Project ReteLIM - thanks to open source

I'm working on a very interesting project called ReteLIM.

Is a project to help hospitalized children to stay in contact with their class and to enable them to work together with their classmates.

I'm working side by side with teachers finding the best technical solution to apply to the task.

The project aims to define which hardware and software use and how to help teachers apply technology to the learning experience.

The model start with hospitalized children constraint, but can be applyed to any "remote" situation.

Our idea is to implement a "virtual classroom" using integration of open source tools to enable a complete learning experience helping a standardization of approach.

We decided to use a cloud hosting to serve the software.

In the cloud the teachers will find a Ubuntu desktop that they will be able to access from anywhere thanks to NX web access.

This desktop is loaded with all sort of program dedicated to education (it could be an Edubuntu distro, but for now we preferred to go with the standard one).

This desktop will also mount an NFS share from a server.

The server hosts an integrated environment composed by Joomla!! + Moodle + Mahara + OpenMeetings (single sign on thanks to Joomdle).

The nfs share will be seen by Moodle as a repository so all the content, produced and saved into a particular folder of the desktop, will be seen and available to Moodle without any trouble for the teacher.

Also OpenMeetings will be available as a Moodle activity so that it will be possible to use it to work with the hospitalized child and the support teacher (the teacher will be equipped with a tablet PC) and the class where a LIM (that is the italian acronymn for an interactive whiteboard) can be used: either the one done with the WII or commercial ones that public administration gave to the school.

The project is fantastic and the energy of the group is vibrant, this is why I choose IT as working life: it can really help making the difference for the lives of many, seeing the happyness in the eyes of the children that can feel to be still part of a normal routine is the greatest satisfaction.

I just feel that is important for me to thanks all the people that work in the open source ecosystem: without their work this project would not be possible and affordable.

Thanks guys.