This week I am asked to share my thoughts on the free online tools which I can use in the development of an 'Open Educational Resource'. This week's section provided a useful summary of a wide variety of tools which can be used to develop and host content.
To comment on tools that I have worked with in the past:
- Audacity: This I used to create an a short audio clip. The challenge was finding a quick and user friendly tool to upload it with.
- GIMP: I actually only downloaded (and opened) this tool and never used it. In one of my previous roles, as a graphic designer, I always had access to the Adobe Suite and generally used Photoshop for photo editing and manipulation functions. Now without the same access I will be exploring this tool further. Photoshop Express looks like another tool I will explore as I create an OER.
- OpenOffice: Two years ago when buying a laptop (on somewhat of a tight budget) I opted out of my usual purchase of Microsoft Office and instead installed (free of cost) OpenOffice. To be honest I have only figured out how to use the word processor. My place of work uses the traditional Microsoft Office so I never cared to explore the open version further. A new tool I became aware of in this course is Scribus (apparently similar to InDesign).
- Drupal: Several years ago I managed a website using Drupal. I found this pretty easy to use and quickly got the hang of putting up new articles, images and polls. Then I designed an offline website using Adobe Dreamweaver, this I found fun, but of course it would be harder to manage a dynamic website with this versus using the CMS options.
- FireZilla: This is where I got stuck. I could use the Content Management Systems but could never figure out this part of uploading the information (this was quickly taken over by a colleague).
There are other tools which I would enjoy using more and learning about in the near future. Moodle and Elgg, part of the learning support system family.
In the organization I work for, the tools one can use when developing in-house training materials is subject to the creator. However, when it comes to developing online resources for our learners the process can be challenging to navigate. I foresee that most of the tools I will use, will be for personal projects and only in the future (perhaps) will I bring them into the workplace. Of course these can all be added into ones "toolbox". An ability to make use of these "free" applications makes creation fun, one is not limited, and more possibilities are created.
It seems that when I work with learners in the classroom the majority of the curriculum is predetermined (here we take into account the funders and stakeholders). However, as we promote continuous learning I can (and will) make student aware of the learning opportunities that OERs provide them.
Another important factor I have learnt - have a computer that can manage the use of these tools.
After reading the article "Creating, Doing, and Sustaining OER: Lessons from Six Open Educational Resource Projects", I conclude that it is important to keep adult education principles (or just education principles) in mind when developing an OER. An example was given in one of the case studies. It stated that the OER was too "content heavy". Some of the text was substituted with role plays, visuals and other activities and then this had a better effect overall.
Hi Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts about open source tools. I thought it was interesting that most of them were downloadable open source rather than cloud-based. For instance, I've used Audacity sparingly, but I have much more experience with Aviary's audio tools (http://advanced.aviary.com/) as well as its image editing tools. I wonder if this is a function of the "publication" of the text in 2008? Assuming it was written, say, a year before, perhaps the cloud-based tools weren't quite there yet?
Best,
Leah
Hi Leah,
DeleteInteresting observation! Perhaps it did have to do with the time I used the tools at.
I could definitely play catch up in my use of the cloud-based tools.
Jonathan
Serious iPad issues with variables including connectivity strength and iPad capabilities. I tried posting directly to your blog post Jonathan, but my iPad would not open the comment box. Somehow though I have to get my comments done. This is a lesson that educators (and others such as digital natives) have learned to deal with--knowing "work arounds". I could also not type directly into this reply box so I have typed this in my Notes App and pasted my text! (I am in the U.S. this week thus out of my normal environment but I am learning and figuring things out)
DeleteSo now to my actual reply :-)
The course, Intro to Emerging Technologies, that I took with George Siemens at the U of Manitoba a few summers ago, had us create accounts for many cloud programs, try them and evaluate their educational uses. I must admit that I don't even remember some of what I signed up for because I did not continue using them but some are invaluable for me in my teaching and learning on a daily basis. I am glad to see that there are cloud or free programs (not always cloud such as Open Office) available for creating OER for teaching and learning to allow everyone access to the learning and that some of these programs are of an in-depth calibre for photo editing and web design, etc., e.g., Aviary.
I am getting to my web design unit soon so will be trying Drupal. Thanks for your feedback on that tool. One that you didn't mention is Trello. I think it is fairly new. It is an interactive project management tool so would be useful in creating OER with a team.
Thanks for your post--I enjoyed reading it and will try some of the tools that you mention.
Eva