Brian Beck
This is a list of Open Source Educational Technology and Tools. It will be broken down into sections.
Download a free copy of Python in Education. Editor's note: this is an excerpt from Python in Education, a free report written by Nicholas Tollervey. I am going to answer a very simple question: which features of the Python language itself make it appropriate for education?
In a report conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Georgia Tech Research Institute there is a surprising outcome. The finding in government and industry point to he positive benefits of using Open Source Software. These benefits paint a proactive picture that translates to all areas in the public sector and that fits education perfectly as well.
U.S. report highlights positive elements of government open source adoption
My mother works for a small Montessori school in west Texas which I donated a number of Linux and Open Source Computers to. These computers, at the time, were designated for the older students ranging from 10-18 year olds. She recently informed me that they wanted to put a few of those computers in her classroom which worked with two to five year olds. She was looking for some more age appropriate learning games for her younger students. I was excited to give her a few simple lines of code to type in the terminal and just like that, she can have the pySioGame Suite installed for her students.
pySioGame is a suite of simple activities that offer a unique learning experience for younger children. These assignments are much more than "A for Apple, B for Ball." It dives into a much more diverse learning opportunity for young minds. Instead of just standard font and the letter "A," lessons show a mixture of font styles and font faces of the letter "A," showing that all of these shapes also can represent the letter "A." Likewise, instead of just "Ball for B," students are shown a large range of objects, places and concepts that start with the corresponding letters as well.
pySioGame has many other great math, writing, reading and other learning tools for young minds.
Ubuntu Linux is (http://ubuntu.com) the fastest growing Open Source operating system in the world. More users, ranging from individuals in third-world countries with very slow hand-me-down computers, up to the worlds fastest super-computers, have Ubuntu Linux running on them. An older, lightweight computer might have Xubuntu installed on it. Xubuntu is designed to run more smoothly on older hardware, cutting out the eye-candy for performance. Ubuntu and Ubuntu Server, and more geared for higher, cutting-edge systems and enterprise hardware and servers. One of the most beautiful things about Ubuntu Linux and Open Source Software is that you are free to change and modify as you see fit! It even says that on the disk itself!
This is where Edubuntu comes in. Edubuntu (http://edubuntu.com/) is the Ubuntu Linux Operating system but is packed full of learning tools and educational resources installed by default. The full setup can be ran from a DVD or even a USB stick with the operating system installed on it. Making the classroom a portable learning environment the student can take with them to other computers. If installed in a full computer lab, the instructor has tools to manage the full classroom from one location making classroom management more streamlined.
What is all this talk about Pie and Reptiles in Education these days? Well to help clear that up, it is the affordable credit card sized computer called the Raspberry Pi! And that Reptile? It's Python, the easy to learn, yet powerful Open Source programming language. The Raspberry Pi itself runs on a lightweight Linux operating system called Raspbin. Raspbin itself is packed full of fun learning programs and projects for any egger mind that wants to start playing and exploring.
Raspberry Pi and Python go hand in hand so well in education because of their flexibility and vast, knowledgeable Open Source Communities. Students of all levels, of all ages and spread out in many languages around the world can learn from, and share ideas with others. This helps the learning curve by making more resources available to all.
I'm currently enrolled in the Master's of Educational Technology program at Boise State University. I have a passion for the Open Source Mindset in Education. This includes not only Open Educationa...
