GovCamp and GovHack 2013 Open for Ideas

For the last few months I have been helping organize GovCamp and GovHack 2013 and we are now up to the stage of inviting expressions of interest from those interested in taking part. This is an annual event  part conference, part un-conference and part hacking competition, on how to make government better with technology. At GovCamp/GovHack 2012 150 developers in Canberra and Sydney worked on 40 projects. This year prizes for the best hacks will be announced at GovCamp 2013, 6 June. As well as Canberra, there will be satellite events in Adelaide, Sydney, Tasmania, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, see the website for details or to register your own site.

MOOCs with Books at BarCamp Canberra

Greetings from the Inspire Centre at the University of Canberra where BarCamp Canberra 2013 just started. This is an "un-conference" with a more spontaneous presentations. My talk on how to blend traditional and on-line education last week in Sydney went well, so I thought I would do an expanded version today.

What is a MOOC?

1. Massive: 100,000 students or more. Australia's large university has less than 50,000 students.
2. Open: No scholastic or financial barrier to enrollment. Materials may also be  open educational resources.
3. On-line: Materials delivered and students interact via the Internet.
4. Course: Similar in size to an Australian university subject of about a 12 week semester one quarter full time student load (a US course). But does not provide a credential on completion.

Some MOOC Suppliers

• udacity
• edX: ANU joined recently
• Coursera 
• Class Central (course aggregator). 

Some MOOC Courses

1. Harvard edX CS50x: Introduction to Computer Science 

2. MIT edX 6.00x: Introduction to Computer Science and Programming (uses a textbook)
   

Software and Training for MOOCs

• edX XBlock open source software (released 13 March 2013)
• Class2Go from Stanford
•  Introduction to Class2Go

Implications

1. Massive: Systems and software need to scale to deliver materials, provide automated student support and ways for students to interact.
2. Open: Wider range of students will need more help. Ways for students to find their group needed.
3. On-line: Ways to support students who have limited and intermittent Internet access are required.
4. Course: Will need to integrate with conventional university programs or create a whole new on-line university system. Ways to credential students on-line required.

Traditional Teaching On-line

1. Books: Course content provided in a down-loadable standalone structured module (textbook), using existing e-Book formats (web, Moodle Book Module, EPUB, IMS Content Package).
2. Formative Feedback: Short tests can be used to aid learning by student.
3. Groups: Students can be formed into groups for mutual support, on-line and off-line.

How Books Can Help

• On-line courses tend to present material in small chunks which the designer decided
• A book provides a carefully structured set of materials for the course, which can be used off-line.

How Software Can Help

1. Massive: Develop plug-ins and upgrades for free open source systems, such as Moodle and Mahara, to allow the to handle millions of students.
2. Open: Develop software which uses existing e-learning and e-book standards (web, Moodle Book Module, EPUB, IMS Content Package, SCORM Package).
3. On-line: Develop off-line support for e-learning, using mobile devices.
4. Course: Develop software which supports an integrated program, course module development process, not just delivery of isolated courses, so students get an education which meets community standards.

More Information

1. Demonstration of Using Moodle for Postgraduate Professional Education with eBooks and Smart phones
2. A Green Computing Professional Education Course Online 
3. Demonstration of Using Moodle for Postgraduate Professional Education with eBooks and Smart phones
4. On-line Professional Education For Australian Research-Intensive Universities in the Asian Century
5. Synchronizing Asynchronous Learning: Combining Synchronous and Asynchronous Techniques

Topics for BarCamp Canberra 2013

The BarCamp Canberra 2013 "un-conference" is on this Saturday, 16 March at the Unviersity of Canberra Inspire Centre. John Sheridan asked via Twitter for ideas on waht to speak about. It may seem odd for a senior government official to be wondering aloud \what to speak on at a conference in only a few days time, but this is an un-conference. Those who turn up with a traditional Powerpoint intensive set speech will be in for a shock. The un-conference format is similar to an academic symposium, in that all participants are potential speakers.

My current interests are online engagement courses (aka: Teaching How to Teach On-line, ), Sustainable Development, On-line Professional Education, Green Computing and New Forms of e-Learning for Developing Nations. The last of these I will be talking about at an international computer education conference in Colombo. The leader of the federal opposition, Tony Abbott, recently proposed a new "Colombo Plan" . The Colombo Plan secretariat office is in Colombo, so I might pop in and visit them.

ps: At the first I attended (BarCamp Canberra 2009)  I did not understand what was going on. There were people with strange codes on their name tags instead of names (these turned out to be Twitter addresses) and there were people writing on post-it notes and stucking them on a board (this is how you offer a talk on the day). It was difficult to work out who were the speakers and who were the audience (a person who looks in their late teens, in torn jeans and fluorescent hair may turn out to be a software engineer from the world's leaning web company).

CoMConnect: Exploring Melbourne's Digital Future

The city of Melbourne is hosting "CoMConnect: Exploring Melbourne's Digital Future", 11 August 2012. This is a free "un-conference" on how how digital technology can improve Melbourne.

This may be of interest to teachers, as education is a big part of the Digital City. Also other cities have Digital City programs, including the Wellington Digital Strategy and Action Plan, Digital Manchester and Canberra My Digital City innovation prize.

