C&I 335 Computer-Assisted Instruction
Activity 6 Open Source Marty Sierra-Perry
C&I 335 Computer-Assisted Instruction
Last Monday, when a few of us were "talking" about the
reading and cathedrals and bazaars, I couldn't help but feel that what
we were talking about in terms of education is constructivist teaching
and learning, akin to the Japanese Quality Circles. In each case, students/workers
are encouraged to bring their understanding into the conversation in learning/problem-solving.
Creating an environment that enhances shared learning and presents an expectation
that all players have legitimate ideas to bring to the learning/problem
solving process spurs on new
learning/product development. "New truths" are discovered
and explored. Chip mentioned in one of his responses that much of the chemistry
he studied in school has been forgotten and that which he remembered was
no longer true.
In a recent article in The Atlantic Monthlyauthored
by Peter Drucker"Beyond the Information Revolution" regarding e-commerce,
I find connections with want he says about the "mental geography" created
by the railroad during the Industrial Revolution and through the computer,the Knowledge workers of the Information Revolution. Invention and innovation are the accepted mind-set;open source provides the means. Drucker also suggests that fifty
years from now "we may well conclude that there was no 'crisis of American
education" in the closing years of the twentieth century---there was only
an incongruence between the way twentieth-century schools taught and the way twentieth-century children learned." (50)
Open source is more than giving students the answer key--the
cathedral;it is giving them the bazaar-- the environment to create new
questions.
New thoughts added at a later date. . .
I have since re-visited this topic, and re-read an article
published in MacTech, August 1999, titled "Open Source on the MacIntosh."
While I like the sense of democracy that hangs upon the expression "open
source," I think in terms of educators that this will be an additional
expectation on our part to create software that aligns better with our
instructional styles and content expectations. I enjoy trouble shooting
the Mac as much as the next person, but I know that it would take me longer
than a programmer to set up a program I wanted. While open source
prevents one from reinventing the wheel, and encourages creativity, I think
that knowing a little about debugging a program using Darwin (Mac)
or Linux empowers me. I would be more than just a critical consumer.
This site had additional references which I will list here.
| Open Source Definition | http://www.opensource.org/osd.html |
| GNU General Public License | http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html |
| Free Software Foundation | http://www.fsw.org |
| Apple Public Source | http://www.publicsource.apple.com |
| Apple Launches Darwin | http://www.apple.com/pr/library/1999/mar/16opensource.html |
Return to MS-P's e-Portfolio