Approval Application for the Indiana Ubuntu LoCo Team (ubuntu-us-in)

Key Details

History

The Indiana LoCo Team was founded in early 2007 by SimonARuiz and MichaelSchultheiss, who had each been thinking independently about the idea of an IndianaTeam and were prompted to take a leadership role in its realization by the USTeams Project's declared goal to get an Official LoCo team in every U.S. State.

We have quickly turned into an active community. In our short time together, we have represented Ubuntu at several events, and even helped out with Ohio LinuxFest, got the ball rolling for starting an Indiana LinuxFest, and had a successful Gutsy release party.

We are closely associated with many of the LUGs in Indiana, and count leading members of at least three local LUGs among our own.

Roadmap

• Indiana LinuxFest - We are working closely with Bloomington Linux User's Group (BLUG), Central Indiana Linux User's Group (CINLUG), and the Fort Wayne Linux User's Group (FWLUG) to establish an Indiana LinuxFest. The goal of Indiana LinuxFest is to bring together the existing Linux community in Indiana with the general public in order to facilitate the spread of Linux statewide. The idea to create an Indiana LinuxFest was formed when the leaders of BLUG, CINLUG and FWLUG got together at the Gutsy release party.

• Work with area LUGs - We are working with the area LUGs to promote both Ubuntu and Linux in general, a specific example would be the aforementioned Indiana LinuxFest.

• Local Advocacy & Education - We are using our influence with friends, family, and co-workers to spread Ubuntu. We also use our influence to spread Ubuntu to organizations in our area, such as libraries, schools, and government agencies. We have given talks and presentations promoting the use of Ubuntu and Linux and will continue to seek opportunities do so.

• inACCESS / School Advocacy and Support - Assist and encourage, whenever possible, the use of Ubuntu in Indiana School, especially with the inACCESS program, which was started by the Indiana Department of Education to bring 1:1 computing environments to Indiana classrooms, and has spread Linux and open-source software through the school systems in Indiana. In fact, some of the IndianaTeam members work for schools, teaching in and supporting such 1:1 classroom environments.

Experience

• Back in November of 2006, eventual IndianaTeam co-founder SimonARuiz was asked by RichardWeideman to talk about Ubuntu on behalf of Canonical at a meeting of the Central Indiana Linux User Group where the Indiana Department of Education's Mike Huffman was giving a presentation about the inACCESS program. This event played a significant role in the conception of the IndianaTeam.

(CINLUG) Left: INDOE's technology man, Mike Huffman, checks out the Ubuntu swag. Right: SimonARuiz highlights briefly what he thinks sets Ubuntu apart, focusing on the Ubuntu Promise, the Community and the Code of Conduct which binds it.

• Monthly IRC Meetings: March 2007, April 2007, May 2007, July 2007, August 2007, September 2007, October 2007, November 2007, December 2007,

January 2008

• We had a booth at the IU LinuxFest on April 11, 2007 and represented Ubuntu before a wide variety of people, from the "What's Linux?" crowd to the "Why Ubuntu?" crowd. Team Co-founder SimonARuiz also gave a presentation, "Learning with Linux at every Desk", about the work he did with Ubuntu at Bloomington High School North, one of Indiana's inACCESS schools.

(IU LinuxFest) Left: The IndianaTeam, represented in the foreground by Scott Blaydes and in the background by IndianaTeam co-founder MichaelSchultheiss. Right: SimonARuiz gives a presentation detailing his experiences supporting Ubuntu in 1:1 access classrooms at Bloomington High School North.

• We had a booth at the Indianapolis ITEC Conference June 27-28, 2007. Passed out Ubuntu LoCo flyers and some CDs to visitors. Talked to visitors about their current or proposed use of Linux in their companies. Suggested Ubuntu for many of the visitors who had heard of Linux, but had not given it a try yet.

• A large group of IndianaTeam members met up at the Ohio LinuxFest on Saturday, September 29, 2007. We had our first ever in-person meeting and discussed what we need to do to become an approved LoCo team with Ohio LoCo's StephenStalcup. Also for this event, many of our number demonstrated the Ubuntu spirit by pitching in and volunteering to help make the event a success.

(Ohio LinuxFest) Left: IndianaTeam member Rob Ludwick(center), after midnight the night before the LinuxFest, helping get the registration system finished and ready for the morning's work. The server ran Ubuntu. Right: SimonARuiz and fiancee, Sarah, sporting the IndianaTeam logo in front of the OhioTeam's booth. (Photo by StephenStalcup of OhioTeam)

• The K-12 Open Minds Conference took place Tuesday thru Thursday, October 9-11, 2007 in Indianapolis. SimonARuiz and Vern Ceder gave a presentation about Community Partnerships.

(Open Minds) IndianaTeam member Vern Ceder (far right), as the room starts filling up for the "Community Partnerships" presentation. In the back you may notice MatthewTCraig, who shortly thereafter went on to found the UbuntuStudents Team.

• Gutsy Release Party! In honor of Gutsy's Release on Thursday, October 18, 2007 we had a team dinner on Saturday, October 20, 2007 in Indianapolis starting at 7:10 PM at the Claddagh Irish Pub at 3835 E. 96th Street in Indianapolis. Attendees

(Gutsy Release Party) Group picture, demoing background graphics, discussing Ubuntu