User: jpmcc   
Date: 2009-07-07 17:00:28+0000
Modified:
   marketing/www/planet/atom.xml
   marketing/www/planet/index.html
   marketing/www/planet/opml.xml
   marketing/www/planet/rss10.xml
   marketing/www/planet/rss20.xml

Log:
 Planet run at Tue Jul  7 18:00:14 BST 2009

File Changes:

Directory: /marketing/www/planet/
=================================

File [changed]: atom.xml
Url: 
http://marketing.openoffice.org/source/browse/marketing/www/planet/atom.xml?r1=1.2081&r2=1.2082
Delta lines:  +30 -26
---------------------
--- atom.xml    2009-07-07 11:00:23+0000        1.2081
+++ atom.xml    2009-07-07 17:00:24+0000        1.2082
@@ -5,9 +5,33 @@
        <link rel="self" 
href="http://marketing.openoffice.org/planet/atom.xml"/>
        <link href="http://marketing.openoffice.org/planet/"/>
        <id>http://marketing.openoffice.org/planet/atom.xml</id>
-       <updated>2009-07-07T11:00:26+00:00</updated>
+       <updated>2009-07-07T17:00:27+00:00</updated>
        <generator uri="http://www.planetplanet.org/";>Planet/2.0 
+http://www.planetplanet.org</generator>
 
+       <entry>
+               <title type="html">New: OOo-DEV 3.1.1 Developer Snapshot (build 
OOO310_m15) available</title>
+               <link 
href="http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/new_ooo_dev_3_113"/>
+               <id>tag:google.com,2005:reader/item/7fde99ef412ff58e</id>
+               <updated>2009-07-07T08:06:20+00:00</updated>
+               <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Developer Snapshot build 
OOo-Dev OOO&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;310_m15&lt;/b&gt; which installs as OOo-DEV 3.1.1 
has
+been uploaded to the mirror network.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If
+you find severe issues within this build please file them to
+OpenOffice.org's bug tracking system IssueTracker.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt; 
+  &lt;p&gt;Please use the following link&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://download.openoffice.org/next&quot; title=&quot;Download 
page&quot;&gt;http://download.openoffice.org/next&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; 
+  &lt;p&gt;Packages are also available from &lt;b&gt;extended&lt;/b&gt; mirror 
sites ( &lt;b&gt;listed with an [E]&lt;/b&gt; ) from the 
&amp;quot;.../extended/developer/OOO310_m15&amp;quot; directory:&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://distribution.openoffice.org/mirrors#extmirrors&quot;&gt;http://distribution.openoffice.org/mirrors/#extmirrors&lt;/a&gt;
 &lt;/p&gt; 
+  &lt;p&gt;MD5 checksums:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a title=&quot;Page containing MD5 
checksums&quot; 
href=&quot;http://download.openoffice.org/next/md5sums/index.html&quot;&gt;http://download.openoffice.org/next/md5sums/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
+               <author>
+                       <name>Joost Andrae</name>
+                       <uri></uri>
+               </author>
+               <source>
+                       <title type="html">jpmcc's shared items in Google 
Reader</title>
+                       <link rel="self" 
href="http://www.google.co.uk/reader/public/atom/user/06203502505240591501/state/com.google/broadcast"/>
+                       
<id>tag:google.com,2005:reader/user/06203502505240591501/state/com.google/broadcast</id>
+                       <updated>2009-07-07T17:00:16+00:00</updated>
+               </source>
+       </entry>
+
        <entry xml:lang="en">
                <title type="html">OpenOffice.org Annual Conference Call for 
Papers (OOoCon 2009)</title>
                <link 
href="http://cdriga.kfacts.com/open-source-world/openofficeorg-annual-conference-call-for-papers-ooocon-2009/2009/07/06/"/>
@@ -123,7 +147,7 @@
                        <title type="html">jpmcc's shared items in Google 
Reader</title>
                        <link rel="self" 
href="http://www.google.co.uk/reader/public/atom/user/06203502505240591501/state/com.google/broadcast"/>
                        
<id>tag:google.com,2005:reader/user/06203502505240591501/state/com.google/broadcast</id>
-                       <updated>2009-07-07T11:00:16+00:00</updated>
+                       <updated>2009-07-07T17:00:16+00:00</updated>
                </source>
        </entry>
 
@@ -240,7 +264,7 @@
                        <title type="html">jpmcc's shared items in Google 
Reader</title>
                        <link rel="self" 
href="http://www.google.co.uk/reader/public/atom/user/06203502505240591501/state/com.google/broadcast"/>
                        
<id>tag:google.com,2005:reader/user/06203502505240591501/state/com.google/broadcast</id>
-                       <updated>2009-07-07T11:00:16+00:00</updated>
+                       <updated>2009-07-07T17:00:16+00:00</updated>
                </source>
        </entry>
 
@@ -303,7 +327,7 @@
                        <title type="html">jpmcc's shared items in Google 
Reader</title>
                        <link rel="self" 
href="http://www.google.co.uk/reader/public/atom/user/06203502505240591501/state/com.google/broadcast"/>
                        
<id>tag:google.com,2005:reader/user/06203502505240591501/state/com.google/broadcast</id>
-                       <updated>2009-07-07T11:00:16+00:00</updated>
+                       <updated>2009-07-07T17:00:16+00:00</updated>
                </source>
        </entry>
 
@@ -327,7 +351,7 @@
                        <title type="html">jpmcc's shared items in Google 
Reader</title>
                        <link rel="self" 
href="http://www.google.co.uk/reader/public/atom/user/06203502505240591501/state/com.google/broadcast"/>
                        
<id>tag:google.com,2005:reader/user/06203502505240591501/state/com.google/broadcast</id>
-                       <updated>2009-07-07T11:00:16+00:00</updated>
+                       <updated>2009-07-07T17:00:16+00:00</updated>
                </source>
        </entry>
 
@@ -453,7 +477,7 @@
                        <title type="html">jpmcc's shared items in Google 
Reader</title>
                        <link rel="self" 
href="http://www.google.co.uk/reader/public/atom/user/06203502505240591501/state/com.google/broadcast"/>
                        
<id>tag:google.com,2005:reader/user/06203502505240591501/state/com.google/broadcast</id>
-                       <updated>2009-07-07T11:00:16+00:00</updated>
+                       <updated>2009-07-07T17:00:16+00:00</updated>
                </source>
        </entry>
 
