Week 11: Open Source Software

Open source software is common softwares found for free to download, legally, on the internet. Open source initiative, the open source website, tells us that open source software has free distribution, maintains the integrity of the author, and doesn't discriminate. One good example of an open source software is "OpenOffice", which is the downloadable version of Office. Gimp and Audacity are also examples of open source software. Professor Wayer showed the class how to find and evaluate the reliability of open source products. Our class posted their individual opinions of open source software on a forum. Many views were mixed feelings. Open source software carries its obvious benefit, cost efficiency, and its main downfall, the fear of viruses. Either way, technology and the world wide web are changing how software is used and obtained today.

Open source software, although I'm not 100% sure that I am comfortable with it, is a great resource for the field of education. In lower income school districts and even low-budget schools, the ability for teachers to obtain advanced software for free to share with students is a plus. This allows these students to stay up to date on technology even when their schools cannot afford the products. Office, for instance, can be expensive to put on every computer. However, this capability makes learning more versatile and computer education possible.

This video is from youtube.com. This glimpse from Inside Secrets does a great describing different software programs available for free on the web. I found it very interesting the "Firefox" is open source software. I feel that a lot of people may not have known that. Executive editor, Tom Merritt, shows how open source software works and gives a few more examples of the programs.