Comments on: Web 2.0, the meltdown, and education http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/10/16/web-20-the-meltdown-and-education/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=web-20-the-meltdown-and-education Thoughts About Empowering Students with Technology Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:39:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Tony Searl http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/10/16/web-20-the-meltdown-and-education/comment-page-1/#comment-74393 Tony Searl Sun, 28 Dec 2008 07:32:51 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/?p=452#comment-74393 Glad my NSW DET are circumspect, some say lagging, but they will provide a 1.4 million user network with their own suite of supported web2.0 tools and apps launching in 2009. Not open source or cutting egde gizmos BUT at least all users will learn a common language and have a community to engage with using these tools. Sure its still a walled garden, paid for by govt funds BUT it will still be here next year and for the next ten. I feel comfortable that this pace is sufficient. Glad my NSW DET are circumspect, some say lagging, but they will provide a 1.4 million user network with their own suite of supported web2.0 tools and apps launching in 2009. Not open source or cutting egde gizmos BUT at least all users will learn a common language and have a community to engage with using these tools.

Sure its still a walled garden, paid for by govt funds BUT it will still be here next year and for the next ten. I feel comfortable that this pace is sufficient.

]]> By: Sylvia Martinez http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/10/16/web-20-the-meltdown-and-education/comment-page-1/#comment-56114 Sylvia Martinez Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:44:40 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/?p=452#comment-56114 Hey Bill - It's never too late to say something smart! And this really shines the light on one of the problems in using Web 2.0 in education. Sure, free is fun and cool for a project a single teacher works on. If the specific app you use goes away next year, no harm done, you just adjust. In fact, since you had to do the legwork yourself, and you are probably energized about the stuff, you are a good candidate to find new things and integrate them into your classroom. But adoption on a larger scale, where lots of teachers in a school or district learn to use one particular tool, is no longer free. You've just spent a lot of time and money in training and deployment on something that you have control over. When it goes away you have to re-spend that money, and your teachers aren't going to be as happy to experiment. Hey Bill – It’s never too late to say something smart!

And this really shines the light on one of the problems in using Web 2.0 in education. Sure, free is fun and cool for a project a single teacher works on. If the specific app you use goes away next year, no harm done, you just adjust. In fact, since you had to do the legwork yourself, and you are probably energized about the stuff, you are a good candidate to find new things and integrate them into your classroom.

But adoption on a larger scale, where lots of teachers in a school or district learn to use one particular tool, is no longer free. You’ve just spent a lot of time and money in training and deployment on something that you have control over. When it goes away you have to re-spend that money, and your teachers aren’t going to be as happy to experiment.

]]> By: Bill Fitzgerald http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/10/16/web-20-the-meltdown-and-education/comment-page-1/#comment-56076 Bill Fitzgerald Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:47:02 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/?p=452#comment-56076 Hello, Sylvia, Coming late to the conversation here -- "Free" is a misnomer, and it's certainly not a business model. Every "free" service requires a time investment to learn how to use it, and most of them capture personal information that can be packaged and sold to data miners/advertising companies, if the "free" service isn't predicated on an ad-based revenue model. As Tom points out, the cost of open source is in training, and maintaining an infrastructure -- these are expenses that could be shared among schools/districts -- but, when you invest in the people within your organization/school (in the form of professional development and building internal capacity) you help insulate yourself and your tech infrastructure from the vagaries of a market that does little more than pay lip service to the needs of educators, students, and schools. Cheers, Bill Hello, Sylvia,

Coming late to the conversation here —

“Free” is a misnomer, and it’s certainly not a business model. Every “free” service requires a time investment to learn how to use it, and most of them capture personal information that can be packaged and sold to data miners/advertising companies, if the “free” service isn’t predicated on an ad-based revenue model.

As Tom points out, the cost of open source is in training, and maintaining an infrastructure — these are expenses that could be shared among schools/districts — but, when you invest in the people within your organization/school (in the form of professional development and building internal capacity) you help insulate yourself and your tech infrastructure from the vagaries of a market that does little more than pay lip service to the needs of educators, students, and schools.

Cheers,

Bill

]]> By: Eugene http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/10/16/web-20-the-meltdown-and-education/comment-page-1/#comment-55540 Eugene Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:43:42 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/?p=452#comment-55540 Nice article. Thanks. :) Eugene Nice article. Thanks. :) Eugene

]]> By: Megan Evander http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/10/16/web-20-the-meltdown-and-education/comment-page-1/#comment-55197 Megan Evander Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:58:49 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/?p=452#comment-55197 It is pretty sad right now, so many companies that schools are now using will go under this year. One that I always recommend to teachers is www.freewebs.com. I think they may make it through these times. Apparently it started with three brothers so maybe they can ride it out. It is pretty sad right now, so many companies that schools are now using will go under this year. One that I always recommend to teachers is http://www.freewebs.com. I think they may make it through these times. Apparently it started with three brothers so maybe they can ride it out.

]]> By: Tom Hoffman http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/10/16/web-20-the-meltdown-and-education/comment-page-1/#comment-55190 Tom Hoffman Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:12:13 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/?p=452#comment-55190 And specifically, Moodle FTW! And specifically, Moodle FTW!

]]> By: Tom Hoffman http://blog.genyes.org/index.php/2008/10/16/web-20-the-meltdown-and-education/comment-page-1/#comment-55189 Tom Hoffman Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:11:40 +0000 http://blog.genyes.com/?p=452#comment-55189 Everything costs something -- what do you want to invest in? I'd invest in building local capacity around open source software. That's the most recession-proof strategy. Everything costs something — what do you want to invest in? I’d invest in building local capacity around open source software. That’s the most recession-proof strategy.

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