@@ -497,24 +521,4 @@
                </source>
        </entry>
 
-       <entry>
-               <title type="html">OpenOffice.org in Education: Using 
OpenOffice.org for Entrepreneurial Training</title>
-               <link 
href="http://ooomarketing.blogspot.com/2009/06/openofficeorg-in-education-using.html"/>
-               
<id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4887643299605448632.post-7675159138884344780</id>
-               <updated>2009-06-16T22:41:07+00:00</updated>
-               <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;When OpenOffice.org usage in 
education is discussed, it is often thought of in the context of using it for 
courses in office management, introductory computing courses enrolled by both 
IT and non-IT majors, primary and K-12 technology courses and perhaps even 
english composition courses.  However, there are many other educational 
programs where OpenOffice.org is ideal, some of which are often 
overlooked.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;One such 
educational program is also one that has been garnering a lot of attention 
among many state economic development leaders in recent years.  Entrepreneurial 
training and resource programs for many states has been one of its primary 
economic development initiatives when trying to address rising unemployment, 
outsourcing by companies of productive works previously performed by salaried 
employees, moving of manufacturing facilities to emerging economies oversees 
and creating economic growth in rural areas.  In the United States, for 
example, small businesses now account for between 60 and 80 percent of all net 
new job creations and employ about half of all 
workers.&lt;span&gt;1&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;So while newspapers and local television news organizations splash 
headlines touting the occasional successes of large companies locating to an 
area and providing jobs, often with the caveat of reduced or the elimination of 
property and income taxes for those companies to even consider the relocation, 
small businesses without said benefits quietly, without fanfare, continue to be 
founded by local entrepreneurs that create sustainable economic growth and 
significant local job creation.  &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;So you may be asking, &quot;How does OpenOffice.org fit into all of 
this?&quot;  I feel I can best explain this by citing my own personal example 
while I was the director of a small business development center at a community 
college.  These centers, often referred to as Small Business Development 
Centers (SBDC) in most states, are in part federally and/or state funded and 
often located at university and college campuses throughout the United States.  
They are established with the mission of providing one-on-one confidential 
counseling, training and educational resources to existing small businesses and 
entrepreneurs.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;One of my 
first uses of OpenOffice.org for instructional purposes was when I was involved 
in a project providing instruction for local, small farmers in need of 
receiving computer skills training to assist them with better managing their 
farm operation records.  These farmers came from diverse backgrounds, and 
raised a variety of livestock, as well as fruits and vegetables for various 
wholesale markets.  Many of these farmers were carrying on with this occupation 
in tradition; many of them were the third or fourth generation of farmers 
within their families.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;But 
there was one thing they all had in common; they all had been affected by what 
has become known as the &quot;digital divide&quot;.  Many of these farmers had 
little or no computer training.  Most of them were still using a single paper 
ledger to manage their revenues and expenses.  Or worse, their receipts and 
expenses were kept in a shoebox underneath the seat of their pickup 
trucks.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Moreover, they lived 
in areas where dial-up access was still the primary gateway to the Internet.  
Yet, despite their limited knowledge of operating a computer and using software 
to manage their records, the United States Department of Agriculture and local 
banks were increasingly providing electronic record and loan submissions as the 
only means to submit such documentation.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;With the cooperative efforts of my Center, the local 
agricultural cooperative extension service office and the state cooperative 
extension service office at the local land-grant university, computer courses 
began to be offered to these small, limited resource farmers to help them 
utilize the personal computer as their primary record keeping and documentation 
submission tool.  In the end, over 100 farmers received this training in my 
service area alone.  These farmers started with the basics, such as developing 
proficient keyboarding skills and using the operating system.  They then 
progressed to using word processors and spreadsheets so that they could become 
proficient enough to create documents such as business plans, balance sheets, 
profit and loss statements and cash flow statements.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;And what was the primary word processor and 
spreadsheet application used for this training?  It was OpenOffice.org  Writer 
and Calc, as well as NeoOffice when instruction was provided in the Mac lab.  
There were many reasons for choosing OpenOffice.org, but three I found to be 
most important.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;First, 
OpenOffice.org provided an alternative to proprietary office productivity 
suites such as Microsoft Office and AppleWorks, which were also used during the 
training.  By having the availability of an alternative suite of applications 
for providing instruction, it focused the farmers on developing the conceptual 
skills of operating a computer and creating key documents, rather than focusing 
on learning a specific software application through rote memory.  This proved 
to be an effective way of getting the farmers to realize there were multiple 
ways of approaching a task, as well reinforcing confidence in their ability to 
operate a computer and create documents in varying environments or when 
technologies change.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Second, 
the generous licensing terms of OpenOffice.org allowed copies of the software 
to be distributed to the farmers for personal use without incurring licensing 
fees.  Upon completion of the series of courses, these small, limited resource 
farmers would be eligible to receive a personal computer donated by local 
businesses and agencies that were being taken out of deployment and replaced 
for newer models.  The donated computers would be refurbished by training 
program administrators and volunteers to operational condition and installed 
with a legally licensed operating system and software.  By making copies of 
OpenOffice.org available to the farmers, they would receive a full-featured 
office productivity suite capable of creating the various business documents 
they need to produce while saving both the donations program and the farmers 
money from having to purchase copies of proprietary office productivity 
suites.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Third, the use of 
OpenOffice.org added value to the instruction the training partnership 
provided, as well as to the local economy.  The small farmers participating in 
the computer training program were excited to learn that they could receive a 
copy of OpenOffice.org on a CD at no cost to them.  It inspired the farmers 
that had computers at home to load the software there and learn as much as they 
could outside of class.  It also provided added value to the Center's training 
program and services; providing low-cost instructional solutions that instilled 
to those receiving the training that the Center and its partners were making an 
investment in their future and success.  &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Moreover, by freeing the farmers from having to 
utilize scarce financial resources to pay licensing fees for software necessary 
to help them better manage their farm operations and become more profitable, 
those dollars instead were, in part, used to buy other products or services 
provided in their local community.  This scenario often leads to adding 
additional value to the local economy and creates additional jobs.  Typically, 
45% of money spent at a locally owned business or service provider remains in 
the local economy, whereas as little as 14% or less remains in the local 
economy when spent with businesses and service providers that are headquartered 
outside a local area.&lt;span&gt;2&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;So the adoption of OpenOffice.org, when included in a 
broader inventory of instructional tools and resources, can have substantial 
benefits to learners, teachers and educational institutions alike.  And when 
utilized in often overlooked educational and community support programs like 
that of entrepreneurial training, the possibilities for even greater positive 
effects can be too numerous to list.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;References&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;1  &lt;/span&gt;United States Small 
Business Administration Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions, 2008.  
Link: &lt;a 
href=&quot;http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbfaq.pdf&quot;&gt;http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbfaq.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
 &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;2  &lt;/span&gt;&quot;The Economics 
of Buying Local&quot;, Denise Blaha, New Hampshire Carbon Challenge.  Link: 
&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://carbonchallenge.sr.unh.edu/newsletter/economics_buying_local.jsp&quot;&gt;http://carbonchallenge.sr.unh.edu/newsletter/economics_buying_local.jsp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
 &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;###&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://www.gabrielgurley.com/&quot;&gt;Gabriel Gurley&lt;/a&gt; is 
an eight-year educator in higher education, whose roles have included 
instructor, administrator and IT specialist.   He is the author of the 
award-winning &quot;&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0977899160&quot;&gt;A Conceptual 
Guide to OpenOffice.org 3&lt;/a&gt;&quot; (ISBN 978-0-9778991-6-6), an 
instructional guide and related resources written specially for use in 
academia.  He is currently a Computer Technical Specialist for a liberal arts 
program in the State University of New York system and is a contributor to the 
&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://documentation.openoffice.org/&quot;&gt;Documentation&lt;/a&gt;
 (&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://documentation.openoffice.org/conceptualguide/&quot;&gt;Conceptual
 Guides page&lt;/a&gt;) and &lt;a 
href=&quot;http://education.openoffice.org/&quot;&gt;Education&lt;/a&gt; 
projects with &lt;a 
href=&quot;http://www.openoffice.org/&quot;&gt;OpenOffice.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span
 class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;span 
class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div 
class=&quot;blogger-post-footer&quot;&gt;&lt;img width=&quot;1&quot; 
height=&quot;1&quot; 
src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4887643299605448632-7675159138884344780?l=ooomarketing.blogspot.com&quot;
 /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
-               <author>
-                       <name>ggurley</name>
-                       <email>[email protected]</email>
-                       <uri>http://ooomarketing.blogspot.com/</uri>
-               </author>
-               <source>
-                       <title type="html">OpenOffice.org Marketing Blog</title>
-                       <subtitle type="html">News and interesting stories 
about OpenOffice.org and other open source solutions.</subtitle>
-                       <link rel="self" 
href="http://ooomarketing.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"/>
-                       <id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4887643299605448632</id>
-                       <updated>2009-07-06T11:00:39+00:00</updated>
-               </source>
-       </entry>
-
 </feed>

