Week 12 Blog Summary/Presentation
By Heather Bennett
Thank you everyone for their great responses!
1. The “Illinois Online Network – Online Education Overview” lists many strengths and weaknesses about online learning. Keeping them in mind, how do you feel about online learning? If you have any experience with online learning, please explain the strengths and weaknesses you encountered.
Most people agreed that online classes are great depending on the type of learner. Lauren makes an excellent point when she states: “Online courses don't offer lectures to listen to so auditory learners will not benefit as much as if they were in a traditional classroom environment.” From the article and the posts, some strengths of online learning are the classes are student centered and it can be accessed anytime and anyplace. Some weaknesses are you must be computer literate and no teacher/student interaction in person.
2. In the “Illinois Online Network – Online Education Overview" find the link labeled Distance Learning Calculator. Complete the distant learning survey and calculate your results. Do you feel like you would have saved money if you completed classes online? Do you feel you would have benefited more from taking classes online or in the classroom bases on personal commitments?
This was an interesting website as it presented you with the amount of money you would save if you completed classes online. Gretchen and Theresa were the only two who answered this particular question and their results proved that they are not spending that much money to commute. However, I know there are students who travel over an hour to take classes at Cortland. In this case, it might be cheaper for them to be taking classes online but it also depends on the student and how they learn.
3. Teachers are considered lifelong learners. If online classes were FREE, do you think you would enroll in classes to further your education and learn new ideas you could incorporate into your classroom. What features/elements would you expect from the course to assist you as a learner?
Everyone agreed for the most part that they would participate in taking more classes online for FREE. Amy made a good point about when there is a free lecture on campus or in the community, how many times do we actually drop what we are doing and go? Most of the time, we don’t. I think this all depends on if you’re interested in the topic at hand or not. More than likely, if you are interested in the online class being offered and feel you can benefit from it, I think people would take it.
4. In the YouTube video titled "E-Teaching", how does the teacher connect with his students and allow them to express their ideas and thoughts using technology? He also states “the internet is used for a means to provide more opportunities for students”. Do you agree with this? Explain.
I think most thought this video was interesting. Cory and Jessica both commented on the quote Andrew Mercer uses, "give student the skills and the encouragement.” It is important to give student encouragement so they feel like they can accomplish a goal and feel good about it. Distant learning is definitely a new thing!
5. After watching the YouTube video titled “Voices from the New American Schoolhouse”, do you think this type of school would be for everyone? What did you like about it? What didn’t you like about it? Do you think they would benefit from more technology? How do you feel these students would do if the class was presented online?
This video was also very interesting and many of you agreed by the comments on your blogs. We all agreed that it takes a special student to benefit from this type of school. It definitely was an eye opener.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Week 11 Blog Summary: eLearning
By: Theresa Conklin
1. Based on the articles you read, what is your definition of eLearning? Have you seen
eLearning used in the educational setting and if so how?
After reading many definitions of eLearning there seemed to be a consensus that there is no SINGLE definition of eLearning. It means different things to different people. However, for the most part we agreed that eLearning involves learning through the computer and for the most part via the internet in many cases. Amy pointed out that she had not really seen eLearning in the classroom because many school districts are not able to afford eLearning programs and also that there is a lack of training available for teachers. However, eLearning programs are becoming increasingly more popular and available for free on the internet, which is HUGE for schools that would otherwise not be able to afford to purchase them!Many other people said that they had seen eLearning used in the classroom and had in fact had experience using it themselves. Amy also mentioned that she would love to see free online workshops to instruct teachers on how to use eLearning in the classroom. If it is not already available on line, I am sure it will be something to come in the future because it is becoming increasingly important for teachers to be able to engage with technology in the 21st century!
2. What are some benefits of eLearning? What are some disadvantages of eLearning?
It became clear from our class blog that there are obvious advantages and disadvantages of eLearning in the classroom and that teachers need to weigh these before integrating eLearning into the classroom. Some of the advantages mentioned are: flexibility, convenience and ability to work at any location where there is an internet connection and at one's own pace. eLearning allows the learner to control what, how, and how fast they learn about a topic. Many focused on the advantages and disadvantages of online courses, with the advantages being the ability to work at one's own pace and at a time when your schedule allows instead of having to attend class at a certain time and place. Also, Gretchen pointed out that eLearning allows you to communicate and collaborate online with your classmates and/or teachers from different locations and with the advent of the wiki and specifically web 2.0 actually be working simultaneously on a project when you are actually very far from each other! One disadvantage that was sited by Lauren and many others was the lack of interaction and the feeling of isolation that can result from online courses. Also, another disadvantage that Heather pointed out was the possiblilties of mis communication that can happen because you are not talking in person or when technology does not work as it should and you miss an email or recieve the wrong info.