I booked to attend the event, when I was in Melbourne for ICCSE2012, but the event was delayed due to the Melbourne state by-election. So I will not now be able to attend, but here are some suggestions I have for a digital Melbourne:

1. Fix MiKi Ticketing system: On my recent visit to Melbourne I tried Miki smart ticketing system. This was much more difficult and unreliable than systems in places such as Istanbul and Canberra. I suggest Melbourne and the Victorian government obtain federal government support and funding for making all the state smart ticket systems inter-operable, so that someone with a MiKi could use it in other states (and at the same time they could fix the problems with the MiKi).
   
2. Lego Education Melbourne for Robotics and Renewable Energy : Melbourne has a wonderful resource in the Lego Education Centers. These run courses in robotics and renewable energy using Lego education kits, for school students and teachers. I suggest that similar courses would benefit business and government.
3. Un-conference venues: Modern "un"-conferences require venues with different facilities to last century events. What is needed is a flexible layout which can be reconfigured by the participants, with walls you can write on, display screens and wireless networking. The preeminent example of this in Australia is the University of Canberra's Inspire Center., which as used for the 2012 GovCamp/GovHack. I suggest Melbourne catalog existing such venues and encourage the development of new ones.
4. Teach On-line Communication: A digital city is partly on-line. This requires the citizens, business and cultural community to have good on-line communication skills. As an example, an on-line event, such as CoMConnect requires its own on-line presence (2012 GovCamp/GovHack provides a good example). Melbourne has numerous public and private educational institutions which can teach how to do this. I suggest Melbourne City Council host free introductory courses at its public libraries, for the citizens.
   

Here is the official CoMConnect event announcement:

The City of Melbourne is exploring how digital technology can help keep Melbourne one of the greatest places to be - at work, at play and at home in the 21st Century.

CoM Connect will bring together community leaders, thinkers, designers, technologists, researchers, urbanists and makers over the weekend of the 11th and 12th August to explore Melbourne's digital future.

This is your invitation to join us!

We expect demand for this exciting event to be very high so act quickly to secure your spot.

Important things to know...

• Our hashtag for the event: #comconnect
• We ask that you do your best to commit to participating over both days. We understand this is a big ask and for our part we promise to make sure you are well fed, mentally stimulated and entertained by a diverse mix of fascinating people and conversations.
  
• Due to the anticipated high demand we've had to limit the number of tickets to 1 per person. If you had previously registered to 'save the date' on behalf of friends or colleagues please forward them the invitation so they may register themselves.
  
• In order to make sure we have a healthy mix of backgrounds and perspectives participating over the weekend a small number of invitations have already been issued. The remaining places will be allocated on a first come/first served basis.
• In the event that all tickets are snapped up a waitlist will be used for the overflow. This means if you find yourself unable to make it please let the organisers know so someone else can take your place.

More about the event...

The Aims of CoM Connect...

• Build Community – Start to build a network of people and companies interested in working alongside the City of Melbourne to explore ways we can deliver better experiences and services to those who live, work and play within the municipality.
• Build Knowledge - Create an environment where leading Urban and Digital thinkers, researchers and practitioners can share share their knowledge about emerging trends and what they might mean for the City and its residents and visitors.
• Inspire – Showcase examples of cutting edge ideas, projects and research already taking place across Melbourne.
  

The Format...

• CoM Connect will be run as an unconference or open space event where the topics of discussion and the agenda are set by the participants.
• Each day will start with a blank timetable that we'll populate with the talks and discussions the participants (yes, that means you!) want to lead and initiate.
  
• Our venue at The Hub provides us with a multitude of adaptable spaces that can just as easily accommodate a plenary session for 200 as a conversation between a few people.
• Once the timetable is populated it's up to you to decide which sessions you would like to attend and which talks and discussions you'd like to participate in.
• For each session or discussion we ask that notes are kept and shared so all our creative and intellectual output is captured.

The Outcomes...

• In the days following the event the City of Melbourne (along with everyone who participated) will be presented with a summary that outlines the main themes, opportunities and areas for further investigation. This will help guide the City of Melbourne's future research and engagement activities as we work towards developing a Digital City Strategy.

GovCamp NSW Co-Lab

The University of NSW CBD Campus is hosting "NSW is GovCamp NSW Co-Lab" 25 June 2012. This is free one day informal "unconference" where the general public, industry and government people can redesign government processes. Register online.

Topics for each 20 minute mini-session will be nominated by the attendees on the day. At GovCampNSW Co-Lab topics will be influenced by the participants’ collaborative discussion around innovation for public service.

As a guide, topics discussed may include:

• Innovation and agency resilience
• New ways of doing public service delivery
• Collaboration and co-creation
• Policy development and citizen participation
• Policies relating to Gov 2.0 implementation
• The impacts of “mobile” on government
• Online community engagement
• Open data standards, copyright and use
• Location intelligence and geospatial strategies
  

Digital City Unconference

The City of Melbourne is holding a Digital City Unconference 14 to 15 July 2012 in Melbourne. The city is developing a Digital City Strategy to help be global digital city. As I will be in Melbourne to speak at the 7th International Conference on Computer Science and Education (ICCSE 2012), I have registered to go along to the unconference. For some of my items see: digital city.