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Free and Open Source Software in Education

Free and Open Source Software in Education. By Edwina, Luke and Tania. Welcome.

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Free and Open Source Software in Education

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  1. Free and Open Source Softwarein Education By Edwina, Luke and Tania

  2. Welcome Thank you for watching our presentation today about Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Our aim is to introduce FOSS to educators and explain why it can be a better alternative to traditional software options. We were going to examine how FOSS can be used like a social network to allow learning to occur through collaboration and modification but as none of us are expert in the area we took on board the feedback we received and have decide to approach FOSS simply as educators and look at the practical applications of it more closely. We will look at how FOSS can be used in Primary and Secondary schools and hopefully provide some insight into the valuable resource that FOSS can be.

  3. What is FOSS? Free and open-source software is software that is liberally licensed. Because the source code is made available it grants users the right to: use study change and improve its design In the context of free and open-source software, free refers to the freedom to copy and re-use the software, rather than to the price of the software. Although a lot of FOSS can be obtained free of charge, always make sure to confirm this before you download it.

  4. Why should teachers use it? The benefits of open source software to teachers, students and places of education are many. With open source software your school can take control of its computer resources and manage its IT future. Some of the biggest benefits are as follows: Lower total cost of ownership Greater learning of concepts rather than products Lower costs for students' home systems Customisation Works well on older hardware

  5. Why FOSS is better than Proprietary Software This ideology of collaboration and accessibility underlying FOSS makes a lot of sense in an educational context where learning is often the result of the open sharing of ideas, theories, studies and research. Yet throughout many school systems, the software in use on computers is closed and locked, making educators partners in the censorship of the foundational information of this new age. This software not only seeks to obscure how it works, but it also stores the users' data within closed, proprietary formats which can be changed on the whim of the vendor and which are protected by the End User License Agreement. This entrapment of data is a strong incentive to purchase the latest version of the software, regardless of whether it suits the educational purposes better and can take more of the school's limited resources away from the school's primary purpose. With the ever increasing number of fantastic FOSS available, it makes a lot of sense for schools and educators to move in this direction.

  6. Possible issues with FOSS FOSS does have a few issues that need to be considered before implementing it at your school. Training and time required Instructor-led classes can be hard to find and the instructor quality varies widely but if you're just looking for self-led training such as a book to help your users, you'll find it easily. Not as many support options Since FOSS is developed within a community there's no one central location for open source solutions and support. Attitude Old habits die hard! Most of these issues can be resolved with the investment in more tech support in schools and Professional Development. The cost of buying proprietary software would be better utilised in this way than an ongoing commitment to closed and limited software.

  7. An Open Source High School This video is a quite long (6:32mins) but it provides a valuable look at the first high school created using an open source philosophy. It’s called Open High School of Utah and demonstrates some of the benefits that open source can provide such as tailoring classes to students needs, not being limited to text books and the ability to analyse student data effectively. Or watch it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sovve-j3xGk For a related video on why using open source is better than using traditional textbooks check out: http://www.youtube.com/user/opensourceway#p/u/7/OiyjhdTRiwo

  8. How to begin using FOSS You can start using FOSS on a smaller scale too. There are hundreds of open source tools covering almost every need a school could have from highly advanced accounting tools (GnuCash) to word processing (OpenOffice.org and AbiWord). All it takes is a little exploration. A great place to start is Open Educational Resources http://www.oercommons.org/ The following sites contain links to Open Source Software built specifically for the education and entertainment of K-12 students. Schoolforge Linux For Kids Or download a collection of Open Source Software from Open Disc. Open Disc

  9. The next step Our aim now is to look more specifically at some of the exciting FOSS that is available to teachers and how it can be used. Edwina will examine how FOSS can be used in a Secondary School context. Luke will examine how GCompris can be used in a Primary School context. For those who are already enjoying the benefits of FOSS you can gather together with like-minded individuals at Software Freedom Day. Events are held all around the world during September each year. Visit the link below for more information: http://softwarefreedomday.org/

  10. Open Source in a Secondary Context

  11. Open Source for Teachers: How To The idea of exploring open source can be overwhelming. Do I have time? How will I know what to do? What's good, what's not? This is a step-by-step guide to how you can learn about and design an assessment task using open source. The steps have been made concrete for you by using a Year 9 Humanities case study. The initial step: Don't be afraid!

