I'm currently a junior in high school and I've been slacking off on my community service to develop websites and do some personal projects in C#. Currently, I'm developing an web-based IM-Chat through node.js (the server-side Javascript). If I were to post this or other projects on Github or on Google Code, could this be considered community service?—to the programming community?
+5
A:
Having been a high school teacher, I can say that it would depend on your teacher. Try to get your computer teacher to sign off on it. Maybe write a quick essay on why your contribution should be considered community service. I'd accept it for sure.
Actually, I would have been pretty stoked to have had a student like you.
Be sure to document all your work. Post things on CodePlex or GitHub. Respond to forum posts and questions on this site (ask questions, too). BUT, don't do all that stuff just for the gold stars on your resume. Those are just side-effects.
Summary: Any thing you do for the community will matter to the community and should make a difference to any school worth going to.
Byron Sommardahl
2010-04-10 00:34:58
It's not really required by my school, most of the kids in clubs such as CSF and Key club do volunteer work to look good in their college apps. I was just hoping that open source work could also help me get into a better college/university/calstate.
Gio Borje
2010-04-10 00:37:03
I like how you basically said calstate isn't a college or univerity. :)
Byron Sommardahl
2010-04-10 01:01:57
+1
A:
Are OSS projects something which contributes to a community?
Yes.
Are OSS projects something which will be legally considered by your institution to be a qualified community service?
Depends, but I wouldn't count on it if I were you. Ask the school administration in advance and present a clear case defending your idea. May be get "friend of the court" type briefs from computer club or programming teacher if you have them in the school.
If your goal is just to look better to a college etc..., I would say go for it. It's not guaranteed to help but it might carry water with admissions - again, if you're smart enough to present a compelling case (Elle from "Legally Blonde" comes to mind suddenly - please don't send them scented resume :) )
DVK
2010-04-10 00:36:17
The saddest part is that there isn't a computer club at my school and most likely will not have one with the budget cuts in California.
Gio Borje
2010-04-10 00:40:32
Who cares about budgets. Start a club! Maybe you can get a corporate sponsor.
Byron Sommardahl
2010-04-10 00:49:02