File [changed]: index.html
Url: 
http://marketing.openoffice.org/source/browse/marketing/www/planet/index.html?r1=1.2088&r2=1.2089
Delta lines:  +22 -16
---------------------
--- index.html  2009-07-07 11:00:24+0000        1.2088
+++ index.html  2009-07-07 17:00:24+0000        1.2089
@@ -36,8 +36,29 @@
 <a href="rss20.xml"><img src="rss2.gif" alt="Link to RSS 2 feed" /></a>
 </div>
 
-<p><em>Bloggings on marketing topics by project members - see <a 
href="#disclaimer">disclaimer</a>.<br />Last updated: July 07, 2009 11:00 AM 
GMT</em></p>
+<p><em>Bloggings on marketing topics by project members - see <a 
href="#disclaimer">disclaimer</a>.<br />Last updated: July 07, 2009 05:00 PM 
GMT</em></p>
 
+<h2>July 07, 2009</h2>
+<h3>
+<a href="" title="jpmcc's shared items in Google Reader">
+GullFOSS</a>&nbsp;:&nbsp;
+<a href="http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/new_ooo_dev_3_113";>
+New: OOo-DEV 3.1.1 Developer Snapshot (build OOO310_m15) available</a>
+</h3>
+<p>
+<p><b>Developer Snapshot build OOo-Dev OOO</b><b>310_m15</b> which installs as 
OOo-DEV 3.1.1 has
+been uploaded to the mirror network.<br /><br />If
+you find severe issues within this build please file them to
+OpenOffice.org's bug tracking system IssueTracker.<br /> </p> 
+  <p>Please use the following link<br /><a 
href="http://download.openoffice.org/next"; title="Download 
page">http://download.openoffice.org/next</a> </p> 
+  <p>Packages are also available from <b>extended</b> mirror sites ( <b>listed 
with an [E]</b> ) from the &quot;.../extended/developer/OOO310_m15&quot; 
directory:<br /><a 
href="http://distribution.openoffice.org/mirrors#extmirrors";>http://distribution.openoffice.org/mirrors/#extmirrors</a>
 </p> 
+  <p>MD5 checksums:<br /><a title="Page containing MD5 checksums" 
href="http://download.openoffice.org/next/md5sums/index.html";>http://download.openoffice.org/next/md5sums/index.html</a></p></p>
+<p>
+<em><a href="http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/new_ooo_dev_3_113";>by Joost 
Andrae at July 07, 2009 08:06 AM GMT</a></em>
+</p>
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
 <h2>July 06, 2009</h2>
 <h3>
 <a href="http://cdriga.kfacts.com"; title="cdriga's blog on IT &amp;amp; Open 
Source World » OpenOffice.org">
@@ -441,21 +462,6 @@
 <br />
 <hr />
 <br />
-<h2>June 16, 2009</h2>
-<h3>
-<a href="http://ooomarketing.blogspot.com/"; title="OpenOffice.org Marketing 
Blog">
-OOo Marketeers</a>&nbsp;:&nbsp;
-<a 
href="http://ooomarketing.blogspot.com/2009/06/openofficeorg-in-education-using.html";>
-OpenOffice.org in Education: Using OpenOffice.org for Entrepreneurial 
Training</a>
-</h3>
-<p>
-<p>When OpenOffice.org usage in education is discussed, it is often thought of 
in the context of using it for courses in office management, introductory 
computing courses enrolled by both IT and non-IT majors, primary and K-12 
technology courses and perhaps even english composition courses.  However, 
there are many other educational programs where OpenOffice.org is ideal, some 
of which are often overlooked.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>One such educational 
program is also one that has been garnering a lot of attention among many state 
economic development leaders in recent years.  Entrepreneurial training and 
resource programs for many states has been one of its primary economic 
development initiatives when trying to address rising unemployment, outsourcing 
by companies of productive works previously performed by salaried employees, 
moving of manufacturing facilities to emerging economies oversees and creating 
economic growth in rural areas.  In the United States, for example, small 
businesses now account for between 60 and 80 percent of all net new job 
creations and employ about half of all workers.<span>1</span>  </p> <p><br 
/></p> <p>So while newspapers and local television news organizations splash 
headlines touting the occasional successes of large companies locating to an 
area and providing jobs, often with the caveat of reduced or the elimination of 
property and income taxes for those companies to even consider the relocation, 
small businesses without said benefits quietly, without fanfare, continue to be 
founded by local entrepreneurs that create sustainable economic growth and 
significant local job creation.  </p> <p><br /></p> <p>So you may be asking, 
"How does OpenOffice.org fit into all of this?"  I feel I can best explain this 
by citing my own personal example while I was the director of a small business 
development center at a community college.  These centers, often referred to as 
Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) in most states, are in part federally 
and/or state funded and often located at university and college campuses 
throughout the United States.  They are established with the mission of 
providing one-on-one confidential counseling, training and educational 
resources to existing small businesses and entrepreneurs.</p> <p><br /></p> 
<p>One of my first uses of OpenOffice.org for instructional purposes was when I 
was involved in a project providing instruction for local, small farmers in 
need of receiving computer skills training to assist them with better managing 
their farm operation records.  These farmers came from diverse backgrounds, and 
raised a variety of livestock, as well as fruits and vegetables for various 
wholesale markets.  Many of these farmers were carrying on with this occupation 
in tradition; many of them were the third or fourth generation of farmers 
within their families.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>But there was one thing they all 
had in common; they all had been affected by what has become known as the 
"digital divide".  Many of these farmers had little or no computer training.  
Most of them were still using a single paper ledger to manage their revenues 
and expenses.  Or worse, their receipts and expenses were kept in a shoebox 
underneath the seat of their pickup trucks.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>Moreover, they 
lived in areas where dial-up access was still the primary gateway to the 
Internet.  Yet, despite their limited knowledge of operating a computer and 
using software to manage their records, the United States Department of 
Agriculture and local banks were increasingly providing electronic record and 
loan submissions as the only means to submit such documentation.</p> <p><br 
/></p> <p>With the cooperative efforts of my Center, the local agricultural 
cooperative extension service office and the state cooperative extension 
service office at the local land-grant university, computer courses began to be 
offered to these small, limited resource farmers to help them utilize the 