  12. Step 1: Respond to an Educational Problem/Purpose Purpose: Create an assessment task for Year 9 Humanities about the events leading up to WWI and WWII. Context: A laptop classroom. The students have varied learning styles, which need to be catered for to increase engagement. The task needs to: Be engaging, student centered, require the use of laptops and provide a choice of activities, including individual or group work, which will measure the depth of student knowledge and understanding

  13. Step 2: Find a Solution Open Source Can Help... Enabling a large variety of programs supporting many learning activities Students have access to 1000's of programs Free Modifications can be made with source code Open Some students are excited by and talented in programming. This could be one student's task in a group assignment School tech support can do this BUT

  14. Step 3: Choosing Programs Choosing appropriate programs for your needs is the most important step It is no good to choose a program because it has exciting graphics or because your students are crazy about it unless it fits your needs In this Year 9 Humanities case study, we have chosen 3 programs to suit our needs We needed three different programs because we wanted a variety of types of assessment to suit a range of learning styles – this is a reality with open source!

  15. Step 3: Choosing Programs Where You Can Find Open Source... Follow the link to this site to find a list and description of many open source programs that has been specifically compiled because of their relevance to education. http://cc.com.au/free-software-for-schools Here are a couple of other sites. On these you will be able to search amongst 1000's of open source programs – these sites are comprehensive, but not specifically targeted to educators. http://sourceforge.net/ http://freecode.com/ Click HEREfor a list we have compiled and categorised of open source programs that you could use!

  16. Step 3: Choosing Programs Assessment Choice 1: FreeMind Open source mindmapping for all operating systems Click Here to Download Strengths of FreeMind include: *Easy and quick to use Great for visual learners *Can be used in all subject areas By all ages *Can write in words or insert pictures *Similar to Inspiration, but with all the benefits of open source. Basic Example Using FreeMind

  17. Step 3: Choosing Programs Assessment Choice 2: Celtx Open source multimedia pre-production tool: Script writing, Story-boarding, Comic books and more! Click Here to Download Some strengths of Celtx: *Great for creativity *Multifunctional – can be used for many tasks and subject areas *Simple-complex projects and ideas can be achieved by students *Multiple functions can be used for one project, ie. Filmmaking, or single functions, ie. Comic strip *Students are able to insert their own hand drawings or photographs Storyboard example using Celtx

  18. Step 3: Choosing Programs Assessment Choice 2: CyberTester Open source program for the creation of online tests Click Here to Download Some strengths of Cyber Tester: *Students are able to create the tests and 'share' them with each other – test creation will increase depth of understanding *Simple and quick to use *Also great for teachers *Could be used as revision for homework with instant feedback for students Test question creation using CyberTester

  19. Step 3: The Assessment Tasks The students will be given the following instructions and options in their assessment: “The purpose of this assignment is for you to show your knowledge and understanding of the causes leading up to both WWI and WWI” “You must show your understanding by completing one of the following tasks: Use FreeMind to create a detailed mindmap including words, images and references Use Celtx to create a comic, storyboard or short film (you may work in a group for this task if you choose) Use CyberTester to create an online test that will assess your partner on their knowledge and understanding (they will make one for you too!)” Please Note: Students are also provided with detailed assessment criteria to guide them in the tasks

  20. Step 4: Technicalities How to manage the technicalities... You're a teacher, It's your job to teach! If you can help the students with technical issues then that's great, but if you can't here's what to do: 1. Show the students how to find solutions to problems by helping them to access relevant online tutorials and understand and apply information. This teaches them a life skill! 2. Let students teach students by allowing technologically knowledgeable students to troubleshoot 3. Enlisting the help of the school tech support team. If your school doesn't have one, you could make a proposal to your principal to go 'open source' and use the money the school saves on technical people power!

  21. Open Source in a Primary Context

  22. Open source software as a learning tool in primary education The use of digital games for learning is fast becoming a popular trend in educational technology. Hardly a week goes by without some professional periodical, magazine article, news item or television segment that makes mention of the educational potential of games (Becker, 2007, p. 478).

