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Thirty Attend Arduino/Microcontrollers Workshop for Educators

August 7th, 2012 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined - (1 Comments)

Approximately 30 people attended the Arduino/Microcontroller workshop for Educators workshop held on August 3rd and 4th at IT-oLogy. The majority of attendees were educators, but students and local IT professionals also participated. The purpose of the workshop was to train educators and other IT leaders on the skills needed to understand and teach basic microcontroller programming as well as the circuits in the Sparkfun Inventor’s Kit (SIK). This content is important because it teaches basic engineering principles vital in education. It will now be taught and implemented in a classroom environment in high schools, middle schools and even elementary schools. Linz Craig, Educational Outreach Coordinator for Sparkfun Electronics, conducted both workshops and did an outstanding job.

For more information on upcoming workshops and the Open IT Lab go to www.open-it-lab.com or www.it-ology.org.

Here are a few pictures for you!

Arduino Workshop 3

Arduino Workshop 2

Arduino Workshop

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Response to First Microcontroller/Arduino Workshop Overwhelming

July 30th, 2012 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined - (0 Comments)

Arduino HardwareThe OpenIT Lab at IT-oLogy offered a Basics of the Microcontroller/Arduino workshop for the first time to the general public on Saturday, July 14. The response was so overwhelming approximately 15-20 people had to be turned away and directed to a second offering.

Attendees were given hands-on experience with building and designing Arduino-based electronics projects. The Italian-designed Arduino is a low cost microcontroller and one of the leading technologies in the new open hardware movement.

Projects included getting started with the simple Blink circuit, Arduino’s version of “Hello World”, then exploring how to customize the blink rate and brightness by tweaking the source code and how to make the microcontroller aware of its surroundings by using photoresistors and pushbuttons. Participants also learned about electronic circuits, digital and analog signals and basic programming using the Arduino software.

The second Microcontroller/Arduino workshop is being planned now with a tentative delivery date scheduled for September.

For more information about upcoming workshops or the Open IT Lab please visit the IT-oLogy website or www.open-it-lab.com. Questions can be directed to Todd Lewis at todd@palmettocomputerlabs.com or 803-240-1213.

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Open Source Opportunities in April

April 5th, 2012 | Posted by Whitney Williams in Education | Grow IT | IT-oLogy Defined | Teach IT - (0 Comments)

While the Palmetto Open Source Software Conference (POSSCON) may be over for the year, the opportunities surrounding open source are just beginning! The Open IT Lab, located at IT-oLogy @ Innovista, is a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about open source technologies. Todd Lewis, of Palmetto Computer Labs, and his crew are delivering a number of free workshops and learning opportunities during the month of April.

Every Wednesday in April, from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., the Open IT Lab is available for tours. Students, educators and IT professionals are invited to tour the lab and use various open/open source software and hardware technology. There are also a few upcoming workshops for anyone interested in open source.

Ubuntu 101: Installation & Overview
Saturday, April 14
9:30 a.m. – Noon

Command Line 101
Wednesday, April 18
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Drupal 101: Hello Drupal!
Saturday, May 5
9:30 a.m. – Noon

Are you interested in any of the workshops listed above? Need more details? Check out the events page on our website! To register, contact Todd Lewis at todd@palmettocomputerlabs.com or 803.240.1213.

Did you miss POSSCON this year? Don’t worry – we have some resources for you anyway! We had the cool opportunity to interview speakers during the two-day event. Check out the interviews on the IT-oLogy YouTube channel!

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POSSCON 2012 Early, Early Bird Registration Closes January 31

January 20th, 2012 | Posted by Whitney Williams in Education | IT-oLogy Defined - (0 Comments)

POSSCON 2012The Early, Early Bird Registration rate of $99 will close on January 31st for the world-class Palmetto Open Source Software Conference, presented by IT-oLogy.

The Palmetto Open Source Software Conference will once again bring a world-class lineup of IT thought leaders to the Southeast for two days to discuss the latest issues for developers, executives, government leaders and educators.