personal computer as their primary record keeping and documentation submission 
tool.  In the end, over 100 farmers received this training in my service area 
alone.  These farmers started with the basics, such as developing proficient 
keyboarding skills and using the operating system.  They then progressed to 
using word processors and spreadsheets so that they could become proficient 
enough to create documents such as business plans, balance sheets, profit and 
loss statements and cash flow statements.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>And what was the 
primary word processor and spreadsheet application used for this training?  It 
was OpenOffice.org  Writer and Calc, as well as NeoOffice when instruction was 
provided in the Mac lab.  There were many reasons for choosing OpenOffice.org, 
but three I found to be most important.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>First, 
OpenOffice.org provided an alternative to proprietary office productivity 
suites such as Microsoft Office and AppleWorks, which were also used during the 
training.  By having the availability of an alternative suite of applications 
for providing instruction, it focused the farmers on developing the conceptual 
skills of operating a computer and creating key documents, rather than focusing 
on learning a specific software application through rote memory.  This proved 
to be an effective way of getting the farmers to realize there were multiple 
ways of approaching a task, as well reinforcing confidence in their ability to 
operate a computer and create documents in varying environments or when 
technologies change.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>Second, the generous licensing terms 
of OpenOffice.org allowed copies of the software to be distributed to the 
farmers for personal use without incurring licensing fees.  Upon completion of 
the series of courses, these small, limited resource farmers would be eligible 
to receive a personal computer donated by local businesses and agencies that 
were being taken out of deployment and replaced for newer models.  The donated 
computers would be refurbished by training program administrators and 
volunteers to operational condition and installed with a legally licensed 
operating system and software.  By making copies of OpenOffice.org available to 
the farmers, they would receive a full-featured office productivity suite 
capable of creating the various business documents they need to produce while 
saving both the donations program and the farmers money from having to purchase 
copies of proprietary office productivity suites.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>Third, 
the use of OpenOffice.org added value to the instruction the training 
partnership provided, as well as to the local economy.  The small farmers 
participating in the computer training program were excited to learn that they 
could receive a copy of OpenOffice.org on a CD at no cost to them.  It inspired 
the farmers that had computers at home to load the software there and learn as 
much as they could outside of class.  It also provided added value to the 
Center's training program and services; providing low-cost instructional 
solutions that instilled to those receiving the training that the Center and 
its partners were making an investment in their future and success.  </p> 
<p><br /></p> <p>Moreover, by freeing the farmers from having to utilize scarce 
financial resources to pay licensing fees for software necessary to help them 
better manage their farm operations and become more profitable, those dollars 
instead were, in part, used to buy other products or services provided in their 
local community.  This scenario often leads to adding additional value to the 
local economy and creates additional jobs.  Typically, 45% of money spent at a 
locally owned business or service provider remains in the local economy, 
whereas as little as 14% or less remains in the local economy when spent with 
businesses and service providers that are headquartered outside a local 
area.<span>2</span></p> <p><br /></p> <p>So the adoption of OpenOffice.org, 
when included in a broader inventory of instructional tools and resources, can 
have substantial benefits to learners, teachers and educational institutions 
alike.  And when utilized in often overlooked educational and community support 
programs like that of entrepreneurial training, the possibilities for even 
greater positive effects can be too numerous to list.</p> <p><br /></p> <p><br 
/></p> <p>References</p> <p><br /></p> <p><span>1  </span>United States Small 
Business Administration Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions, 2008.  
Link: <a 
href="http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbfaq.pdf";>http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbfaq.pdf</a></p>
 <p> </p> <p><span>2  </span>"The Economics of Buying Local", Denise Blaha, New 
Hampshire Carbon Challenge.  Link: <a 
href="http://carbonchallenge.sr.unh.edu/newsletter/economics_buying_local.jsp";>http://carbonchallenge.sr.unh.edu/newsletter/economics_buying_local.jsp</a></p>
 <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p>###</p> <p><br /></p> <p><a 
href="http://www.gabrielgurley.com/";>Gabriel Gurley</a> is an eight-year 
educator in higher education, whose roles have included instructor, 
administrator and IT specialist.   He is the author of the award-winning "<a 
href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0977899160";>A Conceptual Guide to 
OpenOffice.org 3</a>" (ISBN 978-0-9778991-6-6), an instructional guide and 
related resources written specially for use in academia.  He is currently a 
Computer Technical Specialist for a liberal arts program in the State 
University of New York system and is a contributor to the <a 
href="http://documentation.openoffice.org/";>Documentation</a> (<a 
href="http://documentation.openoffice.org/conceptualguide/";>Conceptual Guides 
page</a>) and <a href="http://education.openoffice.org/";>Education</a> projects 
with <a href="http://www.openoffice.org/";>OpenOffice.org</a>.</p><div><span 
class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br 
/></span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width="1" 
height="1" 
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4887643299605448632-7675159138884344780?l=ooomarketing.blogspot.com";
 /></div></p>
-<p>
-<em><a 
href="http://ooomarketing.blogspot.com/2009/06/openofficeorg-in-education-using.html";>by
 ggurley ([email protected]) at June 16, 2009 10:41 PM BST</a></em>
-</p>
-<br />
-<hr />
-<br />
 <a id="disclaimer" name="disclaimer"></a>
 <p><em>Disclaimer: all views expressed on this page are those 
 of the individual contributors, and may not reflect the views of the 