3. what are some examples of eLearning and would you use eLearning in your classroom?
After reading the eLearning articles and exploring some show cases it became clear that most of us will be considering how to use eLearning in our classrooms to engage our students. However, many often expressed the very important fact that we as teachers need to carefully review the eLearning tools that we decide to use in our classrooms to make sure they are age appropriate and that they serve an educational purpose of either introducing a topic in an engaging way, scaffolding student learning, or reviewing concepts already taught! eLearning could best be used to either scaffold learning of a certain topic so that students could work at their own pace or to support classroom lessons that a teacher had taught as a way of reviewing and reinforcing concepts.
4. After exploring the eLearning for kids website under tidbits on our schedule do you think this
is a useful tool to use in the classroom? If so how would you use it and are they any specific
courses you viewed that you thought you might consider using?
This site would be useful to teachers as long as they reviewed the eLearning videos and/or activities well before they used them. After reviewing them it was obvious that some were poorly made and had little or no educational value. However there were many others that would be very useful in the classroom. Heather found a course involving calculating with fractions that she is considering useing... http://www.e-learningforkids.org/courses.html#math I too would consider using the eLearning in my classroom and actually I have had experience with an online program called Brain Pop http://www.brainpop.com/ which covers a wide range of topics by way of engaging video clips that kids love!
5. What do you think of the free education that is portrayed in the article "Get an MIT or Yail
Education Free" from under tidbits? Are there any benefits of this for professors and/or
students?
Lauren pointed out that one big advantage of lectures being available online is the flexibility that it offers students. For example, students can choose to review a lecture in a way that best suits their learning style. Meaning auditory learners could choose to listen to it and visual learners could choose to read it. However, it was also pointed out that eLearning might be a huge disadvantage for textile learners who learn best through hands on activities. I would like to point out that eLearning should NEVER replace actual hands on and interactive learning. It should be used to scaffold, support and review hands on learning! Neal pointed out that free online courses offer a huge advantage to high school students. They allow high school students to go online and get a glimpse of what a college course looks and feels like. They also offer the opportunity for students to get an idea of the kinds of topics that they will learn about in their college courses and how they will be presented. One final advantage is that free online courses could be used by high school teachers to encourage their advanced students to further their learning while they are still in high school either just for their own knowledge or to prepare them for up coming college!
6. After exploring the Adobe eLearning site with its tools and related video what do you think
the implications of eLearning are for higher education?
The Adobe eLearning site and related video showed just how flexible learning via the internet truly is. If you have a question with just a click of the mouse you can get an answer. This technology is a great asset in helping students and teachers collaborate and share information. It also showed how engaging and close to real life different kinds of eLearning can be, especially for the medical field. The medical field is evolving every second and eLearning is almost invaluable tool to help teachers, students and doctors cope with the quickly changing realm of medical knowledge. Medical eLearning programs even allow med students to simulate real operations online to master them before applying them in a real life setting!
7. After exploring the eLearning showcase under tidbits and looking at some examples of
eLearning do you think that these could be useful tools for higher education? Pick one and
explain how it could be used.
Heather pointed out that eLearning online lectures, such as the ones from Gresham College would be useful tools for higher education students who either missed class or who just wanted more detailed notes. She also pointed out that many lectures are now being put out in podcast form such as iTunes University so that students can listen to them on their ipods, which we all know is basically embedded in the ear of most college students! It was also pointed out that eLearning online lectures can be a great tool for professors because if they are teaching a topic to their students and their students just are not getting it, they might be able to find a lecture online that presents the topic in a different way which might be better tailored to their students learning styles. With eLearning the possibilities in the field of education are becoming increasingly endless! I believe that eLearning is going to play a big role in getting the students of the 21st century and beyond engaged in their own learning!
By: Theresa Conklin
1. Based on the articles you read, what is your definition of eLearning? Have you seen
eLearning used in the educational setting and if so how?
