things, like printers, and Enterprise Build, if they are dedicated and self-reliant.

The most structured learning at Free Geek takes place in the FreekBox Adoption Classes, 1-3 hour classes that introduce an "adopter" to the basics of using her new computer. Though adopters are encouraged to re-take this class as necessary, education thenceforth generally takes the form of calls to Tech Support to answer questions about installing or updating software or basic troubleshooting.

There are also (very sporadic) classes on other topics taught by volunteers as they have the inspiration and time and the space is available. For an example check out The Gimp.

Resources Available

There's a large amount of knowledge and talent in the community, both in current volunteers and in Portland as a whole, which is becoming a center of Free Software development and advocacy. Some of these people are willing and able to teach. There's also a lot of public goodwill toward Free Geek, and potential collaborations with local projects such as various schools, senior centers, community centers, etc.

Free Geek has a large amount of documentation detailing things that have a direct bearing on our important processes, such as system evaluation. There's a smaller amount of documentation meant to be purely educational, such as the New User FAQ we give to all adopters and storebox buyers.

We have one, potentially two, classrooms and a space that could be used for lectures if we weren't storing stuff in it.

And we also have the Free and Open Source community.

Our Goals

Our mission says we will provide "education, internet access and job skills training to those in need in exchange for community service."

The education we provide is, in some sense, a necessary part of reuse because the systems will not be used if people do not know how. We also have an unoffical mission to promote the Free Software that allows us to do all this with reused equipment, and an assumed goal of remaining solvent. Up to the present, our education program has not really been a money-maker, but instead is a piece of our operations that everything else buoys up.

Back in May, our Community Council decided that the new Education Coordinator (and the Education Program as a whole) should focus on improving the existing curriculum, and add classes as possible given time constraints of staff members and interest within the community.

Who Do We Serve?

• The Builders and Advanced Builders come here to learn. Many complete the Build Program and continue building computers for years, and some want to graduate to new areas like Laptops, Mac Build, or System Administration.
• Those who come here to get a new computer are searching for a whole different set of job skills, such as keyboarding and Internet use.
• The general public might be interested in classes/lectures on general computer makeup or on the ewaste problem, aimed at interested generalists. This could bring us some income, positive public attention and possibly donations, and i hold would forward our position as a "community organization" among not just our volunteers, but also our neighbors and Portland as a whole. We are looked to as a model by people all over the world. If we develop these curricula, people could share this information everywhere.

Potential Projects For An Education Coordinator

• Improve our core curriculum. Most of the learning at Free Geek happens "on the job", while volunteers work in Build Workshops, Recycling, Advanced Testing, etc. These areas can be investigated, their tasks organized as a series of steps progressing towards learning objectives, and documentation can be updated or created.
• Both staff and volunteers teach our more formal classes as well as our workshops. Teaching our teachers to teach would standardize our methods and encourage a more investigative, empowered learning environment.
• Further develop the Advanced Linux classes to include things like LTSP (theory and installation) and the differences between distributions. This would require volunteer teachers, as there are not enough staff hours to offer the current advanced Linux classes on a regular basis.
• Develop a series of classes on basic computer topics (like the ones outlined on the Classes page of the wiki), which could relieve some pressure on tech support and give people more confidence and basic literacy.
• Search for ways of reimbursing teachers, whether with a stipend or other rewards, in order to assure consistent and professional teaching. Yes, write grants!

But First...

There's lots involved in this job: weaving together the past, present, and future educational opportunties at a complex organization like Free Geek isn't necessarily an easy job. But it could be lots of fun. Move on to the Job Description to find out more, and then check out our vision for the future.