File [changed]: opml.xml
Url: 
http://marketing.openoffice.org/source/browse/marketing/www/planet/opml.xml?r1=1.2081&r2=1.2082
Delta lines:  +1 -1
-------------------
--- opml.xml    2009-07-07 11:00:24+0000        1.2081
+++ opml.xml    2009-07-07 17:00:25+0000        1.2082
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 <opml version="1.1">
        <head>
                <title>Marketing Planet</title>
-               <dateModified>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:00:26 +0000</dateModified>
+               <dateModified>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:00:28 +0000</dateModified>
                <ownerName>Marketing Project</ownerName>
                <ownerEmail>[email protected]</ownerEmail>
        </head>

File [changed]: rss10.xml
Url: 
http://marketing.openoffice.org/source/browse/marketing/www/planet/rss10.xml?r1=1.786&r2=1.787
Delta lines:  +14 -8
--------------------
--- rss10.xml   2009-07-06 17:00:30+0000        1.786
+++ rss10.xml   2009-07-07 17:00:25+0000        1.787
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 
        <items>
                <rdf:Seq>
+                       <rdf:li 
rdf:resource="tag:google.com,2005:reader/item/7fde99ef412ff58e" />
                        <rdf:li 
rdf:resource="http://cdriga.kfacts.com/open-source-world/openofficeorg-annual-conference-call-for-papers-ooocon-2009/2009/07/06/";
 />
                        <rdf:li 
rdf:resource="tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4887643299605448632.post-8722374903644615050"
 />
                        <rdf:li 
rdf:resource="http://www.solidoffice.com/?p=1166"; />
@@ -32,11 +33,23 @@
                        <rdf:li 
rdf:resource="tag:google.com,2005:reader/item/951b9958ff1c0fc2" />
                        <rdf:li rdf:resource="http://www.mealldubh.org/?p=720"; 
/>
                        <rdf:li 
rdf:resource="tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4649039904546083564.post-3131720890077326755"
 />
-                       <rdf:li 
rdf:resource="tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4887643299605448632.post-7675159138884344780"
 />
                </rdf:Seq>
        </items>
 </channel>
 
+<item rdf:about="tag:google.com,2005:reader/item/7fde99ef412ff58e">
+       <title>GullFOSS: New: OOo-DEV 3.1.1 Developer Snapshot (build 
OOO310_m15) available</title>
+       <link>http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/new_ooo_dev_3_113</link>
+       <content:encoded>&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Developer Snapshot build OOo-Dev 
OOO&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;310_m15&lt;/b&gt; which installs as OOo-DEV 3.1.1 has
+been uploaded to the mirror network.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If
+you find severe issues within this build please file them to
+OpenOffice.org's bug tracking system IssueTracker.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt; 
+  &lt;p&gt;Please use the following link&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://download.openoffice.org/next&quot; title=&quot;Download 
page&quot;&gt;http://download.openoffice.org/next&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; 
+  &lt;p&gt;Packages are also available from &lt;b&gt;extended&lt;/b&gt; mirror 
sites ( &lt;b&gt;listed with an [E]&lt;/b&gt; ) from the 
&amp;quot;.../extended/developer/OOO310_m15&amp;quot; directory:&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://distribution.openoffice.org/mirrors#extmirrors&quot;&gt;http://distribution.openoffice.org/mirrors/#extmirrors&lt;/a&gt;
 &lt;/p&gt; 
+  &lt;p&gt;MD5 checksums:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a title=&quot;Page containing MD5 
checksums&quot; 
href=&quot;http://download.openoffice.org/next/md5sums/index.html&quot;&gt;http://download.openoffice.org/next/md5sums/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content:encoded>
+       <dc:date>2009-07-07T08:06:20+00:00</dc:date>
+       <dc:creator>Joost Andrae</dc:creator>
+</item>
 <item 
rdf:about="http://cdriga.kfacts.com/open-source-world/openofficeorg-annual-conference-call-for-papers-ooocon-2009/2009/07/06/";>
        <title>Christian Driga: OpenOffice.org Annual Conference Call for 
Papers (OOoCon 2009)</title>
        