After reading many definitions of eLearning there seemed to be a consensus that there is no SINGLE definition of eLearning. It means different things to different people. However, for the most part we agreed that eLearning involves learning through the computer and for the most part via the internet in many cases. Amy pointed out that she had not really seen eLearning in the classroom because many school districts are not able to afford eLearning programs and also that there is a lack of training available for teachers. However, eLearning programs are becoming increasingly more popular and available for free on the internet, which is HUGE for schools that would otherwise not be able to afford to purchase them!Many other people said that they had seen eLearning used in the classroom and had in fact had experience using it themselves. Amy also mentioned that she would love to see free online workshops to instruct teachers on how to use eLearning in the classroom. If it is not already available on line, I am sure it will be something to come in the future because it is becoming increasingly important for teachers to be able to engage with technology in the 21st century!
2. What are some benefits of eLearning? What are some disadvantages of eLearning?
It became clear from our class blog that there are obvious advantages and disadvantages of eLearning in the classroom and that teachers need to weigh these before integrating eLearning into the classroom. Some of the advantages mentioned are: flexibility, convenience and ability to work at any location where there is an internet connection and at one's own pace. eLearning allows the learner to control what, how, and how fast they learn about a topic. Many focused on the advantages and disadvantages of online courses, with the advantages being the ability to work at one's own pace and at a time when your schedule allows instead of having to attend class at a certain time and place. Also, Gretchen pointed out that eLearning allows you to communicate and collaborate online with your classmates and/or teachers from different locations and with the advent of the wiki and specifically web 2.0 actually be working simultaneously on a project when you are actually very far from each other! One disadvantage that was sited by Lauren and many others was the lack of interaction and the feeling of isolation that can result from online courses. Also, another disadvantage that Heather pointed out was the possiblilties of mis communication that can happen because you are not talking in person or when technology does not work as it should and you miss an email or recieve the wrong info.
3. what are some examples of eLearning and would you use eLearning in your classroom?
After reading the eLearning articles and exploring some show cases it became clear that most of us will be considering how to use eLearning in our classrooms to engage our students. However, many often expressed the very important fact that we as teachers need to carefully review the eLearning tools that we decide to use in our classrooms to make sure they are age appropriate and that they serve an educational purpose of either introducing a topic in an engaging way, scaffolding student learning, or reviewing concepts already taught! eLearning could best be used to either scaffold learning of a certain topic so that students could work at their own pace or to support classroom lessons that a teacher had taught as a way of reviewing and reinforcing concepts.
4. After exploring the eLearning for kids website under tidbits on our schedule do you think this
is a useful tool to use in the classroom? If so how would you use it and are they any specific
courses you viewed that you thought you might consider using?
This site would be useful to teachers as long as they reviewed the eLearning videos and/or activities well before they used them. After reviewing them it was obvious that some were poorly made and had little or no educational value. However there were many others that would be very useful in the classroom. Heather found a course involving calculating with fractions that she is considering useing... http://www.e-learningforkids.org/courses.html#math I too would consider using the eLearning in my classroom and actually I have had experience with an online program called Brain Pop http://www.brainpop.com/ which covers a wide range of topics by way of engaging video clips that kids love!
5. What do you think of the free education that is portrayed in the article "Get an MIT or Yail
Education Free" from under tidbits? Are there any benefits of this for professors and/or
students?
Lauren pointed out that one big advantage of lectures being available online is the flexibility that it offers students. For example, students can choose to review a lecture in a way that best suits their learning style. Meaning auditory learners could choose to listen to it and visual learners could choose to read it. However, it was also pointed out that eLearning might be a huge disadvantage for textile learners who learn best through hands on activities. I would like to point out that eLearning should NEVER replace actual hands on and interactive learning. It should be used to scaffold, support and review hands on learning! Neal pointed out that free online courses offer a huge advantage to high school students. They allow high school students to go online and get a glimpse of what a college course looks and feels like. They also offer the opportunity for students to get an idea of the kinds of topics that they will learn about in their college courses and how they will be presented. One final advantage is that free online courses could be used by high school teachers to encourage their advanced students to further their learning while they are still in high school either just for their own knowledge or to prepare them for up coming college!
6. After exploring the Adobe eLearning site with its tools and related video what do you think
the implications of eLearning are for higher education?
