Open Source Software is EVERYWARE! BEWARE OF MALWARE!

 

As a former elementary teacher, my favorite resource was Teachers Pay Teachers. Teachers Pay Teachers is a community for teachers to share, sell/buy original educational resources. Once you buy the license, you are able to reuse, remix, revise, retain, and redistribute material as an OER (Open educational resource.) OERs are resources that are free with permission. Instead of racking my brain trying to build an activity from nothing, I would use this resource to save time and effort so that I could focus on the student’s learning. The only problem in calling this an OER is that it does not have the creative commons logo at the bottom of the web page. This is probably because not everything on the website will meet the criteria of the OER rubric.

Open source software (OSS) is software whose code is publicly viewable and modifiable, or otherwise “open.” If the code is not modifiable or viewable, then it is considered “closed” or “proprietary.” (Midrack, 20171) Freeware is a software program that is free of charge and can be limited.

Free software is not restrictive and allows users to freely do what they want with the program. (Fisher, 2018) The main difference of these two is that “freeware is cost-free software and free software is copyright-free software.” (Fisher, 2018, p. 1)

Commercial software is not free. It has to be purchased to be used. It usually does not rely on advertising for promotions. (Fisher, 2018) Where I work we use Banner. It is a purchased product and it does not have ads or promotions. It is strictly business.

Freemium (Free + Premium) programs come with a paid version of the same software and is used to promote the professional version. The paid version has more features than the free edition. (Fisher, 2018) I think of Kahoot! as one of these programs.

Shareware refers to software that allows you to used it for a limited free period only. It allows people to test out the product before they buy it. (Fisher, 2018) This item reminds of the free trials used with certain applications on the iPhone such as fitness apps.

Adware is software that is supported by advertisements to make money. (Fisher, 2017) This makes me think about the games my daughter plays on her tablet, to get hints on certain games, she has to watch an ad.

Nagware is software that tries to nag or annoy you into paying for something with pop ups or new features. Some other terms for this software are begware, annoyware, and nagscreen. (Fisher, 2017) This event happened to me the other day while trying to watch a movie on IMDB. I was trying to watch a movie and pop up kept showing on the screen asking for a payment. I tried to go back and declined the payment but it would not go away so, I switch apps to find another movie. Talk about ANNOYING!

Demoware stands for “demonstration software,” and is a shareware that allows you to sample the software for free for up to a limited amount of time. Trial software and crippleware fall into this category. (Fisher, 2017)

Donationware is a software that depends on donations to for the program to be useful much like the OER Commons public digital library. (Fisher, 2017)

With all the software that can be downloaded, there is danger of downloading malware with it. Malware, short for malicious software, is designed to damage, destroy, or steal your information and/or your computer system (Landesman, 2021). So, it is important to know how to safely download and install software.

References

 Weegeetnik. (n.d.). X, X everywhere - software, hardware, freeware, ... memegenerator.net. Retrieved January 29, 2022, from https://memegenerator.net/instance/27512699/x-x-everywhere-software-hardware-freeware-vaporware-abandonware-shareware-wiiware-everyware-

Midrack, R. L. (2021, March 8). What is open source software? Lifewire. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-open-source-software-4147547?print

Fisher, T. (2021, September 4). What is freeware? Lifewire. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.lifewire.com/freeware-definition-4154271?print

Fisher, T. (2021, July 10). What is shareware? Lifewire. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.lifewire.com/shareware-definition-4154860?print

Landesman, M. (2021, March 10). The first 25 years of malware. Lifewire. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.lifewire.com/brief-history-of-malware-153616

The Differences of Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0

 

When I became an educator in 2014, I knew that classroom teaching had changed with all the technological advances. Teaching with chalkboards, technology, and now platforms have names for them. They are called Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0. I, myself, find that my teaching model is between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. I am in this class to become a Web 3.0 educator.

Web 1.0 is mostly informational and does not allow the opportunity to share with others. According to Gerstein, “Education 1.0 is a type of essentialist, behaviorist education based on the three Rs – receiving by listening to the teacher, responding by taking notes, studying the text, and doing worksheets; and regurgitating by taking the same assessments as all other students in the cohort.” This model is one that most educators use in the classroom. I have to say that I was one of them. I would do my lecture using textbooks and whiteboard, ask questions to check for understanding, do a worksheet, play Kahoot! (same question on the quiz) and then give them a multiple-choice paper quiz. Although I knew students need differentiated learning I still used the one-size fits all mentality because there were so many different levels in my classroom and so little time to teach to four different groups.

