Open Source Alternatives

Tight budgets mean that education technology directors must make wise use of the dollars allocated to technology. I have found success investing the dollars in quality hardware and infrastructure. I like to save money by using high-quality open source alternatives to commercial software.

One example is creating PDFs. Granted Adobe Acrobat is MUCH, MUCH more than a pdf creator. In my experience most office staff and many teachers simply use Adobe Acrobat to convert documents to pdf format. There are several web-based and open source alternatives for that simple task. At a savings of $30 to $50 per workstation, that's significant.

You can find open source alternatives at Open Source Alternatives. Be sure to add their news page to your RSS reader.

KP

Tags: opensource, open-source, paccio

Legislation Introduced to Ban Cell Phones in PA Schools

I first read about this on Gates' TipLine.

Pennsylvania legislators introduce bill to ban cell phones in schools. I can't wait to hear the rationale. I just don't believe that parents will supportive of this bill.

The portable telephone has changed the way we do things. It's just too tightly knit into our daily lives.

From House Bill 1245 of 2007:

10     Section 1.  Section 1317.1 of the act of March 10, 1949
    11  (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, added
    12  December 22, 1989 (P.L.749, No.103), is amended to read:
    13     Section 1317.1.  Possession of [Telephone Pagers] Electronic    
   14  Devices Prohibited.--(a)  The possession by students of
    15  telephone paging devices, commonly referred to as beepers,
    16  cellular telephones and portable electronic devices that record    
   17  or play audio or video material shall be prohibited on school
    18  grounds, at school sponsored activities and on buses or other
    19  vehicles provided by the school district.
    20     (b)  The prohibition against beepers and cellular telephones   

---

     1  contained in subsection (a) shall not apply in the following
     2  cases, provided that the school authorities approve of the
     3  presence of the beeper or cellular telephone in each case:
     4     (1)  A student who is a member of a volunteer fire company,
     5  ambulance or rescue squad.
     6     (2)  A student who has a need for a beeper or cellular     
    7  telephone due to the medical condition of an immediate family
     8  member.

It will be interesting to see the discussion on this one.

Tags: cell phones, school law

OLPC Program Featured on 60 Minutes

Last evening on CBS television show "60 Minutes" featured Nicholas Negroponte and the One Laptop per Child program.

At one moment in the show Leslie Stahl asks about the students who don't know how to use a computer. Negroponte suggests that perhaps the teacher is optional.

Negroponte’s idea was that kids don’t need teachers to learn the how to use the computer. They can pick it up by experimenting on their own – with help from a friend.

"That is what we are doing… is that that kid is showing this kid – that is key," he says.

"They get it instantly. It takes a 10-year-old child about three minutes."

When Stahl asks if he means children who have never used any computer before, Negroponte responds, "Children who’ve never, in some cases, seen electricity."

Many educators would have trouble with some of those statements. I'll just add a few questions.
1. Who is teaching 100 million people to create MySpace pages?
2. Who is teaching the tens of millions of text messengers who vote on American Idol?

I believe that people can learn to use a device if there is a need or desire to do so. Can they learn to use it effectively as a learning tool? There is certainly a need for a well-trained, inspired educator to help students use a computer as an effective learning tool.

We all know that the most important element in learning is an excellent teacher. In addition to an excellent teacher, what one thing, one resource, one device would you like to provide to every single student? I think the answer is clear.

All aboard!!

KP

Tags: OLPC, laptop, one-to-one, paccio

The Reach of Edubloggers

I'm continually amazed at the reach of some edubloggers or bloggers in general.
I'm relatively new to the 'blogosphere'. (Silly term) It seems that many bloggers, vets and rookies, all link to and read much of the same things.

Here's a challenge: find an edublogger's blogroll that DOESN'T have Will in it.

Miguel started an initiative to find some hidden gems in the education blog arena. I think it has tailed off. Sometimes I struggle to blog. The audience is reading the same or similar messages that I am.

Recently, with PA's Classrooms for the Future initiative I've "found" some Pennsylvania bloggers who are very worthy of my blogroll and yours.

Jen Dorman is a very active in the DEN network.
Kristin Hokanson is a dynamic voice. You'll enjoy her finds.

Now, will you find two fresh voices that belong in our blogroll and comment here??

KP

Tags: Classrooms for the Future, edublog, paccio

Multimedia Apps are the Latest Web 2.0 Victim

I'm going to date myself with this post. Of the two or three blog subscribers I have, I know of one other who can say they were a fan of HyperCard. Remember HyperCard. What COULDN'T you do with that application??

HyperCard then faded with the rise of HyperStudio. HyperStudio was a cool application too. Students really loved to create multimedia projects. The one drawback was sharing the projects. Posting to the web was always cumbersome in that you needed a browser plug-in.

Zoho Notebook caught my eye a few months ago. They've really done a nice job with it. Today Miguel sheds some light on Scrapblog. Watch the Scrapblog tour. I now have a new favorite web 2.0 application.

Scrapblog looks well on it's way to digital storytelling where the technology is nearly transparent. NICE!

KP

Tags: multimedia, web 2.0, paccio

PA Educators to Gather at NECC 2007

Calling all PA educators who are planning to attend NECC 2007 in Atlanta. Please visit the PaNECC wiki and let everyone know you're attending.

Be sure to visit the PaNECC wiki before and during NECC to share your treasures and finds at NECC. Remember, subscribe to the wiki in your aggregator (Bloglines, Google Reader, Netvibes, etc.) to get up to the moment additions to the site!

Thanks to Kristin for helping to make the PaNECC wiki a useful resource.

See you in HOTlanta!

KP
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Image Citation:
V, Zach. “Untitled” Zach V's Photostream, 3February 2006, http://www.flickr.com/photos/vez483/95180875/

Tags: NECC07, NECC2007