The Adobe eLearning site and related video showed just how flexible learning via the internet truly is. If you have a question with just a click of the mouse you can get an answer. This technology is a great asset in helping students and teachers collaborate and share information. It also showed how engaging and close to real life different kinds of eLearning can be, especially for the medical field. The medical field is evolving every second and eLearning is almost invaluable tool to help teachers, students and doctors cope with the quickly changing realm of medical knowledge. Medical eLearning programs even allow med students to simulate real operations online to master them before applying them in a real life setting!
7. After exploring the eLearning showcase under tidbits and looking at some examples of
eLearning do you think that these could be useful tools for higher education? Pick one and
explain how it could be used.
Heather pointed out that eLearning online lectures, such as the ones from Gresham College would be useful tools for higher education students who either missed class or who just wanted more detailed notes. She also pointed out that many lectures are now being put out in podcast form such as iTunes University so that students can listen to them on their ipods, which we all know is basically embedded in the ear of most college students! It was also pointed out that eLearning online lectures can be a great tool for professors because if they are teaching a topic to their students and their students just are not getting it, they might be able to find a lecture online that presents the topic in a different way which might be better tailored to their students learning styles. With eLearning the possibilities in the field of education are becoming increasingly endless! I believe that eLearning is going to play a big role in getting the students of the 21st century and beyond engaged in their own learning!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Week 12 Explosion of Online Programs, Universities, Courses, Reports, Emergence of Blended learning
Here are the questions for this week. If you have any questions feel free to ask:
1. The “Illinois Online Network – Online Education Overview” lists many strengths and weaknesses about online learning. Keeping them in mind, how do you feel about online learning? If you have any experience with online learning, please explain the strengths and weaknesses you encountered.
2. In the “Illinois Online Network – Online Education Overview" find the link labeled Distance Learning Calculator. Complete the distant learning survey and calculate your results. Do you feel like you would have saved money if you completed classes online? Do you feel you would have benefited more from taking classes online or in the classroom bases on personal commitments?
3. Teachers are considered lifelong learners. If online classes were FREE, do you think you would enroll in classes to further your education and learn new ideas you could incorporate into your classroom. What features/elements would you expect from the course to assist you as a learner?
4. In the YouTube video titled "E-Teaching", how does the teacher connect with his students and allow them to express their ideas and thoughts using technology? He also states “the internet is used for a means to provide more opportunities for students”. Do you agree with this? Explain.
5. After watching the YouTube video titled “Voices from the New American Schoolhouse”, do you think this type of school would be for everyone? What did you like about it? What didn’t you like about it? Do you think they would benefit from more technology? How do you feel these students would do if the class was presented online?
1. The “Illinois Online Network – Online Education Overview” lists many strengths and weaknesses about online learning. Keeping them in mind, how do you feel about online learning? If you have any experience with online learning, please explain the strengths and weaknesses you encountered.
2. In the “Illinois Online Network – Online Education Overview" find the link labeled Distance Learning Calculator. Complete the distant learning survey and calculate your results. Do you feel like you would have saved money if you completed classes online? Do you feel you would have benefited more from taking classes online or in the classroom bases on personal commitments?
3. Teachers are considered lifelong learners. If online classes were FREE, do you think you would enroll in classes to further your education and learn new ideas you could incorporate into your classroom. What features/elements would you expect from the course to assist you as a learner?
4. In the YouTube video titled "E-Teaching", how does the teacher connect with his students and allow them to express their ideas and thoughts using technology? He also states “the internet is used for a means to provide more opportunities for students”. Do you agree with this? Explain.
5. After watching the YouTube video titled “Voices from the New American Schoolhouse”, do you think this type of school would be for everyone? What did you like about it? What didn’t you like about it? Do you think they would benefit from more technology? How do you feel these students would do if the class was presented online?
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Summary of Week 10: Free and Open Resources
Thank you all for the thoughtful responses! :)
1. A definition of an open source can be found on the Open Source Initiative Homepage. What open resources (if any) have you used in your classroom? If you do not have your own classroom, have you witnessed open resources being used?
There were several examples of open resources being used: wikipedia, firefox, blog, Lesson Planz, and several lesson plan pages where teachers can share ideas and collaborate.
2. Under The Free Software Definition on the GNU Operating System website it says that “A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms. Thus, you [should] be free to redistribute copies, either with or without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for distribution, to anyone anywhere. Being free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not have to ask or pay for permission.” Thinking about the word [should], what types of problems do you think can occur when copying/redistributing information?