<link>http://cdriga.kfacts.com/open-source-world/openofficeorg-annual-conference-call-for-papers-ooocon-2009/2009/07/06/</link>
@@ -289,12 +302,5 @@
        <dc:date>2009-06-17T20:11:56+00:00</dc:date>
        <dc:creator>oulipo</dc:creator>
 </item>
-<item 
rdf:about="tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4887643299605448632.post-7675159138884344780">
-       <title>OOo Marketeers: OpenOffice.org in Education: Using 
OpenOffice.org for Entrepreneurial Training</title>
-       
<link>http://ooomarketing.blogspot.com/2009/06/openofficeorg-in-education-using.html</link>
-       <content:encoded>&lt;p&gt;When OpenOffice.org usage in education is 
discussed, it is often thought of in the context of using it for courses in 
office management, introductory computing courses enrolled by both IT and 
non-IT majors, primary and K-12 technology courses and perhaps even english 
composition courses.  However, there are many other educational programs where 
OpenOffice.org is ideal, some of which are often overlooked.&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;One such educational program is also 
one that has been garnering a lot of attention among many state economic 
development leaders in recent years.  Entrepreneurial training and resource 
programs for many states has been one of its primary economic development 
initiatives when trying to address rising unemployment, outsourcing by 
companies of productive works previously performed by salaried employees, 
moving of manufacturing facilities to emerging economies oversees and creating 
economic growth in rural areas.  In the United States, for example, small 
businesses now account for between 60 and 80 percent of all net new job 
creations and employ about half of all workers.&lt;span&gt;1&lt;/span&gt;  
&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;So while newspapers and 
local television news organizations splash headlines touting the occasional 
successes of large companies locating to an area and providing jobs, often with 
the caveat of reduced or the elimination of property and income taxes for those 
companies to even consider the relocation, small businesses without said 
benefits quietly, without fanfare, continue to be founded by local 
entrepreneurs that create sustainable economic growth and significant local job 
creation.  &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;So you may be 
asking, &quot;How does OpenOffice.org fit into all of this?&quot;  I feel I can 
best explain this by citing my own personal example while I was the director of 
a small business development center at a community college.  These centers, 
often referred to as Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) in most states, 
are in part federally and/or state funded and often located at university and 
college campuses throughout the United States.  They are established with the 
mission of providing one-on-one confidential counseling, training and 
educational resources to existing small businesses and entrepreneurs.&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;One of my first uses of OpenOffice.org 
for instructional purposes was when I was involved in a project providing 
instruction for local, small farmers in need of receiving computer skills 
training to assist them with better managing their farm operation records.  
These farmers came from diverse backgrounds, and raised a variety of livestock, 
as well as fruits and vegetables for various wholesale markets.  Many of these 
farmers were carrying on with this occupation in tradition; many of them were 
the third or fourth generation of farmers within their families.&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;But there was one thing they all had 
in common; they all had been affected by what has become known as the 
&quot;digital divide&quot;.  Many of these farmers had little or no computer 
training.  Most of them were still using a single paper ledger to manage their 
revenues and expenses.  Or worse, their receipts and expenses were kept in a 
shoebox underneath the seat of their pickup trucks.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Moreover, they lived in areas where dial-up access was 
still the primary gateway to the Internet.  Yet, despite their limited 
knowledge of operating a computer and using software to manage their records, 
the United States Department of Agriculture and local banks were increasingly 
providing electronic record and loan submissions as the only means to submit 
such documentation.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;With the 
cooperative efforts of my Center, the local agricultural cooperative extension 
service office and the state cooperative extension service office at the local 
land-grant university, computer courses began to be offered to these small, 
limited resource farmers to help them utilize the personal computer as their 
primary record keeping and documentation submission tool.  In the end, over 100 
farmers received this training in my service area alone.  These farmers started 
with the basics, such as developing proficient keyboarding skills and using the 
operating system.  They then progressed to using word processors and 
spreadsheets so that they could become proficient enough to create documents 
such as business plans, balance sheets, profit and loss statements and cash 
flow statements.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;And what 
was the primary word processor and spreadsheet application used for this 
training?  It was OpenOffice.org  Writer and Calc, as well as NeoOffice when 
instruction was provided in the Mac lab.  There were many reasons for choosing 
OpenOffice.org, but three I found to be most important.&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;First, OpenOffice.org provided an 
alternative to proprietary office productivity suites such as Microsoft Office 
and AppleWorks, which were also used during the training.  By having the 
availability of an alternative suite of applications for providing instruction, 
it focused the farmers on developing the conceptual skills of operating a 
computer and creating key documents, rather than focusing on learning a 
specific software application through rote memory.  This proved to be an 
effective way of getting the farmers to realize there were multiple ways of 
approaching a task, as well reinforcing confidence in their ability to operate 
a computer and create documents in varying environments or when technologies 
change.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Second, the generous 
licensing terms of OpenOffice.org allowed copies of the software to be 
distributed to the farmers for personal use without incurring licensing fees.  
Upon completion of the series of courses, these small, limited resource farmers 
would be eligible to receive a personal computer donated by local businesses 
and agencies that were being taken out of deployment and replaced for newer 
models.  The donated computers would be refurbished by training program 
administrators and volunteers to operational condition and installed with a 
legally licensed operating system and software.  By making copies of 
OpenOffice.org available to the farmers, they would receive a full-featured 
office productivity suite capable of creating the various business documents 
they need to produce while saving both the donations program and the farmers 
money from having to purchase copies of proprietary office productivity 
suites.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Third, the use of 
OpenOffice.org added value to the instruction the training partnership 
provided, as well as to the local economy.  The small farmers participating in 
the computer training program were excited to learn that they could receive a 
copy of OpenOffice.org on a CD at no cost to them.  It inspired the farmers 
that had computers at home to load the software there and learn as much as they 
could outside of class.  It also provided added value to the Center's training 
program and services; providing low-cost instructional solutions that instilled 
to those receiving the training that the Center and its partners were making an 
investment in their future and success.  &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Moreover, by freeing the farmers from having to 
utilize scarce financial resources to pay licensing fees for software necessary 
to help them better manage their farm operations and become more profitable, 
those dollars instead were, in part, used to buy other products or services 
provided in their local community.  This scenario often leads to adding 
additional value to the local economy and creates additional jobs.  Typically, 
45% of money spent at a locally owned business or service provider remains in 
the local economy, whereas as little as 14% or less remains in the local 
economy when spent with businesses and service providers that are headquartered 
outside a local area.&lt;span&gt;2&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;So the adoption of OpenOffice.org, when included in a 
broader inventory of instructional tools and resources, can have substantial 
benefits to learners, teachers and educational institutions alike.  And when 
utilized in often overlooked educational and community support programs like 
that of entrepreneurial training, the possibilities for even greater positive 
effects can be too numerous to list.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;References&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;1  &lt;/span&gt;United States Small 
Business Administration Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions, 2008.  
Link: &lt;a 
href=&quot;http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbfaq.pdf&quot;&gt;http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbfaq.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
 &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;2  &lt;/span&gt;&quot;The Economics 
of Buying Local&quot;, Denise Blaha, New Hampshire Carbon Challenge.  Link: 
&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://carbonchallenge.sr.unh.edu/newsletter/economics_buying_local.jsp&quot;&gt;http://carbonchallenge.sr.unh.edu/newsletter/economics_buying_local.jsp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
 &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;###&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://www.gabrielgurley.com/&quot;&gt;Gabriel Gurley&lt;/a&gt; is 
an eight-year educator in higher education, whose roles have included 
instructor, administrator and IT specialist.   He is the author of the 
award-winning &quot;&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0977899160&quot;&gt;A Conceptual 
Guide to OpenOffice.org 3&lt;/a&gt;&quot; (ISBN 978-0-9778991-6-6), an 
instructional guide and related resources written specially for use in 
academia.  He is currently a Computer Technical Specialist for a liberal arts 
program in the State University of New York system and is a contributor to the 
&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://documentation.openoffice.org/&quot;&gt;Documentation&lt;/a&gt;
 (&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://documentation.openoffice.org/conceptualguide/&quot;&gt;Conceptual
 Guides page&lt;/a&gt;) and &lt;a 
href=&quot;http://education.openoffice.org/&quot;&gt;Education&lt;/a&gt; 
projects with &lt;a 
href=&quot;http://www.openoffice.org/&quot;&gt;OpenOffice.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span
 class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;span 
class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div 
class=&quot;blogger-post-footer&quot;&gt;&lt;img width=&quot;1&quot; 
height=&quot;1&quot; 
src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4887643299605448632-7675159138884344780?l=ooomarketing.blogspot.com&quot;
 /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content:encoded>
-       <dc:date>2009-06-16T22:41:07+00:00</dc:date>
-       <dc:creator>ggurley</dc:creator>
-</item>
 
