[seul-edu] FW: a real hack of the PR ;-^)

["Doug Loss" <drloss@suscom.net>]

From: Paul Nelson <pnelson@riverdale.k12.or.us>

I think we need to refer to SchoolForge as SchoolForge.net. That way no 
one will every get confused looking for schoolforge.org or .com. It 
should be a part of the name in all documents and logos.

[Doug] Well, I think Schoolforge as a name works better than
Schoolforge.net, because I don't want people to get too caught up in the
"computer geek"ishness that might accompany an official name that ends in
dot anything.  Besides, we list the URL immediately after the name, so it
seems unlikely that they'd make the mistake.

In terms of press releases I think of the local news anchor person. They 
know very little of technology and nothing about Linux or Open Source. 
We don't really have to worry about the people who use Open Source 
already, they will learn about us from friendly sites like NewsForge and 
  SourceForge. It's the folks that don't know anything we want to reach. 
That was my goal in crafting a shorter, more generic version of the 
press release that will fit on one page and have only the most central 
points about SchoolForge.net. If the news person understands it, it 
might end up on the news...

[Doug] This is a very good point.  I'm forwarding Paul's rewrite in it's
entirety.

The hard part about press releases is the temptation to say too much. I 
picture in my mind the evening news and only write what I might here in 
the 20 second spot the release might get.

[Doug] I realize it's a little late for a major rewrite, but William can use
whatever he likes from this.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SCHOOLFORGE.NET COALITION FORMED TO PROVIDE FREE OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE 
AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES TO SCHOOLS.

THE INTERNET, January 8, 2002 -- SchoolForge.net, a global coalition 
providing free software and educational resources to schools, announced 
its formation today. Software and information is available from the 
project web site at http://www.schoolforge.net.

Composed of twenty-six educational organizations on five continents, 
SchoolForge.net will introduce and support free/open source software and 
educational resources in primary and secondary educational settings. 
SchoolForge.net will also provide discussion forums where educators can 
share information along with corporate and government educational 
stakeholders. Founding members of SchoolForge.net include Simple End 
User Linux (http://seul.org/edu) Open Source Schools 
(http://www.opensourceschools.org), the K12 Linux in Schools Project 
(http://k12os.org) and the Open Source Educational Foundation 
(http://www.osef.org). A complete list of members and supporters is 
available at http://schoolforge.net.

SchoolForge.net member organizations include volunteers, teachers and 
technicians who are committed to harnessing the Internet and free/open 
resources to help teachers teach and help students learn. Free and open 
in this sense means that resources may be freely developed and improved 
by users in addition to being free of cost.

Accompanying the launch of SchoolForge.net is the 2.0 release of 
K12LTSP, an easy to install version of Linux designed for schools. Only 
6 months old, K12LTSP is already used in schools around the world. 
K12LTSP comes with educational software developed by SchoolForge.net 
members and is freely available from http://k12os.org.

OPEN SOURCE LICENSING MODEL HAS A POSITIVE IMPACT ON SCHOOLS...
The open source license that has contributed to the success of the 
GNU/Linux operating system in the business world is helping in schools 
too. Schools save money using open source software because it is free, 
reliable and immune to viruses that plague other proprietary operating 
systems. Doug Loss, a founding member of SchoolForge.net says that the 
organization has goals beyond providing free software, "Open resources 
are educational tools made by educators, for educators, sharing the 
experience they've gained in both the classroom and the lab. That can 
include everything from folk wisdom to lesson plans to technical 
documentation."

Visitors to SchoolForge.net are invited to review case studies of 
successful free software deployments in schools from Pasco, Washington 
to New York City, from Zacatecas, Mexico, to Aldgate, South Australia. 
SchoolForge.net member projects such as the Open Book Project 
(http://www.ibiblio.org/obp/) and the new OpenSchooling Project hope to 
empower educators to create a free, standards-compliant curriculum for 
K-12 schools.

"We're hoping to help schools move away from an endless cycle of 
hardware and software spending," Loss says. "Open resources promise to 
make free and open technology a powerful tool for education."

CONTACT: The SchoolForge.net member that sent you this press release or...
Doug Loss
(570) 326-3987
dloss@seul.org


==========================================================
Paul Nelson................... pnelson@riverdale.k12.or.us
Riverdale School, 11733 SW Breyman Ave, Portland, OR 97219
school (503)636-4511.....................fax (503)635-6342
Riverdale Web Page......... http://www.riverdale.k12.or.us