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Re: [school-discuss] Automatically teach kids + create FOSS jobs = AutoTeach Project



Hi Christian,

On Thu, Apr 2, 2015 at 11:40 AM, Christian Einfeldt <einfeldt@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
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like to speak with educators who are using it in classrooms; or who are encouraging its use at home and integrating that into the classroom in some fashion.

Until just a moment ago I had accepted that I was guilty of "If you build it they will come" syndrome. But what really happened was that while I was trying to figure out any way to "get them to come" at all, I just built it. The recent breakthrough that has prompted me to come out of hibernation was the busking-for-subscription-fees scheme. I believe that it elegantly solves all the problems and creates a win-win-win synergistic loop where kids get some accountability training, parents stay safely at a hands-off distance, and open source edu resource developers get paid. ...and open edu resources get advanced. But current users? Nobody yet, and they all love it. And that's only because 1) I'm only beginning to leave my comfort zone and speak-up again, and 2) I'm still a 1-man-band and there's actually more than one chicken-and-egg type problem associated with that.

For me the project represents the two big things that I wish I'd had when I was a parent, 1) credit meter and forcereader tools, and 2) a way like this to make a buck writing free software for kids. (1) corresponds to the parent-subscriber community proposed by AutoTeach, let's say, and (2) corresponds to the developer community. I would have been a member of both. I still want to be a member of (2) and develop for (1). So this is my multi-part vision, you see, and there are a variety of audiences and they don't all necessarily care about each other ... parents don't need to be open source advocates although they might become such through their participation ... but in order to advance open edu resources and realize more from the ocean of unrealized potential around us, I see all the parts working together as necessary. Allowing subscribers to allocate their fees directly to developers seems like it should alleviate money issues all around.Â

About 6 weeks ago I doubled-down and took-on even more "if you build it they will come" riskiness and did the following:
1. When a new visitor arrives at autoteach.net they are auto-provisioned an account based on their ip number.
2. Everyone who visits become a community member.
3. Visitors can also have a Developer account.
4. Parent accounts are also auto-provisioned a phony "American Espresso" card with unlimited balance.
5. Through the distribution interface parents can get in the habit of giving money to developers using "play money"
6. You could currently also have one of each type account and give yourself money .. woo hoo!
7. Through the parent account you can create student accounts, as usual, nothing changed
8. The router / credit-meter software is now online, alongside the assignment system, and the accounts are linked.
9. Thus you can explore everything there is (not much) online, rather than having to go through the R-Pi SD card and configuration
10. The system is a demo, but also real ... if a parent likes they can connect to the same online account via their R-Pi
11. Developers can also contribute and have their wares plugged-into the current system

So I'm still trying to find the right way to get people involved ... that's my latest way ... play money and everyone unwittingly joins the community. Incidentally, that entire new demo framework got re-ported-into-alignment with Mezzanine just last week, and so all standard disclaimers apply ...

Anyway, a null answer warrants a bit of explanation.ÂÂ It exists, it's usable, it's original and useful, yet it needs help in so many ways to succeed.ÂÂ This thread has certainly been encouraging, and please add your voice if this interests you.Â

Charles