The availability of free software has impacted my classroom
instruction by adding activities that otherwise wouldn't be
available. First of all, and I hate to admit it, many of us would
purchase a small number of licenses for a specific program and end up
installing it on many more computers than we had paid for. This
brought up an ethical dilemma of whether it is more important to make
resources available for all students or infringing copyright laws.
Unfortunately in most cases, the copyright laws were broken. The good
news is that now with so many free programs available, we no longer
are put under that pressure. While I was teaching Computer Technology
classes, I used a lot of free applications. It enabled me to
opportunity to give students a greater experience of different
programs.
How does it alter your expectations of student productivity?
The incoorperation of these resources has altered my expectations of
student productivity to some extent. By having more resources
available I can give students more choices in their assignments. They
now can choose between different activities and pick the one they are
most interested in. Therefore I expect better quality projects, when
they have more choice.
What software or services have you discovered that you use in your class?
Many companies, like Google, provide a lot of free applications. In
the Computer Technology classes, we used Google Earth and SketchUp. I
also used free programs like West Point Bridge Designer (http://
bridgecontest.usma.edu/) and Car Builder (Sorry, I couldn't find the
website for the free version, but I'll post it later if anyone is
interested.)
I have also used free demos and trial programs when needed.
for the past 4 years. I was using a free program called Personal
WebKit (http://www.personalwebkit.com/) for the school's website.
However the school district has once again purchased a web authoring
program, that they are making us use.
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