We had some thoughtful responses to this question. One of the topics that came up is who gets the "glory" for the end result? We agreed that with so many people working on the projects its hard to figure out where it originated. That is also where the idea that citing sources and awknowledging all participants comes along. I think we can all agree that although some open resources require no "citing" it is important to do so in all of your work.
3. The article written by Sally Johnstone, Open Educational Resources Serve the World, states that “A major reason for sharing resources created for local communities is individuals’ desire to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. Other reasons relate to institutional goals and benefits.” In your own experience, what is the reasoning for using an open resource? Was it to help out those that are less fortunate within your school or community? Or was the source you used a great source that just happened to be an open resource?
A lot of people that responded to this stated that they have used open resources/saw open resources being used in the classroom. Some of you didn't even realize that some of the resources that you were using were considered an "open resource" but that you would continue to use them. Amy and a couple others said they used open resources for the basic fact that they were a great resource- like a great youtube clip, etc.
4. The same article written by S. Johnstone talks about the “Connexions” project, which was created by Richard Baraniuk and his colleagues at Rice University. Do you find any of the Connexion material modules for secondary-school teachers useful? Could you use these modules in your own teaching? Why or why not?
Most of the people responding to this question felt that the modules could be very useful. Theresa brought up the idea that they would be very beneficial for even elementary teachers as it would be great to have a place to share lessons and ideas. Most people agreed in that having a place for teachers to go and share information would be wonderul and they would use the modules if available. Most agreed that it is always great when teachers are sharing and collaborating.
5. The essay written by Nikola Bezroukov titled Open Source SoftwareDevelopment as a Special Type of Academic Research (Critique of VulgarRaymondism) was written to "...forewarn open source developers about theproblems of working on open source projects, and reduce some of thefrustrations." What problems did Bezroukov discuss? Do you agree with him,or do you feel that he was too critical about open sources?
Several of you agreed that there are "problems" with open resources that still need to be worked out, but that they should not be taken away because they are still very beneficial. Gretchan stated that just like any other internet source, free and open resources has glitches, but they can be worked out. We agree that there are glitches and problems that can occur- but like any internet source they can be worked out.
1. A definition of an open source can be found on the Open Source Initiative Homepage. What open resources (if any) have you used in your classroom? If you do not have your own classroom, have you witnessed open resources being used?
There were several examples of open resources being used: wikipedia, firefox, blog, Lesson Planz, and several lesson plan pages where teachers can share ideas and collaborate.
2. Under The Free Software Definition on the GNU Operating System website it says that “A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms. Thus, you [should] be free to redistribute copies, either with or without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for distribution, to anyone anywhere. Being free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not have to ask or pay for permission.” Thinking about the word [should], what types of problems do you think can occur when copying/redistributing information?
We had some thoughtful responses to this question. One of the topics that came up is who gets the "glory" for the end result? We agreed that with so many people working on the projects its hard to figure out where it originated. That is also where the idea that citing sources and awknowledging all participants comes along. I think we can all agree that although some open resources require no "citing" it is important to do so in all of your work.
3. The article written by Sally Johnstone, Open Educational Resources Serve the World, states that “A major reason for sharing resources created for local communities is individuals’ desire to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. Other reasons relate to institutional goals and benefits.” In your own experience, what is the reasoning for using an open resource? Was it to help out those that are less fortunate within your school or community? Or was the source you used a great source that just happened to be an open resource?
A lot of people that responded to this stated that they have used open resources/saw open resources being used in the classroom. Some of you didn't even realize that some of the resources that you were using were considered an "open resource" but that you would continue to use them. Amy and a couple others said they used open resources for the basic fact that they were a great resource- like a great youtube clip, etc.
4. The same article written by S. Johnstone talks about the “Connexions” project, which was created by Richard Baraniuk and his colleagues at Rice University. Do you find any of the Connexion material modules for secondary-school teachers useful? Could you use these modules in your own teaching? Why or why not?
Most of the people responding to this question felt that the modules could be very useful. Theresa brought up the idea that they would be very beneficial for even elementary teachers as it would be great to have a place to share lessons and ideas. Most people agreed in that having a place for teachers to go and share information would be wonderul and they would use the modules if available. Most agreed that it is always great when teachers are sharing and collaborating.
