1st FOSS CONFERENCE IN REGION IX a SUCCESS!!!

STI College Zamboanga, together with the Mindanao Open Source Society (MOSS), recently concluded it's first ever two-day conference dubbed as "1st FOSS CONFERENCE in REGION IX"... and it was a complete success, even though there were some obstacles in the way...

This conference is in connection with the celebration of the international Software Freedom Day, which was celebrated last September 18, 2010. The main objective of the celebration is to spread information about Free and Open Source Software and to let people know that there is a wide range of alternative software out there. Or, it is one way of advocating the use of Free and Open Source Software as an alternative to proprietary software.

Just a brief overview of what transpired during the two-day affair:

DAY 1:

We were expecting participants from other colleges and universities to attend, unfortunately, the CHED Endorsement came late, hence, no participants from other schools.

However, considering the small number of participants, the show must go on!

Our first speaker was Ms. Yolynne Medina. Ma'am Yolynne talked about "Open Source Software in an Open World". The main focus of her talk was actually about "BLOGGING". What is blogging? According to our speaker, it is an outlet for the blogger to express his feelings, and share it with the whole world. It is also a place for sharing ideas, and collaboration. It is also a place where one can be recognized in other parts of the world. Why? How can one be recognized in other parts of the world? The answer... Simple... Once you post your "blog" in the web and indicate specific tags for this specific post, someone on the other side of the world might look it up one day, and find your post as one of the entries returned to him by the search module. When this user is satisfied with what you have posted, he might reply and thank you on your post, and then share your post with other people. This is how you will get recognized. Who knows, you might become a very sought-after speaker one day.

The next speaker was our very own, Mr. RJ Ian Sevilla. Sir Rj showed us clips about the "10 Tactics to turn Information into Action". It basically contained short interviews with renowned activist around the world, specifically in Asia, who used the advantages of Information technology, especially the Internet, in exposing the wrong-doings of public officials,schools and their organizations, and other personalities of higher authority. Some of the tools used in exposing these "truths" include; Facebook, Youtube, Plurk, Twitter, and other social networking sites. On the other hand, it is not just a tool for exposing these negative things. It can also be used as a way to help others. For example, conducting "Fund Raising Campaign" through social networking sites which will benefit the poor, the needy, and the sick. Just make sure you will not be taking advantage of other people's generosity. Spreading world-wide awareness of significant events, plans, and anything under the sun.

Sir RJ also talked about FrontlineSMS. It is an online, centralized texting software which will enable users to collaborate, and share ideas by using special keywords in sending messages through text.

We gave away prizes in the form books which were sponsored by Tactical and 8-layer technology. We asked the participants specific questions, and whoever would answer them correctly will get the book together with an installer of the specific book title.

Day 1 ended early, giving the committees enough time to redecorate, and prepare for the next day.

DAY 2:

With the atmosphere almost similar to the first day, and the number of participants unchanged, we still had to move on and continue our advocacy.

Our first speaker was Mr. Al-Hamis. Network Administrator of Ateneo de Zamboanga. He talked about Linux OS, and the Linux Server. It was a long 2-hour talk which covered almost all of the basics about Linux, how it is virus-free, and up to setting up a server using Linux. It was actually a hustle, 'cause the brownouts kept interrupting his talk. Anyway, the participants were fulfilled and satisfied after his talk.

Our second speaker was Ms. Jet Butchan, also from the Ateneo de Zamboanga University. Ms. Jet talked about the Netbeans IDE and discussed how it is better than all the other IDE's in the market today. She also showed us how to use Java in Netbeans, and how it is very different from all the other Java programming interfaces. She also gave out prizes.

The last speaker was Leonor Ycaza, also an Atenean. She talked about PHP, and how to develop effective static and dynamic pages using PHP. It was a short talk, but the content of the talk was pretty broad. She showed us sample template of some the works she did with PHP. I bet it stirred up our student's curiosity after that.

