G.ho.st Presentation and FOSS Training at the Quezon City Polytechnic University

Last week we received a last minute invitation via from Wilfredo, a CPU member studying at the Quezon City Polytechnic University, to conduct an introduction to FOSS and Cloud Computing training in their school. Elvin and I were assigned to handle the training session for that day so off we went. We were expecting that we would just be a part of a much bigger program for the day. We were surprised later when we found out that we were the only speakers that was expected to present during the four hour program. With very little preparations that was done due to the nature of the invitation and since we were very much involve in other activities during the past week, we conducted the training with much enthusiasm.

Elvin handled the philosophical part of the introduction to FOSS by introducing the basic concepts and the history of the development of FOSS. He also showed the students the different FOSS software that is available for their use. The future of FOSS in the Philippines by providing the students information about the FOSS Bill that is currently being heard at the House of Representatives. He also conducted a preview on how to install Drupal for the use of the students.

I introduced to the students the wonders of the internet by providing them with a short historical background on the development of computing. The students were also introduced to the Ubuntu operating system by discussing with them the philosophy of Ubuntu with an actual demonstration of its capabilities. An introduction to cloud computing provided students with the different sites in the internet that they could use in their studies like online storage, office, social networking. We also discussed the need for IT students to engage themselves in the internet by uploading their materials in sites like youtube and creating their own blogs. We emphasized that this would be the best reference point for them when they apply for a job after their graduation. The grand finale of the activity was the introduction of the G.ho.st V. C in which it showed how technology is being used to attain a peaceful solution of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict in Israel.

The students had a very lively time during the training sessions. A very informal approach was used in which the students could correlate their experiences in the use of the computer. They were very much active in asking their questions and participated actively in the open forum that came after the presentations. All in all we could say that the activity was a huge success.