5. The essay written by Nikola Bezroukov titled Open Source SoftwareDevelopment as a Special Type of Academic Research (Critique of VulgarRaymondism) was written to "...forewarn open source developers about theproblems of working on open source projects, and reduce some of thefrustrations." What problems did Bezroukov discuss? Do you agree with him,or do you feel that he was too critical about open sources?
Several of you agreed that there are "problems" with open resources that still need to be worked out, but that they should not be taken away because they are still very beneficial. Gretchan stated that just like any other internet source, free and open resources has glitches, but they can be worked out. We agree that there are glitches and problems that can occur- but like any internet source they can be worked out.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Week 11 What is eLearning?
Here are the questions for this week. Don't feel that you have to answer them all. If you have any questions feel free to ask:
1. Based on the articles you read, what is your definition of eLearning? Have you seen eLearning used in the educational setting and if so how?
2. What are some benefits of eLearning? What are some disadvantages of eLearning?
3. What are some examples of eLearning and would you use eLearning in your classroom?
4. After exploring the eLearning for kids website under tidbits on our schedule do you think this is a useful tool to use in the classroom? If so how would you use it and are there any specific courses your viewed that you thought you might consider using?
5. What do you think of the free education that is portrayed in the article "Get and MIT or Yail Education Free" from under tidbits? Are there any benefits of this for professors and/or students?
6. After exploring the Adobe eLearning site with its tools and related video what do you think the implications of eLearning are for higher education?
7. After exploring the eLearning showcase under tidbits and looking at some examples of eLearning do you think that these could be useful tools for higher education? Pick one and explain how it could be used?
1. Based on the articles you read, what is your definition of eLearning? Have you seen eLearning used in the educational setting and if so how?
2. What are some benefits of eLearning? What are some disadvantages of eLearning?
3. What are some examples of eLearning and would you use eLearning in your classroom?
4. After exploring the eLearning for kids website under tidbits on our schedule do you think this is a useful tool to use in the classroom? If so how would you use it and are there any specific courses your viewed that you thought you might consider using?
5. What do you think of the free education that is portrayed in the article "Get and MIT or Yail Education Free" from under tidbits? Are there any benefits of this for professors and/or students?
6. After exploring the Adobe eLearning site with its tools and related video what do you think the implications of eLearning are for higher education?
7. After exploring the eLearning showcase under tidbits and looking at some examples of eLearning do you think that these could be useful tools for higher education? Pick one and explain how it could be used?
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Free and Open Educational Resources
Here are the questions for this weeks discussions! Hopefully we all have a better idea now what exactly a "free/open resource is."
1. A definition of an open source can be found on the Open Source Initiative Homepage. What open resources (if any) have you used in your classroom? If you do not have your own classroom, have you witnessed open resources being used?
2. Under The Free Software Definition on the GNU Operating System website it says that “A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms. Thus, you [should] be free to redistribute copies, either with or without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for distribution, to anyone anywhere. Being free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not have to ask or pay for permission.” Thinking about the word [should], what types of problems do you think can occur when copying/redistributing information?
3. The article written by Sally Johnstone, Open Educational Resources Serve the World, states that “A major reason for sharing resources created for local communities is individuals’ desire to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. Other reasons relate to institutional goals and benefits.” In your own experience, what is the reasoning for using an open resource? Was it to help out those that are less fortunate within your school or community? Or was the source you used a great source that just happened to be an open resource?
4. The same article written by S. Johnstone talks about the “Connexions” project, which was created by Richard Baraniuk and his colleagues at Rice University. Do you find any of the Connexion material modules for secondary-school teachers useful? Could you use these modules in your own teaching? Why or why not?
5. The essay written by Nikola Bezroukov titled Open Source SoftwareDevelopment as a Special Type of Academic Research (Critique of VulgarRaymondism) was written to "...forewarn open source developers about theproblems of working on open source projects, and reduce some of thefrustrations." What problems did Bezroukov discuss? Do you agree with him,or do you feel that he was too critical about open sources?
1. A definition of an open source can be found on the Open Source Initiative Homepage. What open resources (if any) have you used in your classroom? If you do not have your own classroom, have you witnessed open resources being used?
2. Under The Free Software Definition on the GNU Operating System website it says that “A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms. Thus, you [should] be free to redistribute copies, either with or without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for distribution, to anyone anywhere. Being free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not have to ask or pay for permission.” Thinking about the word [should], what types of problems do you think can occur when copying/redistributing information?
