The Open EDge

Today I was referred to this excellent article by a high school senior from Plano Independent School District in Texas, entitled Open Minds with Open Source (page 46, should your browser not automatically take you there.) It was written by Alex Hirsch, son of Plano ISD's Jim Hirsch, who is a long time open-technologies advocate and former board chair of CoSN. I was particularly taken with his perspectives on open content and invasive copyright enforcement in our digital age:

It is at this point that we must look to the government, as well as large institutions and libraries of knowledge, to continue the march forward, not only to get the information out there, but to ensure true availability. That means no more proprietary formatting and no more invasive digital rights management. We need to unite under a common front of distribution before the system can really work to its fullest; it all starts with cooperation on a global scale.

Music to the ears of many of us who have been for so long preaching the gospel of openness and freedom. How refreshing it is to read that the next generation - the future of America - not only understands, but seeks to right the ship and set a course that might just restore this nation's great legacy of creativity and innovation.

And yet, many would disagree with Alex. Many still believe that the knowledge ownership model is superior. To them Alex offers this warning:

While I admit Wikipedia may be much more enjoyable for some than "Intro to Physics" or Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, the fact is they all hold equal potential for education, and should be as equally available to students. The danger lies in that if one is easier to obtain than the other, students are much more likely to opt for the easier option, and may miss out on experiencing fundamental concepts of science and literature.

Alex's words speak volumes to the demands of 21st century learners in an age of ownership and control and, while I think he could go further in his call for fundamental change in the education environment, I applaud his thoughtful vision of an "open" future with unhindered access to knowledge and information.

Last Friday I had the pleasure of hosting a round table on the topic of open source software in education at Technology and Learning's Tech Forum West in Long Beach, CA. Our lively discussion included K-20 classroom teachers and IT people from both education and industry. Topics truly ran the gamut of open source, including desktop applications, security, deployment, perception, web applications like Moodle, and ultra-mobile devices like the Asus EeePC.

It's a little noisy, but I hope you enjoy the recorded discussion and, more importantly, will share your thoughts on the topic!

Download mp3

OK, so it's been a year since I dared to float the controversial idea that interactive whiteboards are little more than a big, expensive white mouse, whose functionality can easily be replaced by far less expensive solutions (see my prior post, "Is the debate over the value of interactive whiteboards really about the boards?") I received tons of feedback from a variety of sources, which did little to sway my view of them. Most from proponents were testimonies of increased student engagement, etc., etc., very similar to those I mentioned in the prior post, all subjective and lacking in any real data. Even Smart's favorite "evidence" of student achievement from the EU is vague at best, listing their boards as one of a number of technologies (emphasis on the words "one of") that were implemented. Then there are the health risks, which are only just starting to surface.

Don't get me wrong, I too can appreciate the value of including a variety of media types when explaining a key concept or working through a problem,

Throughout the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to present a number of sessions and panels related to Web 2.0 and social networking in education at several conferences, including the Consortium of School Networking Professionals K12 School Networking Conference in Washington D.C., the Computer Using Educators conference in Palm Springs, CA, and the Community College Foundations's TechEd 2008 in Ontario, CA. If you attended my sessions, thank you very much! It was thrilling to see so many educators excited and engaged in the discussion about the potential of Web 2.0 in schools. I personally believe that social networking tools can change the way we think about educational content creation, student and teacher interaction, collaborative, project based learning, and 21st century skills as a whole.

I have already posted some great social networking related content on this site (like here, here, and here), but, for those of you with whom I have been unable to connect, I thought I'd post a recording of the session. Enjoy!

[ Download - audio/mp3 ]

Below is a list of a few of my favorite open source applications for the desktop. Most are available for any platform, and many are available on the OpenDisc for Windows systems (which you can download here, or, if you are a Saugus employee, simply ask and we'll send you one.) It's important to keep in mind that these applications:

• Are free
• Can be given to students to install and use at home
• Offer educators the opportunity to introduce new technologies in their educational environement
• Provide essential skills that are transferrable to applications of similar types in the commercial world

Each year, the Consortium of School Networking Professionals (CoSN) holds the premier national technology leadership conference dedicated to policy and effective implementation from school district, state and national perspectives. The conference attracts more than 1000 key technology decision-makers seeking to learn from other leaders as we define the future of information and communication technologies in our nation's schools.

As a part of this excellent conference, I was offered the opportunity to lead a session entitled "Virtualization and Consolidation: The 21st Century Network Infrastructure," in which I covered a variety of topics related to server and storage virtualization.

Enjoy! (approx 1 hr.)


Download mp3

Wow - it's been a busy couple of weeks out there in conference-land, with CUE and CoSN back-to-back this year. I was personally involved in a total of 7 presentations and panels on both coasts across the two conferences. On Friday afternoon at CUE, Steve Hargadon hosted a live panel on Social Networking in Education (on the EdTechLive channel on Ustream.tv.) Panelists included:

• Jim Klein (Me) - Director of Information Services & Technology, Saugus Union School District
• Sylvia Martinez - President, Generation Yes
  
• Dennis O'Connor - Consultant/Program Coordinator, E-Leaning & Online Teaching, University of Wisconsin-Stout
• David Jakes - Instructional Technology Coordinator, Community High School District 99, Downers Grove, Illinois
• Mark Wagner - President, Education Technology& Life Corp.

We had a lively discussion with a great group on the merits of social networking in K12 education - I hope you enjoy it. Running time: approx. 60 minutes.