• For the freedom of education in Sri Lanka through Free and Open Source Software!

Site announcements

Two short, interactive courses on Linux and programming for beginners, already started

by Admin User -

To all registered users

Two courses we normally offer to closed groups of students have been reopened to accommodate those who were unable to register or could not complete the course last time. These revised versions run as self-learn courses with tutor support. There will be no live lectures. You will learn using recordings from the original course. Tutors will guide you and provide support through the forum and messages throughout the course. Participants who have previously completed the course successfully remained in the course to help the newcomers.

1. Talk Unix, is a playful introduction to the Unix command line. All of you work in the terminal of a practice Linux machine we provide.

2. Learn to program, introduces you to the classical programming concepts by solving programming problems. You solve them in the Virtual Programming Lab we provide.

You only need a PC or a laptop running the most recent version of a main-stream browser like Firefox, Chrome/Chromium or Edge and a reliable Internet connection.

Both courses have already started. They will end by mid May.

Those who have accounts on this site can join by entering an enrollment key. Ask in the contact form linked to the footer of this site. Members of any educational institution in Sri Lanka, from schools to universities, private or government, may request an account - also write in the contact form introducing yourself.

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Available courses

Learn to program, a problem-based approach (OER version)
Courses

This is a course we conducted for a class of non-programmers who have applied for a computer engineering program. It introduces the classical logic structures, sequence, if-else, while, subprograms, etc. in six units. There is a large number of programming exercises which are machine-graded by the Formulas question type and the Virtual Programming Lab plug-ins for Moodle.

Now open as an OER. No login required. (vr, 2026-05-14)

Start talking the Unix command language (OER version)
Courses

This guided workshop in multiple units is your first encounter with the Linux shell, commonly called the "command line interface (CLI)". It is a computer language the user can speak to any Unix system. In six units of 1 to 2 hours of work each, this workshop opens up the newcomer to "talk" freely in a text terminal. This is an essential step in your Linux journey.

Now open as an OER. No login required. (vr, 2026-05-14)

Talk Unix: Start talking the Unix command language
Courses

This instructor-led multiple-session workshop was originally offered to the potential students in BScHon in Software Engineering programme at the OUSL during their induction program. This repetition is open for the wider audience from any academic institution in Sri Lanka.

Learn to program, a problem-based approach
Courses

This course takes the skills of the applicants to the OUSL in their Induction Programme further to the common programming language Python to prepare them for the programming subjects in their future studies.

The course is being repeated from 10 April to 8 May 2026. Message us through the contact form in the footer of the site.. Enrollment closes  Thursday, 16 April 2026.

Your own web development environment under Linux
Courses

This is the follow up to our module Talk Linux. This module too was an instructor-led, fully on-line workshop with multiple sessions where the participants learnt to set up a web development environment in their own PC or laptop running the Linux operating system in a virtual environment and then started developing for the web - in HTML, CSS and JavaScript - naturally all Open Source Software!