3. The article written by Sally Johnstone, Open Educational Resources Serve the World, states that “A major reason for sharing resources created for local communities is individuals’ desire to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. Other reasons relate to institutional goals and benefits.” In your own experience, what is the reasoning for using an open resource? Was it to help out those that are less fortunate within your school or community? Or was the source you used a great source that just happened to be an open resource?
4. The same article written by S. Johnstone talks about the “Connexions” project, which was created by Richard Baraniuk and his colleagues at Rice University. Do you find any of the Connexion material modules for secondary-school teachers useful? Could you use these modules in your own teaching? Why or why not?
5. The essay written by Nikola Bezroukov titled Open Source SoftwareDevelopment as a Special Type of Academic Research (Critique of VulgarRaymondism) was written to "...forewarn open source developers about theproblems of working on open source projects, and reduce some of thefrustrations." What problems did Bezroukov discuss? Do you agree with him,or do you feel that he was too critical about open sources?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuesday October 21, 2008 Week 8 By neal Prince
Week 8 Summary by Neal Prince
Thank You everyone for this weeks postings. This weeks readings were difficult in terms of the topic "open sources". It is a term that is new to me as well as everyone that read the assignment and has blogged. It seems to me that everyone agrees that open sources is not applicable to work with in a K-12 setting. I agree with Lori and Theresa in saying that as educators using open sources even as as project can be quite difficult. If open sources are to be used to create software, a teacher that is up-to-date on his/her technology would seem lost. As Lori, Cori, Theresa and others have pointed out, open sources seem to be for computer engineers and whiz kids. as far as public edu K-12 we are not there yet. Speaking of public education(K-12), is a district going to invest in open software with so much uncertainty? Have the bugs and kinks been hammered out to prevent crashing and constant failing? Almost all of you saw more negatives than positives when dealing with open software. I agree with the majority in saying there is just too many negatives when it comes to open software. One of the negatives as Kathryn has pointed out is that in an open source everyone gets to contribute to the project or the creation of software. The"Community infrastructure is the particular licensing strategy for the Project" as Kapor cites. This is very uneasy for me because I feel that anyone that would like to contribute to the project has to be trained which takes time, effort and patients on both sides of the party. Open sources is a totally new concept to me as well as others. I don't see open sources being talked about and practiced on a wide scale for a long time. There are just too many uncertainty's that comes with this concept.
Here are the questions for this weeks blog. Remember you don't have to answer all questions.
Thank You everyone for this weeks postings. This weeks readings were difficult in terms of the topic "open sources". It is a term that is new to me as well as everyone that read the assignment and has blogged. It seems to me that everyone agrees that open sources is not applicable to work with in a K-12 setting. I agree with Lori and Theresa in saying that as educators using open sources even as as project can be quite difficult. If open sources are to be used to create software, a teacher that is up-to-date on his/her technology would seem lost. As Lori, Cori, Theresa and others have pointed out, open sources seem to be for computer engineers and whiz kids. as far as public edu K-12 we are not there yet. Speaking of public education(K-12), is a district going to invest in open software with so much uncertainty? Have the bugs and kinks been hammered out to prevent crashing and constant failing? Almost all of you saw more negatives than positives when dealing with open software. I agree with the majority in saying there is just too many negatives when it comes to open software. One of the negatives as Kathryn has pointed out is that in an open source everyone gets to contribute to the project or the creation of software. The"Community infrastructure is the particular licensing strategy for the Project" as Kapor cites. This is very uneasy for me because I feel that anyone that would like to contribute to the project has to be trained which takes time, effort and patients on both sides of the party. Open sources is a totally new concept to me as well as others. I don't see open sources being talked about and practiced on a wide scale for a long time. There are just too many uncertainty's that comes with this concept.
Here are the questions for this weeks blog. Remember you don't have to answer all questions.
- According to Mitchell Kapor, what is open source software? Give some examples that Kapor describes in his article.
- What are some positives and negatives of an open source project?
- If you were to consider an open source project what will be some important questions you would like to know? Do you find your questions similar to Kapor’s? How?
- In Brad Wheeler’s article Open Source 2007, he states that they are two scenarios: #1 Open source becomes mainstream and #2 few open source application matter. After reading both scenarios which view do you agree with? Why?
- After reading Kapor’s and Wheelers articles, do you see open source in public schools in the near future? What are the negatives? What are the positives, if any?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)