Then it was actually time to close the 1st FOSS Conference, but before that, a short City Tour took place. The participants, organizing committees, instructors and some of the heads joined the tour. It was just a short tour, but it was actually one way of de-stressing. It was a time to relax! Everyone enjoyed the tour! (Eventhough there was not enough tetra juice for everyone.)

After the tour, a short de-briefing commenced at the third floor with all the Organizing Committee, together with Sir RJ, Sir JM, and ME (ofcourse!) It was just a way of thanking everyone for the success of the 1st FOSS Conference. Everyone shared their experiences from the planning days, to execution, and up to the end. Everybody was happy!

But it didn't end there. As a tradition, which Sir RJ and I experienced during the last FOSS celebration, we decided to give ourselves a treat! This is our way of thanking everyone for a job well done.

A short walk to the Paseo del Mar, a few picture taking, next thing we knew, we were munching on bbq chicken with unlimited rice and bottomless iced-tea... what a way to celebrate!!!

Let us all join together in promoting the use of Free and Open Source Software as an alternative for Proprietary Software! Let us continue the advocacy! Together, let us be advocates for a good cause!

Long live FOSS!

long live STI College Zamboanga!!!

'til next year!!! enjoy the pictures...

Let's Eat...

Sir JM, busug ya? Nuay pa gane kome???

it's time to reap what we have sowed... chow time!!!

so many cameras!!!

a pose with Mr. RJ Sevilla...

sunset view at the Paseo del Mar...

The sunset view...

don't you just love being young?

pictures here... there... everywhere!

just goofing off...

Posing at the Paseo del Mar

woohoo!

don't you just love cameras with auto-timers?

We just kept posing!

a pose with the Organizers... after all has been said and done!

With Sir Carmelo on the wheel, everything is going to be fine...

Ma'am Feng and Ma'am Kaye exposing their ear-rings!

the pose of the century...

"we are having fun!"

never-ending gestures...

Never-ending pose...

having Fun!

the guys with Sir JM in the bus for the City Tour

The Organizers and participants with Sir RJ in the bus for the City Tour

ME! in the bus for the City Tour...

Ms. Leonor Ycaza talks about PHP

Ms. Leonor Ycaza

Ms. Jet Butchan talks about the Netbeans IDE

Ms. Jet Butchan

Mr. Al Hamis talks about the Linux OS and Linux Server

Mr. Al Hamis

The secretariat... 2nd day!

more participants...

Participants with their photogenic pose

Mr. RJ Ian S. Sevilla

Sir RJ giving his talk about 10 Tactical ways to turn Information into Action

Mr. Timhar also gets a prize for answering a question...

Mr. Phoebus also answers a question and got a prize...

Mr. Sergil Manlucu answers a question and received a prize!

Ms. Yolynne Medina

Ma'am Yolynne giving her talk about Open Source in an Open World

Sir Mike sits with the organizers

Sir RJ introduces the first speaker

The participants listening attentively

Ma'am Feng giving her opening remarks and welcome address

The streamer!

The secretariats pose with Sir RJ

The Secretariat in action

Jonathan Paul C. Solis

FOSS Advocate

STI College Zamboanga

JPCS Leadership Training Workshop

On September 09, 2010, specific officers and members of the Junior Philippine Computer Society (JPCS) STI Zamboanga Chapter, left for Manila to attend the 3-day JPCS Leadership Training Workshop at the PLDT Innolab, Boni Ave., Mandaluyong city, from September 10 to 12, 2010.

It was a tiring flight from Zamboanga which arrived at around 8:00 p.m. in Manila. The team gathered their baggages and prepared for a long taxi ride to the Fersal Inn, Kalayaan, Quezon city. The traffic was terrible! It took us more than 2-hours to reach the hotel. Upon arrival, a quick briefing took place, and a few expectations were set. The so called "short-meeting" finished at around 12:00 midnight. There was still a lot of talking and planning to do, especially for our commuting the following day. We actually called "lights-off" at around 1:30 a.m.

