Podcast Reflections #9

I find the open-source conversation very interesting because I don’t know a lot about it, but I know that I probably won’t buy Microsoft Office anymore. There are so many great open source programs available. I just worry that they won’t be compatible with Macs and moving files from Macs to PCs. I occasionally have difficulties with Microsoft. I guess I will just have to do some exploring when that time comes. On the Driving Podcast, Steve Hargadon talks about the open source world he has created. He said schools are clamoring for free software and resources because Kansas’ debt is huge. One place they are turning is open source. He says many schools are reluctant to change from already existing software because they have something established. Schools that are using this type of software didn’t use the original version, so they aren’t replacing anything. Steve noticed a lack of support of teachers/schools using or looking to use this software. So he created resources to help. The website is http://wiki.k12opensource.com/. On this site, there is information from the basics (what is open source) to success stories and lessons to go along with the software. It is designed to be a community supporting each other using open source. There is also a discussion forum to ask questions and talk to other educators. They also have a blog where different resources are highlighted, the entries are old, but the website says they are working on it again.