Further Reading

Ken Young .. located on the Yarranet server which is not usually too far away - has published an overview of how open source can be useful in community settings. Several worthwhile links and some valuable explanations.

CD's everywhere!

Here's a crowd who's put together a CD full of open source products. They call it "GNU-Win", and it's all the free alternatives to proprietary software - to run on MS Windows.

Also, the University of Sherbrooke, in Canada, has recently released a CD version of Mandrake Linux which is especially tailored for educational institutions.

.. and a similar one from India .. where the president has recently come out and declared that open source could help their country a great deal.

Governments go wild for GNU/Linux

Does anyone read (have time to read) the IT section in the Australian? This week they reprinted an article from the Economist changing the title to "Authorities worldwide move on open source".

The thrust of the article - that there is a movement among government bodies around the world to at least include open source technologies when considering the most suitable tools for any job. The city of Munich has switched all its desktops over to Linux, following China, India, Japan (as well as Mexico i believe). Munich made the decision even though "Microsoft even dropped its prices to match Linux—a remarkable feat since Linux is essentially free and users merely purchase support services alongside it".

The main issues seem to be

• the need to store public and official records in open standard formats that will endure and are supported by - rather than proprietary standards owned by private companies;

• the need for systems that have the best security available - and which enable programmers to change the code to increase security without having to call up the software vendor;

(here's an article in e-week on security - "It's really simple. Linux has OK security , Windows doesn't. "Any questions?" asks Linux Center Editor Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols. ")

All this at a time when the Australian Democrats are posting a bill to require all government technology contracts to at least consider the open source alternatives. Interesting - is the giant under threat? i've seen one ironic comment on a Linux board suggesting that MS' next move will be to repackage Linux as the new version of Windows.

"Australia lagging behind" according to educationau research

If you're looking for a fuller picture of this whole open source phenomenon .. Dr Kathryn Moyle has made a very full investigation, for "educationau limited" .. which is readable and thorough. (i won't link direct - you'll find it on the page, and you can choose between word/pdf)

She makes a strong comparison between the open standards movement which is driving things like the "SCORM" (Shareable Content Object Reference Model) in the context of the learning objects debate .. "Open source software and open standards then fit together like a 'hand in a glove'." (p12)

"Australia is lagging behind other OECD countries in considering the implications of open source software in government. The governments in UK, USA, Asia, South Africa, across Latin America and the European Union have commissioned reports or have government policies concerning the potential use of open source software." (p17) But nothing similar in Australia yet! - this paper includes a "brief scan" of what is happening across the nation in government and education.

There is a mention of Open Source Victoria's (OSV) new initiative - The Open Source Victoria Scholar Challenge - a competition open to secondary schools and students - hurry! Let your High School Computer Friends know! ENTRIES CLOSE 7 November 03.

(While you're on their site, be sure to look at their page on the "Benefits of Open Source in Education")

Dr Moyle refers to research by Gartner "a well regarded US based company that undertakes IT related research" - comparing performance of Linux and WindowsNT, among other things (p17):

2002	Linux	Windows NT
Horizontal scaling	Excellent	Deficient
Security	Acceptable	Deficient
Appliance pricing	Excellent	Acceptable

CHEF, Moodle, LON-CAPA, and FLE3 get the best review

It's a.c.r.o.nym city and there's plenty going on in the world of Learning Management Systems (LMS) ..

Rob Reynolds, over at xplana.com ('exploring how we can teach & learn with technology'), has just put together a review of Open Source Content Management Systems, which he refers to in his article "It Takes a Village to Build Good Software and Education". Well worth a read!

[quote]"My four recommended picks, CHEF, LON-CARA, Moodle, and fle3, are all testaments to inclusive development. openness to suggestion, and empowering the user community to have an active say in the process."[/quote]

I've also stumbled upon someone else's mailing list - to find a very good summary of what to think about when exploring options for an "LMS" - "WAOE-VIEWS" at Portland State Uni - Maggie McVay Lynch sets out three starting points including #2 "Begin your project with a plan to store everything in a database." So i'm glad that my plan includes learning about databases.

On the topic of LMS - the latest issue of 'SideBars' the e-zine from the Learning Resources Unit of the British Columbia Institute of Technology focusses on LMS. Glen Miller reviews CHEF and Bazaar 7.

People interested in the PageTurners "Snakes Alive!" project will be delighted to learn that we've finally ironed out the bugs - many thanks to all who gave such helpful feedback

Wiki wiki what?

Have been investigating the whole "wiki" phenomenon .. for example phpWiki - linked here at the OpenSourceCMS site. OpenWiki looks great but it uses different server systems "IIS" and "AsP" i think and i'm having enough trouble with "PHP" and "mySQL".

i think the Wiki could be very useful for a literacy or writing group - anyone can post comments or create new pages in a collaborative space.

Talk about the Aussie Cozzie!

Have built an 'add-your-comments' page into the beach website (well, read the story first) .. now all we need is a few visitors. Cheerio.

Photo gallery for learning English!

i'm very excited about a new open source script i've found .. to dynamically create a picture gallery! I think using images is vital for language learning - especially for a theme-based topic like the beach - people want to see the beach in front of their very eyes, and how relaxing is it to watch a beach scene! There are a few ideas for picture-gallery-related language-learning activities on the site - would be grateful if anyone has additional ideas.

There are many scripts for generating a picture gallery - you can search through sourceforge's treasure trove. The one i chose .. was the one i could get to work. Doesn't need a database, only some folders full of images, and pre-built thumbnails.

Drop us a line, will ya?

.. and yes, finally, dear reader, you can add to this growing stack of knowledge - yes i need you please. i'm finding out that learning craves community .. try out the AddYourComment page, and share with other readers what YOU've discovered in the worlds of OpenSource, interactive online communities, or scripting for web design.

This 'commenter' from GreatNexus isn't strictly open source, in fact its a commercial script that the author has released free for some users .. but i searched and searched, and it was the only one i could get to work.

Speaking of scripting - if you're a web designer interested in adding more interactivity to your site, the script collection at phpfreaks is a good place to start.