Google Documents: An alternative to Writely
November 28, 2006
Documents (and spreadsheets) can be uploaded, edited and shared online. Nothing to download, easy interface, and free.
Gender Issues in Open Software
November 11, 2006
The University of Cambridge folks researched the role of gender in the use of open source software. According to their report published in March 2006, there is a huge discrepancy between female and male use of free and open software. More specifically, only %1.5 of the community members is female! “Women are actively excluded rather than passively disinterested” (p.5). I found one of the findings of this study really tragicomic “open source communities perpetuate a ‘hacker’ ethic, which situates itself outside the ‘mainstream’ sociality, but equates women with that mainstream” (p.5). And yet, some thinks that open source movement is about democracy, social equity, technological improvements, Web 2.0, etc, etc…
Here is the link to the full report:
http://www.flosspols.org/deliverables/FLOSSPOLS-D16-Gender_Integrated_Report_of_Findings.pdf
IHMC CMap Tools
August 7, 2006
As a visual learner like many others, one of the software programs I love to use for my work is Inspiration. “CMap Tools” is the grown-up version of Inspiration, concept mapping software. Its website is designed like a concept map:
I have installed it on both PC and Mac computers, and the program worked fine on both platforms.
It is possible to share concept maps with the others via CMap servers, collaborate, search and browse other maps. Some of the papers on CMap can be found at the following URL:
http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications
Here is CMap in action:
First Posting!
August 2, 2006
This blog is to address free and open source software that can be used in educational settings.
