chapter 3
Chapter three starts by discussing web tools as well as how people perceive free software. It discusses how administrators, teachers, students, and parents can use free web tools. I found it very interesting the misconceptions that people have about open source software. The misconceptions include free means junk, open-source software only runs on a Linux box, open-software may be free now but what about later, open source software will crash and burn, only geeks use open-source software, and if it is free is must be open source. Pages 51-52 explain why these are misconceptions because you can find some really useful free materials, most open source is written in Java which computes on all systems, if it is open source now it always will be, open source tends to be better than commerical because more people maintain it, people with all abilities use it, and some commercial tools start free but charge later so check liscensing. There are many helpful/useful sources avaliable if you are willing to take the time to look for them as well as learn about them.
The rest of the chapter discusses different tools and applications that people use to learn and communicate. These tools include wikis, podcast, Internet telephony, think.com, google education, and so on. It is so interesting to think of the technologies that advance in such a short amount of time. For example, I have never used a blog and now my entire class is blogging. Blogging may not be that new compared to something such as VoIP (Internet Telephony). VoIP is an interesting concept. It is routing voice conversations over the Internet or through any IP-based network. The most commonly used one is Skype which is owned by eBay and has over 113 million users. The book states, “Skype can be used to interview experts, conduct conversations with groups, and talk to one another as they work collaboratively on projects from home.” This is such a great concept because it is such a fast, easy, and convenient way to work with others. In fact, it makes me wonder what all online classes would be like if they were conducted on Skype?
Derek Davis Said:
on September 6, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Janet, you are correct when you mention that there are many misconceptions about open source software. However, it is always important to remember that nothing in life ever stays stagnant and there may be changes in how the applications are used. For instance, greed plays a large part in change and many of those now free sites may someday charge for the content. That same thing happened to easybib.com. As teachers we need to constantly be evolving with the new technologies to give our students the latest information about what is available to them in the marketplace.
Skype is a very interesting online feature and one that I myself believe will help change the education world as we know it. It already has had a major impact in the business sector allowing meetings to be held around the world in real-time without the cost of travel and losing valuable time. Skype is in the early stages in what I believe will transform education as we know it. No longer will students be going to physical schools to learn. Rather, they will have online classes where they will Skype with their teacher or professor and complete intereactive assignments via the web. This is very practical for most high schools. I don’t know how I feel about this moving down into the elementary schools yet because those students need to develop their social skills as well. I think there are many opportunities out there and if you were a smart teacher you could be on the leading edge of this change.