 </rdf:RDF>

File [changed]: rss20.xml
Url: 
http://marketing.openoffice.org/source/browse/marketing/www/planet/rss20.xml?r1=1.786&r2=1.787
Delta lines:  +13 -8
--------------------
--- rss20.xml   2009-07-06 17:00:30+0000        1.786
+++ rss20.xml   2009-07-07 17:00:25+0000        1.787
@@ -8,6 +8,19 @@
        <description>Marketing Planet - 
http://marketing.openoffice.org/planet/</description>
 
 <item>
+       <title>GullFOSS: New: OOo-DEV 3.1.1 Developer Snapshot (build 
OOO310_m15) available</title>
+       <guid>tag:google.com,2005:reader/item/7fde99ef412ff58e</guid>
+       <link>http://blogs.sun.com/GullFOSS/entry/new_ooo_dev_3_113</link>
+       <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Developer Snapshot build OOo-Dev 
OOO&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;310_m15&lt;/b&gt; which installs as OOo-DEV 3.1.1 has
+been uploaded to the mirror network.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If
+you find severe issues within this build please file them to
+OpenOffice.org's bug tracking system IssueTracker.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/p&gt; 
+  &lt;p&gt;Please use the following link&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://download.openoffice.org/next&quot; title=&quot;Download 
page&quot;&gt;http://download.openoffice.org/next&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; 
+  &lt;p&gt;Packages are also available from &lt;b&gt;extended&lt;/b&gt; mirror 
sites ( &lt;b&gt;listed with an [E]&lt;/b&gt; ) from the 
&amp;quot;.../extended/developer/OOO310_m15&amp;quot; directory:&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://distribution.openoffice.org/mirrors#extmirrors&quot;&gt;http://distribution.openoffice.org/mirrors/#extmirrors&lt;/a&gt;
 &lt;/p&gt; 
+  &lt;p&gt;MD5 checksums:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a title=&quot;Page containing MD5 
checksums&quot; 
href=&quot;http://download.openoffice.org/next/md5sums/index.html&quot;&gt;http://download.openoffice.org/next/md5sums/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
+       <pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:06:20 +0000</pubDate>
+</item>
+<item>
        <title>Christian Driga: OpenOffice.org Annual Conference Call for 
Papers (OOoCon 2009)</title>
        
<guid>http://cdriga.kfacts.com/open-source-world/openofficeorg-annual-conference-call-for-papers-ooocon-2009/2009/07/06/</guid>
        
