POSITIVE integrates Open Source into curricula of 71 schools

The Philippine Open Source Initiative (POSITIVE), a public-private partnership between the German Technical Cooperation and Wireless Services Asia in cooperation with the European IT Service Center Foundation, recently announced the integration of the Open Source courseware into the curricula of 71 schools nationwide.

As this developed, POSITIVE will introduce industry-related course offerings on Open Source technologies for corporate use.

POSITIVE project leader Joseph Paul Sianghio said they have conducted the courseware training in the Angeles University Foundation, Asia Pacific College, Cebu Institute of Technology, Department of Science and Technology Region VII, Don Bosco Technical Institute, and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology.

"We want to roll out in as many schools as possible. We have developed the Open Source courseware to be consistent and compatible with the Computer Science and Information Technology curricula of schools for easier adoption," Sianghio said.

The two-day nationwide training included teacher-training courses on IT fundamentals, Web development, database systems, and operating systems.

The participating teachers are expected to incorporate the materials and exercises in their courses to familiarize students with the alternative Open Source software and development tools.

The roadshow, which trained 183 faculty members on the use of the Open Source courseware, will still be further taken deep into the country with planned stopovers in the cities of Davao, Baguio, and Legazpi.

Meanwhile, POSITIVE is looking to September to launch its industry training for its partners and companies which are interested in adopting Open Source technologies.

Sianghio said Open Source is getting much acceptability in corporations and schools as a viable and cost-effective alternative to commercially available software.

He said Open Source has gained broad acceptance in other parts of the world and is expected to become widely used in the country in the near term.

POSITIVE was formed last year to promote the use of Open Source in the country and improve the employability of IT graduates.