FIRST DAY (September 10):

The team woke up at around 4:30 a.m. Showered, tidied up, and had our breakfast. A short jeepney ride to Cubao, and a long walk (which actually led to us getting lost!) to the MRT station (and after a few directions here and there) we were inside the MRT and on our way to Mandaluyong. Upon reaching our destination (which was actually an alien place for all of us...) we walked around, asked for directions to the PLDT Innolab, and eventually found a jeepney terminal bound for Boni Avenue. It was a very short ride to the Innolab, but we were actually an hour late.

Fortunately, the actual training did not start yet. We were actually the only chapter with the most number of participants. And it actually came as a shock to the rest of the chapters due to the fact that we came from Zamboanga city, a very distant place. The actual session commenced with our facilitator giving us an ice-breaker in the form of a very catchy and funny dance. It was followed by an activity, which required the participants to be grouped into four and forming specific scenes based on the specific instructions of the facilitator. Then later, the participants were given a 4-celled table which he said would be a very great help in molding specific organizations, like JPCS. The table contained the words REDUCE (which required participants to write all of the things they want to reduce in their organization), RAISE (which required participants to write down all the things they would like to raise as concerns for the organization), ERASE (which required the participants to write down everything the wanted to eliminate from the current organization), and CREATE (which required the participants to write down everything that they want to create in their organization). Our facilitator, Sir Nonong, specifically stated that a copy of our output will be faxed to the chapter's school, and the original will be given to us. Unfortunately, it never returned. We just hope that it was indeed faxed to our school. Hours later, the activity was done, and another ice-breaker was initiated by Sir Nonong. Snacks was actually served late, obviously because we started late. But it was so delicious! Another activity, a game, was next. It required respective teams to accomplish a specific task. The task was this: Be able to form a straight line alphabetically sorted by our mother's first name, without talking, and... BLINDFOLDED!!! It was a very tough activity, as group members gave certain "signals" signifying their sequence, as they felt their way blindly through the rows of chairs and uneven floors. Group two actually won the challenge, and two of our students, Genie and Rocky, were actually part of that team. Lunch was served at around 2:30 p.m. and we just can't wait for our first free buffet in Mandaluyong! We talked about our experiences over lunch, and actually had a great laugh over silly jokes. The afternoon session was a bit serious. But nothing would be complete without an ice-breaker. Participants were once again grouped into their respective groups and were asked to discuss and prepare for a specific "big IT event", and set out their plans, and objectives. At around 6:00 p.m. a representative for each group presented their outputs, and it was eventually called a day, at around 7:00 p.m. with a prayer blessing. Then it was another 1.5-hour ride back to Kalayaan. A quick dinner at McDo, and it was lights off for the team.

SECOND DAY (September 11, 2010):