We are extremely pleased to announce that Scott McNealy will headline POSSCON 2012. He is one of the most influential and widely quoted leaders in the history of IT. Whether co-founding Sun Microsystems at the age of 27, eventually selling Sun Microsystems to Oracle, overseeing the development of Java and the acquisition of MySQL, assuming the role of defender of the free computing world, originating the visionary phrase ‘the network is the computer,’ or starting the open source education nonprofit Curriki, McNealy has literally changed the course of technology and open source history.

POSSCON 2012 will be held at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center March 28-29, 2012, and will feature track sessions, hands-on training and social and networking events. Tracks will include Education, Technical, Big Picture and Demo/Training.

Other speakers include Dr. Douglas Maughan, Director, Department of Homeland Security, Cyber Security Division; Jim Jagielski, Co-Founder and President, Apache Software Foundation; Chris Aniszcyck, Open Source Manager, Twitter, Inc.; and many others.

In 2011, more than 500 people from 15 states, 30 colleges and universities and approximately 100 business and government organizations attended.

Early-early bird registration is now open at a discounted rate of $99. Registration is available at www.posscon.org.

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POSSCON 2012 Early, Early Bird Registration Now Open! Limited Time Only

January 10th, 2012 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined - (0 Comments)

Early, Early Bird registration for POSSCON 2012 is now open at the discounted rate of $99. This rate is only good through the month of January and will end January 31.

POSSCON 2012, which is scheduled for March 28 and 29 at the Columbia Convention Center, has become one of the largest open source conferences in the Southeast. It will again feature keynotes, track sessions and training opportunities for technologists, IT decision makers, and education professionals of all types.

Scott McNealy, Co-Founder of Sun Microsystems, a Silicon Valley legend and one of the most influential leaders in the history of IT, is the keynote speaker for this year’s event. Other speakers include Dr. Douglas Maughan, Director, Department of Homeland Security, Cyber Security Division; Jim Jagielski, Co-Founder and President, Apache Software Foundation; Chris Aniszcyck, Open Source Manager, Twitter, Inc.; and many others.

In 2011, more than 500 people from 24 states, 30 colleges and universities and approximately 100 business and government organizations attended.

Registration is available at www.posscon.org. Questions can be directed to Todd Lewis, POSSCON Chair, at todd@posscon.org.

The Palmetto Open Source Software Conference is an annual gathering of technologists, IT decision makers and education professionals to discuss the topic of open source. Started in 2008, POSSCON has now become one of the largest open source conferences in the Southeast. In 2011 more than 500 attended from 24 states, including representatives from 30 colleges and universities and approximately 100 business and government organizations.

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Twelve Students from SCVRD visit Open IT Lab

December 13th, 2011 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined - (0 Comments)
SCVRD Visit

Students from SCVRD visit the IT-oLogy Open IT Lab.

Twelve students from the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department (SCVRD) visited the Open IT Lab on Wednesday, November 16. Each student was from the SCVRD’s Information Technology Training Center (ITTC). The goal of the trip was to learn more about open source software, hardware and content and our visitors were not disappointed.

Students started with a 40 minute overview of the definition, history and examples of open and open source in the Create IT Classroom, then took a 30 minute tour of the Open IT Lab. The tour of the Lab included hands-on time with the Makerbot Thing-O-Matic 3-D printer, the Arduino, an open source single-board microcontroller, and other open source applications on a Dell Touchscreen, a 27-inch iMac and a Linux laptop and netbook.

Henry Mullins of the SCVRD arranged the trip and plans more in the future.

“I look forward to learning as much as possible about open source,” said Mullins, echoing the sentiments of quite a few other students.

The Open IT Lab will hold many more tours and workshops in the future and we hope the SCVRD will continue to visit. It was our pleasure to host them.

For more information on ways to get involved with the Open IT Lab, contact Diedre Murphy at diedre.murphy@it-ology.org. For more information about the Lab itself, go to www.Open-IT-Lab.com.