  23. Games for learning To play a digital game is to plug oneself into a cybernetic circuit. Any particular game-event is realised through feedback between computer components, human perception, imagination and motor skills, and software elements from virtual environments to intelligent agents (Giddens, 2005, p.115).

  24. Open source software as a learning tool in primary education The use of digital games for learning is fast becoming a popular trend in educational technology. Hardly a week goes by without some professional periodical, magazine article, news item or television segment that makes mention of the educational potential of games (Becker, 2007, p. 478).

  25. Games for learning To play a digital game is to plug oneself into a cybernetic circuit. Any particular game-event is realised through feedback between computer components, human perception, imagination and motor skills, and software elements from virtual environments to intelligent agents (Giddens, 2005, p.115).

  26. Games are effective not because of what they are, but because of what they embody and what learners are doing as they play a game e.g. the process of cognitive disequilibrium and resolution. • Interacting with a game requires a constant cycle of hypothesis formulation, testing, and revision. • There are numerous other areas of research that account for how and why games are effective learning tools, including anchored instruction, feedback, behaviourism, constructivism, narrative psychology, and a host of other cognitive psychology and educational theories and principles (Van Eck, 2006, p. 5).

  27. Open source software – GCompris To access and download GCompris: http://gcompris.net/-en-

  28. The primary learning perspective GCompris is a high quality educational software suite comprising of numerous activities for children aged 2 to 10.

  29. GCompris offers a range of early learning literacy and numeracy activities which include: • Computer discovery: keyboard, mouse, different mouse gesture. • Algebra: table memory, enumeration, double entry table, mirror image. • Science: the canal lock, the water cycle, the submarine, electric simulation. • Geography: place the country on the map • Games: chess, memory, connect 4, oware, sudoku • Reading: reading practice. • Other: learn to tell time, puzzle of famous paintings, vector drawing, cartoon making.

  30. Students are able to engage and interact with a variety of literacy and numeracy activities that provide visual and cognitive stimulation.

  31. GCompris at work The interface: Click here ~ The educational value: Click here ~ Student interaction: Click here ~

  32. GCompris is available in more than 50 languages including Somali, Tamil and Malayalam. • The free software is a great help for little languages, because, in the course of the development the ability to make a national version is an important aspect. • The potential gains to primary school children include improved motor skills, enhanced mathematical thinking, increased creativity, higher scores on tests on critical thinking and problem solving, and increased scores on standardised language assessments (Bako, M. and Aszalos, L., n.d., p.1).

  33. Given that benefits of FOSS in elementary education are known, it is paradoxical that FOSS usage for teaching computers in schools is minimal today. This is mainly due to lack of awareness about FOSS education resources and non-availability of teaching material, trained teachers and maintenance support team. Most schools rely on proprietary software, off the shelf textbooks and outsource computer education to a third party provider (Baru, M., Khan, F. and Iyer, S., 2010, p.1).

  34. Conclusion Open source is the future of software in education It broadens access to a variety of educational programs as they are available to anyone with access to the internet for free We have shown you examples in both primary and secondary contexts where open source is easy to use and support a variety of learning activities and styles Why would you ever go back?! Thanks for watching our presentation. We hope to see open source continue to grow in your schools!

  35. References: Bako, M. and Aszalos, L. (n.d.). Play and learn with GCompris. University of Debrecen, College Faculty of Education 4220 Hajd´ub¨osz¨orm´eny, D´es´any Istv´an u. 1-9. Baru, M., Khan, F. and Iyer, S. (2010). Computer Masti: Use of FOSS for teaching computers in Indian primary schools. Department of Computer Science and Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Becker, K. (2007). Digital game-based learning once removed: Teaching teachers. British Journal Of Educational Technology, 38(3), 478-488. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00711.x Giddings, S. (2005). Playing with non-humans: digital games as techno-cultural form. In: Proceedings of DiGRA 2005 Conference: Changing Views - Worlds in Play, 16-20 June 2005, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Van Eck, R. (2006). This article will be published in Digital game-based learning: it's not just the digital natives who are restless…. EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 41, no. 2 (March/April).

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