Thank you to all of my fellow classmates who have helped me to understand what open source is. I, like many others, had not heard of open source before this assignment. I was confused about the readings until I started to read my classmates responses. Thank you especially to Paul, who truly knows this topic well.
After reading some of the articles on open source, I can see the pros and cons of it. I like Melissa's analogy to cooperative learning. It is something that we as teachers strive to do in the classroom and isn't that what open source is doing. Open source allows many people to locate and improve the bugs found in programs. And isn't more ideas better than one idea?
I can also see many educational benefits from open source in the future. To be able to have a program that truly fits the needs of my students and my curriculum would be wonderful. I realize this is still a thought for the future (since open source is still not perfected), but I like the possibilities open source brings. I also see the benefit to schools if they can get similar programs to meet their needs, only find them cheaper than the original program. This would help many districts that struggle to find the funds needed to make their district technologically advanced.
I also see some of the drawbacks to open source. I still question the fact that it is sometimes unclear who is making the improvements. Are the "improvements" making a program easier or are they just adding more or different problems? Do we know who the people are that are suggesting the changes in code? Are they experts and are they reliable?
I also feel that it is always going to be hard to stay current with technology. I am not sure if open source is going to help or hurt advancements in technology. It might help to make improvements at a faster rate, but isn't technology advancing at a fast rate already? How are we going to keep up with the advancements?
Open source is a topic that I will continue to learn more about now that I am aware of it. It will be interesting to watch if it is a passing fad or if it is something that will hold on for a long time. I just hope that if it is around for a long time, it will bring benefits to the education world.