Web 2.0 is more interactive and allows the students to use higher order thinking skills. I think of this as the early Facebook where the only point was to create a post, share it, and receive feedback. I remember being introduced to a classroom app called Seesaw. It allowed the students to create videos, take pictures, and share to the class using a device such as a tablet. It gave the teacher immediate feed back so that they could understand whether the students understood the lesson or if there were any misconceptions that needed reteaching. Students could also comment on others work. The teachers at my school received a short one-day mini lesson to introduce the app and show all the wonderful features but I didn’t implement it into my classroom due to lack of training, time, and resources. I had four i Pads and 22 students.  

Web 3.0 is internet service driven by algorithms that collect data. “The Intelligent Web” is what John Markoff of the New York Times in 2006 called it. When I think of web 3.0 I think of social media now and how you can google wrestling belts and then when you switch over to Facebook or Amazon, ads pop up showing you what you just googled because everything we do online is being tracked. It can be alarming but on the flip side when thinking about using Web 3.0 in education, it can have advantages.

The advantage is that students and educators don’t have to go an create things from scratch. Web 3.0 has already done it for you. The platforms have created full courses, personalized learning, polls, or advanced slide layouts for you so that your time can be spent on building knowledge versus time spent on finding and organizing information.

The disadvantage is that students and educators won’t have to use those skills and will lose them eventually. “Web 3.0 promises to allow users to find information and connect with it in more meaningful and efficient ways, but at what cost to the way students develop skills in researching and understanding information for themselves? Being aware of the pros and cons of Web 3.0 is the starting point to understand how we can take advantage of the benefits while guarding against the potential disadvantages of deskilling students and reducing their ability to discern the value of information for themselves.” (Evans, 2021)

Think about this. Why does Google, Kahoot!, Class Dojo, etc., have a free bundle in their packages? One, because advertisers pay for it. This reminds me of a blog I read that mentioned the cons of Nearpod. The con was that there were lots of ads. Two, I think the free bundle is to collect data to create new features that can be used in a purchased product. “The saying is if you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product.” (The Social Dilemma, 2002, Jeff Orlowski.)

 

Resources

Gerstein, J. (2014, November 25). Moving from Education 1.0 Through Education 2.0 Towards Education 3.0. Boise State University Scholar Works. Retrieved January 26, 2022, from https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1104&context=edtech_facpubs

Evans, Stephen. “How Web 3.0 Will Impact Higher Education: Digital Communications Team Blog.” Digital Communications Team Blog | Updates from the University of St Andrews Digital Communications Team, University of St Andrews, 5 Mar. 2021, https://digitalcommunications.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2021/03/11/how-web-3-0-will-impact-higher-education/.

The Social Dilemma. (2020). “If you’re not paying for the product, then you ARE the product. [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/Aucb5tJMi70

Kahoot!

 

Every year teachers begin the school year with professional development. While attending this professional development, they would end with a game called Kahoot! to summarize and quiz us on what we learned. I thought, this can be a fun way to review my students for their science quiz.

“Kahoot! Is a game-based learning platform that makes it easy to create, share, and play learning games or trivia quizzes in minutes.”

Creating a Kahoot is very easy. Many times, you can “discover” topics such as water cycle and many times you will find that someone has already created quizzes for this subject. If you don’t like some of the questions on the quiz, you can duplicate and edit it to make it your own. You can also start from scratch and click the create button.

When you sign up for Kahoot, you have several packages to choose from, but I have only used the Basic Kahoot! for quiz reviews.

To play Kahoot the players need to have a device such as a cell phone, tablet, or computer to access the Kahoot! To join the game, they must enter a unique PIN number. The host of the game will need a big screen to display the quiz questions and answer choices. When the game starts, the quiz questions will be displayed, and the player will answer on their own devices.

When I taught 1^st grade, I would announce that we were going to play Kahoot! and the students would get so excited. My classroom was loud and crazy but that showed me how much they were engaged.

I have used this tool when ending my Financial Aid presentations and they students are always engaged and having fun. Most of all I am surprised to see that many do well on the quiz, which tells me that they listened and learned something.

References

Kahoot. (2018). What is Kahoot!? [Video]. Youtube.

https://youtu.be/7XzfWHdDS9Q

Pricing plans and comparison. Kahoot. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2022, from Kahoot! plans for schools and businesses | Pricing