We were actually still feeling the jetlag, the short sleeps, and the long walks. We actually felt all-beaten-up! We woke up late, and obviously, got to the venue an hour late. We missed two activities, but we arrived just in time for the morning snacks. (LOL!!!) The third activity was a very, very challenging one. It required us to be silent, to be very cooperative, and to prepare our very own strength. Sir Nonong asked us to be in two lines, picked out 6 strong men, and randomly picked a person. The task of this chosen person was simple, just lie down on his back and let the participants carry (pass) him above them (like a concert dive) with the assistance of the string men. A total of 8 people were randomly chosen, and eventually, I was chosen as the 6th. The feeling of being lifted and passed around was very breath-taking! And who do you think was chosen as the 8th person??? Our one and only, tiny, EUGENE!!! When Sir Nonong picked Eugene (a.k.a. Tiny) the entire crowd's face was like "OMG!!! HIM??? ARE YOU SERIOUS???" But then they weren't allowed to talk, cause it would automatically end the game, then we'd only be the 2nd group to fail this certain test. But then, amazingly, the crowd was able to lift Eugene above their heads, passed him around up-to the last person in line and eventually to the 6 strong men, whose main responsibility was to make sure the person gets a very safe landing. (I think I heard a bone cracked somewhere, especially where Genesis was located... hehehe...) Then everyone was happy! Lunch was served, and I was eventually introduced to "Chokoleyt" by none other than Glenn. It's actually a joke they've been playing with Kenneth (who I think does look like Chokoleyt, one way or another, hehehe), which actually made me burst into a tearful laugh! It went on and on for about 10 minutes, and I didn't know that the entire thing was secretly being captured on camera. Then began the afternoon session. It was kind of serious, 'cause Sir Nonong shared a story about his poor childhood classmate who studied in La Salle and eventually became successful. There was a story about him being invited to his classmates house when he offered his classmate a bar of chocolate. And to his surprise, when he got to his friend's house, he felt a chilling feeling that this poorly-house, even though made of light materials, had a "aura" of a HAPPY FAMILY. And he actually felt more more chilled when he saw his classmate's family happily celebrating on the piece of chocolate which he has shared with him. And the next story was very sad. It was about a guy who loved a woman so much, but the woman wanted something in return to prove his love. She wanted him to bring his mother's heart before 12 midnight, only then, would he truly prove his love for her. The guy then slit his mother's chest and took her heart, and ran fast towards the girl who was waiting for him miles away. And when he got to where she was standing, it was already 12:01 A.M. and the girl signaled, "TIME'S UP." As if saying "Sorry, you failed the test." And then his mother's heart came to life and asked "Nasaktan ka ba anak?" Then Sir Nonong started relating the story to the participants. That as they graduate, never forget about their mother who was always worried about them whenever they came home late, whether they have already eaten, or whether they are hurting or not. And then the lights turned off, and a very sad song was playing in the background. He asked us to close our eyes and think of our parents. And we all just started to cry. It was very touching. That actually was the sign of our last session with him.We learned so much from him, and hope that we could share what we have learned to everyone else back at home. We then had our PM snacks, waited for the introduction of National JPCS participants, and went back to the Hotel.

THIRD DAY (September 12, 2010):

Soft-Launching of WINDOWS live@edu... a software which enables students and teachers to collaborate online, similar to an e-class, but more effective, and free! Not to mention, this is Windows we're talking about... free windows software? Anyway, much to the excitement of this new software launch, the entire day was pretty "BORING"... lots of talk, less activities... Election of the National Board Members was held during the day... honestly, it was just another ordinary day... and I don't think I need to elaborate more about this...

To sum it all up, the 3-day JPCS LTW was very fulfilling, and rewarding because we had the chance to meet new friends and connections. Our boys, were actually the center-of-attention during the entirety of the event, being dubbed as "Zamboanga-boys" by the other participants. I really hope to be able to bring more participants to the JPCS NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2010, which will be held on the 3rd week of November (no specific dates yet...)

Anyway, hoping for more fruitful year for STI's JPCS CHAPTER under my advisory. I believe that after attending a Training Workshop like this builds the confidence of the individual who attended it. We learned 5 P's (Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance) and the 3 C's (Chances, Choices, and Changes). Having inherited all these, I think JPCS STI Zamboanga Chapter will be able to reach it's dreams through STI College-Zamboanga's support!!!

Thank you to the following students for being so active and very supportive throughout the entire workshop:

Mr. Darwin Dela Cruz (el Prinyada)

Mr. Eugene "Tiny" Yo

Mr. Glenn "Chickboy" Chiong

Mr. Kenneth "Chokoleyt" Tapayan

Mr. Rocky Tabora (el flu...) and,

Ms. Genesis "Subay" Macrohon (el mayordoma reganyon!)

GO JPCS!!!

GO STI!!!

Enjoy the pictures...

Group 3

with participants form STI Fairview

Group 3 doing their future JPCS action plans

The participants lifting their fellow participant w/o making any sound...

Sir Nonong writing down the expectations

STI Zamboanga participants writing down the things they'd like to Reduce, Raise, Eliminate, Create...

Munching on some snacks...

PCS National President giving his welcome address...

PLDT HR Manager giving his privilege speech...

The guys giving their gist...

Here we are!

'Til next time,

Jonathan Paul C. Solis
JPCS Adviser
STI College Zamboanga