Tag Archives: POSSE

Professors from Around the World Get Their Students into HFOSS

Over the last four years instructors from around the world have gathered for the Professors’ Open Source Software Experience (POSSE) workshop to integrate open source concepts into their curriculum. At each event, professors make more progress toward providing students with hands on experience via contributions to humanitarian free and open source software (HFOSS).

This year Google was proud to not only host a workshop at our San Francisco office in April, but also to collaborate with the organizers to bring a POSSE workshop to Europe for the first time.
POSSE workshop leaders, from left to right: Clif Kussmaul (Muhlenburg College), Lori Postner (Nassau Community College), Stoney Jackson (Western New England University),  Heidi Ellis (Western New England University), Greg Hislop (Drexel University), and Darci Burdge (Nassau Community College).
The workshop in Italy was led by Dr. Gregory Hislop from Drexel University, and Drs. Heidi Ellis and Stoney Jackson from Western New England University, and brought together 20 instructors from Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Macedonia, Qatar, Spain, Swaziland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This was the most geographically diverse workshop to date!
Group photos in San Francisco, USA on April 22, 2017 (left) and Bologna, Italy on July 1, 2017 (right).
What’s next for POSSE? University instructors from institutions in the US can apply now to participate in the next workshop, November 16-18 in Raleigh, NC and join their peers in the community of instructors weaving HFOSS into their curriculum.

By Helen Hu, Google Open Source

Join the first POSSE Workshop in Europe

We are excited to announce that the Professors’ Open Source Software Experience (POSSE) is expanding to Europe! POSSE is an event that brings together educators interested in providing students with experience in real-world projects through participation in humanitarian free and open source software (HFOSS) projects.

Over 100 faculty members have attended past workshops and there is a growing community of instructors teaching students through contributions to HFOSS. This three-stage faculty workshop will prepare you to support student participation in open source projects. During the workshop, you will:

  • Learn how to support student learning within real-world project environments
  • Motivate students and cultivate their appreciation of computing for social good
  • Collaborate with instructors who have similar interests and goals
  • Join a community of educators passionate about HFOSS

Workshop Format

Stage 1: Starts May 8, 2017 with online activities. Activities will take 2-3 hours per week and include interaction with workshop instructors and participants.
Stage 2: The face-to-face workshop will be held in Bologna, Italy, July 1-2, 2017 and is a pre-event for the ACM ITiCSE conference. Workshop participants include the workshop organizers, POSSE alumni, and members of the open source community.
Stage 3: Online activities and interactions in small groups immediately following the face-to-face workshop. Participants will have support while involving students in an HFOSS project in the classroom.

How to Apply

If you’re a full-time instructor at an academic institution outside of the United States, you can join the workshop being held in Bologna, Italy, July 1-2, 2017. Please complete and submit the application by May 1, 2017. Prior work with FOSS projects is not required. English is the official language of the workshop. The POSSE workshop committee will send an email notifying you of the status of your application by May 5, 2017.

Participant Support

The POSSE workshop in Europe is supported by Google. Attendees will be provided with funding for two nights lodging ($225 USD per night) and meals during the workshop. Travel costs will also be covered up to $450 USD. Participants are responsible for any charges above these limits. At this time, we can only support instructors at institutions of higher education outside of the U.S. For faculty at U.S. institutions, the next POSSE will be in fall 2017 on the east coast of the U.S.

We look forward to seeing you at the POSSE workshop in Italy!

By Helen Hu, Open Source Programs Office