PL 67/10: Three versions in Kampala

It was easier in the past.

You studied – or wrote – the book. And that was it. Gutenberg ruled OK.

LATINA 2008: Participants from Sudan and China.

Now Gutenberg shares the stage with Gates and Google.  The teaching materials I am preparing for the EdLib workshop in Kampala on October 1-3 exist in three parallell versions: one for the web, one for a folder or memory stick – and one for the world of paper.

• The web version is suitable for environments with good internet access.
  • It consists of a set of digital files stored in external computers on the open web (“cloud computing”).
  • These files are interlinked – and contain many additional links to external web resources.
• The portable version is suitable for environments with no or only sporadic internet access
  • It consists of a set of digital files stored in a single folder – which I’ve named EdLib – on a memory stick or on a local computer.
  • These files are interlinked among themselves – but the links to external web resources only work when the computer has web access.
• The print version is suitable for environments with no or only sporadic computer access.
  • It consists of selected print-outs from the portable version.
  • The files to be printed are stored in a separate folder named EdLibPrint.

The other half

That is only half the story. These are teaching materials, or resources for performances (“scripts”), rather than documents for straightforward reading. They are also intended for study by participants – before, during and after the workshop.

I hardly dare mention Arabic – the dominant university language in South Sudan for decades, or the many languages other than English in  Uganda. In an ideal world, all documents would be equipped with translation buttons. Google Translate helps – but provides cribs rather than fluent versions of the original.

Come back in five years …

Stop press

I’ve just handed the paper version to my colleague Professor Elisam Magara at EASLIS – the East African School of Library and Information Science – for copying.  The portable version is  basically ready.

The web version is under construction. Being digital – in an open environment – it invites tinkering up to the last minute.

The workshop starts Friday morning at 0900.