Todd Lewis is the Founder of the Open IT Lab at IT-oLogy. He also serves as Chair of POSSCON, one of the largest open source conferences on the east coast, and managing partner of Palmetto Computer Labs, an open source consulting company.

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Initial Ubuntu 101 Workshop Filled to Capacity

December 8th, 2011 | Posted by ToddLewis in Education | Grow IT | IT-oLogy Defined | Teach IT | World of IT - (0 Comments)
Ubuntu 101 Picture

Jeremy Bicha talks about the Unity Interface

The first Ubuntu 101 workshop was held this past Saturday, December 3 at IT-oLogy. To say it was a success would be an understatement. An initial seating limit of 20 had to be expanded, additional computers had to be brought in and 24 people eventually learned a lot more about the world’s third most popular operating system.

Jeremy Bicha led a very diverse group of attendees through an overview of the history of Ubuntu and the installation process. In addition, the feature set and distinctives of Ubuntu 11.10, the latest version of the free and open alternative to Windows and Mac OS X, were identified and discussed. Finally, Ubuntu 11.10 discs were given to anyone wanting a copy.

Ubuntu 101 Picture

Jeremy Bicha discusses applications available in Ubuntu

The Open IT Lab will present Part Two of this workshop over the next few weeks, which will target the advanced Ubuntu user. In addition, the Lab will continue to present workshops on the Open/Open Source topic in the weeks and months ahead.

For more information on ways to get involved with the Open IT Lab, contact Diedre Murphy at diedre.murphy@it-ology.org. For more information about the Lab itself, go to www.Open-IT-Lab.com.

Todd Lewis is the Founder of the Open IT Lab at IT-oLogy. He also serves as Chair of POSSCON, one of the largest open source conferences on the east coast, and managing partner of Palmetto Computer Labs, an open source consulting company.

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First Open 101 Workshop a Big Hit

September 22nd, 2011 | Posted by ToddLewis in IT-oLogy Defined - (0 Comments)

Open IT LabThe Open IT Lab at IT-oLogy presented its first Open 101 workshop this past Saturday, September 17, which was also Software Freedom Day. By all accounts, it was a big success.

Twelve student attendees, ranging from grades 7 through 12, learned the definition and history of open source and were shown examples of open software, hardware and content. In addition, students had an opportunity to experience many of these examples on laptops in the Create IT Classroom. The hands-on portion of the workshop was extremely well received and the session was lively.

The day also included a tour of the newly opened Open IT Lab. There, students had the opportunity to see open source at work on a variety of platforms, including a Dell Touchscreen, a 27 inch iMac, a One-Laptop-Per-Child, a Linux netbook and laptop and a Makerbot Thing-O-Matic. They also received a free copy of the Ubuntu 11.04 operating system, which was new to many.

The highlight of the day was no doubt the number of parents that accompanied their children to the workshop and talked with us about the Open topic. Everyone was genuinely interested and most had no idea there were less expensive alternatives (and in many cases free) to proprietary software currently being used. When they learned many of the largest IT companies in the country are now hiring people with open source knowledge and paying excellent salaries, the interest went from passive to very active. This was great to see.

The Open IT Lab will continue to present workshops on the Open/Source topic in the weeks and months ahead and we hope many more people attend in the future. The ‘open’ methodology is quickly gaining momentum, especially among younger IT students and professionals, and more companies are incorporating it into their infrastructure. The more people know about it the more marketable they’ll be in the future.

For more information on ways to get involved with the Open IT Lab, contact Diedre Murphy at diedre.murphy@it-ology.org.  For more information about the Lab itself, go to www.Open-IT-Lab.com.

Todd Lewis is the Founder of the Open IT Lab at IT-oLogy.  He also serves as Chair of POSSCON, one of the largest open source conferences on the east coast, and managing partner of Palmetto Computer Labs, an open source consulting company.

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