<link>http://cdriga.kfacts.com/open-source-world/openofficeorg-annual-conference-call-for-papers-ooocon-2009/2009/07/06/</link>
@@ -273,14 +286,6 @@
        <pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:11:56 +0000</pubDate>
        <author>[email protected] (oulipo)</author>
 </item>
-<item>
-       <title>OOo Marketeers: OpenOffice.org in Education: Using 
OpenOffice.org for Entrepreneurial Training</title>
-       
<guid>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4887643299605448632.post-7675159138884344780</guid>
-       
<link>http://ooomarketing.blogspot.com/2009/06/openofficeorg-in-education-using.html</link>
-       <description>&lt;p&gt;When OpenOffice.org usage in education is 
discussed, it is often thought of in the context of using it for courses in 
office management, introductory computing courses enrolled by both IT and 
non-IT majors, primary and K-12 technology courses and perhaps even english 
composition courses.  However, there are many other educational programs where 
OpenOffice.org is ideal, some of which are often overlooked.&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;One such educational program is also 
one that has been garnering a lot of attention among many state economic 
development leaders in recent years.  Entrepreneurial training and resource 
programs for many states has been one of its primary economic development 
initiatives when trying to address rising unemployment, outsourcing by 
companies of productive works previously performed by salaried employees, 
moving of manufacturing facilities to emerging economies oversees and creating 
economic growth in rural areas.  In the United States, for example, small 
businesses now account for between 60 and 80 percent of all net new job 
creations and employ about half of all workers.&lt;span&gt;1&lt;/span&gt;  
&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;So while newspapers and 
local television news organizations splash headlines touting the occasional 
successes of large companies locating to an area and providing jobs, often with 
the caveat of reduced or the elimination of property and income taxes for those 
companies to even consider the relocation, small businesses without said 
benefits quietly, without fanfare, continue to be founded by local 
entrepreneurs that create sustainable economic growth and significant local job 
creation.  &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;So you may be 
asking, &quot;How does OpenOffice.org fit into all of this?&quot;  I feel I can 
best explain this by citing my own personal example while I was the director of 
a small business development center at a community college.  These centers, 
often referred to as Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) in most states, 
are in part federally and/or state funded and often located at university and 
college campuses throughout the United States.  They are established with the 
mission of providing one-on-one confidential counseling, training and 
educational resources to existing small businesses and entrepreneurs.&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;One of my first uses of OpenOffice.org 
for instructional purposes was when I was involved in a project providing 
instruction for local, small farmers in need of receiving computer skills 
training to assist them with better managing their farm operation records.  
These farmers came from diverse backgrounds, and raised a variety of livestock, 
as well as fruits and vegetables for various wholesale markets.  Many of these 
farmers were carrying on with this occupation in tradition; many of them were 
the third or fourth generation of farmers within their families.&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;But there was one thing they all had 
in common; they all had been affected by what has become known as the 
&quot;digital divide&quot;.  Many of these farmers had little or no computer 
training.  Most of them were still using a single paper ledger to manage their 
revenues and expenses.  Or worse, their receipts and expenses were kept in a 
shoebox underneath the seat of their pickup trucks.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Moreover, they lived in areas where dial-up access was 
still the primary gateway to the Internet.  Yet, despite their limited 
knowledge of operating a computer and using software to manage their records, 
the United States Department of Agriculture and local banks were increasingly 
providing electronic record and loan submissions as the only means to submit 
such documentation.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;With the 
cooperative efforts of my Center, the local agricultural cooperative extension 
service office and the state cooperative extension service office at the local 
land-grant university, computer courses began to be offered to these small, 
limited resource farmers to help them utilize the personal computer as their 
primary record keeping and documentation submission tool.  In the end, over 100 
farmers received this training in my service area alone.  These farmers started 
with the basics, such as developing proficient keyboarding skills and using the 
operating system.  They then progressed to using word processors and 
spreadsheets so that they could become proficient enough to create documents 
such as business plans, balance sheets, profit and loss statements and cash 
flow statements.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;And what 
was the primary word processor and spreadsheet application used for this 
training?  It was OpenOffice.org  Writer and Calc, as well as NeoOffice when 
instruction was provided in the Mac lab.  There were many reasons for choosing 
OpenOffice.org, but three I found to be most important.&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;First, OpenOffice.org provided an 
alternative to proprietary office productivity suites such as Microsoft Office 
and AppleWorks, which were also used during the training.  By having the 
availability of an alternative suite of applications for providing instruction, 
it focused the farmers on developing the conceptual skills of operating a 
computer and creating key documents, rather than focusing on learning a 
specific software application through rote memory.  This proved to be an 
effective way of getting the farmers to realize there were multiple ways of 
approaching a task, as well reinforcing confidence in their ability to operate 
a computer and create documents in varying environments or when technologies 
change.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Second, the generous 
licensing terms of OpenOffice.org allowed copies of the software to be 
distributed to the farmers for personal use without incurring licensing fees.  
Upon completion of the series of courses, these small, limited resource farmers 
would be eligible to receive a personal computer donated by local businesses 
and agencies that were being taken out of deployment and replaced for newer 
models.  The donated computers would be refurbished by training program 
administrators and volunteers to operational condition and installed with a 
legally licensed operating system and software.  By making copies of 
OpenOffice.org available to the farmers, they would receive a full-featured 
office productivity suite capable of creating the various business documents 
they need to produce while saving both the donations program and the farmers 
money from having to purchase copies of proprietary office productivity 
suites.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Third, the use of 
OpenOffice.org added value to the instruction the training partnership 
provided, as well as to the local economy.  The small farmers participating in 
the computer training program were excited to learn that they could receive a 
copy of OpenOffice.org on a CD at no cost to them.  It inspired the farmers 
that had computers at home to load the software there and learn as much as they 
could outside of class.  It also provided added value to the Center's training 
program and services; providing low-cost instructional solutions that instilled 
to those receiving the training that the Center and its partners were making an 
investment in their future and success.  &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Moreover, by freeing the farmers from having to 
utilize scarce financial resources to pay licensing fees for software necessary 
to help them better manage their farm operations and become more profitable, 
those dollars instead were, in part, used to buy other products or services 
provided in their local community.  This scenario often leads to adding 
additional value to the local economy and creates additional jobs.  Typically, 
45% of money spent at a locally owned business or service provider remains in 
the local economy, whereas as little as 14% or less remains in the local 
economy when spent with businesses and service providers that are headquartered 
outside a local area.&lt;span&gt;2&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;So the adoption of OpenOffice.org, when included in a 
broader inventory of instructional tools and resources, can have substantial 
benefits to learners, teachers and educational institutions alike.  And when 
utilized in often overlooked educational and community support programs like 
that of entrepreneurial training, the possibilities for even greater positive 
effects can be too numerous to list.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;References&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;1  &lt;/span&gt;United States Small 
Business Administration Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions, 2008.  
Link: &lt;a 
href=&quot;http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbfaq.pdf&quot;&gt;http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbfaq.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
 &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;2  &lt;/span&gt;&quot;The Economics 
of Buying Local&quot;, Denise Blaha, New Hampshire Carbon Challenge.  Link: 
&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://carbonchallenge.sr.unh.edu/newsletter/economics_buying_local.jsp&quot;&gt;http://carbonchallenge.sr.unh.edu/newsletter/economics_buying_local.jsp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
 &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;p&gt;###&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://www.gabrielgurley.com/&quot;&gt;Gabriel Gurley&lt;/a&gt; is 
an eight-year educator in higher education, whose roles have included 
instructor, administrator and IT specialist.   He is the author of the 
award-winning &quot;&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0977899160&quot;&gt;A Conceptual 
Guide to OpenOffice.org 3&lt;/a&gt;&quot; (ISBN 978-0-9778991-6-6), an 
instructional guide and related resources written specially for use in 
academia.  He is currently a Computer Technical Specialist for a liberal arts 
program in the State University of New York system and is a contributor to the 
&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://documentation.openoffice.org/&quot;&gt;Documentation&lt;/a&gt;
 (&lt;a 
href=&quot;http://documentation.openoffice.org/conceptualguide/&quot;&gt;Conceptual
 Guides page&lt;/a&gt;) and &lt;a 
href=&quot;http://education.openoffice.org/&quot;&gt;Education&lt;/a&gt; 
projects with &lt;a 
href=&quot;http://www.openoffice.org/&quot;&gt;OpenOffice.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span
 class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;span 
class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;br 
/&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div 
class=&quot;blogger-post-footer&quot;&gt;&lt;img width=&quot;1&quot; 
height=&quot;1&quot; 
src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4887643299605448632-7675159138884344780?l=ooomarketing.blogspot.com&quot;
 /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
-       <pubDate>Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:41:07 +0000</pubDate>
-       <author>[email protected] (ggurley)</author>
-</item>
 
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