Monthly Archives: June 2005

Ineen? Where have you been?

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Back in April, I read a review of Ineen, a cross-platform, videoconferencing-enabled,open source, standards-compliant software package. Well the review was pretty good (only a few cons), but look at those buzz-words (“open source”, “standards-compliant”, etc.). So what happened to Ineen since this review?

The specs look great … it looks like it handles audio conferencing, distributing conferencing, video-conferencing (4 people at a time) and built-in call recording. This, spec-wise, certainly seems to beat Skype, although, yes, the approach is different.

So has anyone tried this? I’ve just installed it, and would love to try this out with someone. Anyone out there? Anyone? Anyone?

http://www.ineen.com

Update: Matthew informs me that this product is not open source at all. And looking at the EULA, it’s far from it. The Robin Good article claims I can’t find any mention of this product being open source on the Ineen site.

A Computer Geek’s History of the Net

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In what seems like a previous life, I was once a highschool English & history teacher, who later ended up teaching every computer-related course there was … and somehow ended up here. So it pleases me when I get to see my love of history and my love of technology combined.

A Computer Geek’s History of the Internet is a great resource I would see myself using in the highschool classroom. The resource points to some good links, and while the sequence is not totally complete in my mind (where’s blogging?), it certainly recollects key events.

Additionally, I see this as a natural wiki project. I would love to see my students, year after year, construct and collect historical perspectives related to the “progress” of technological development. Now, that could be an amazing resource ….

Open Source Software for Primary Schools

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Freeduc Primary, a live CD for primary school has recently been released. Freeduc is based on Knoppix and is, in short, a distribution of Linux that doesn’t require installation on a computer. As it is a Live CD, it runs right from the CD, and in this case, has many applications which are relevant directly to primary classrooms.

Of course, using a Live CD is beneficial as it requires less technical knowledge (just boot it up with your computer), and is usually able to get around any technical restrictions that have been setup on school computers (e.g., inability to install software). And of course, there is no cost to download and useFreeduc Primary. If you are a primary teacher, a parent of young children or someone involved in promoting technological integration, you need to check this out.

Moved to WordPress

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Well, if you are getting this post in your aggregator, that means the old feed’s xml redirect worked well. With the help of Raf at the Centre for Academic Technologies I have officially moved most of my blog to WordPress. The web URL is the same (http://www.educationaltechnology.ca/couros) but the new feed address is http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/feed/.

It’s my intention to move to as much open source software in both my personal and professional life, and since I’ve been using WordPress for just about every other blog I have set up, this is not big surprise. I just hope that in the transition, I have not lost any readers out there as I’m always very pleased to have known and unknown participants lay down their thoughts. See you on the other side.

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Peanut Butter Wiki

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This looks like a popular new(er) wiki service. Peanut Butter Wiki allows users to create password protected wikis. If you know how a wiki works, this one is easy to setup and just as easy to use. Looks like a great starter for people wanting to try out a wiki, but not having the know-how or resources to setup their own server installation.

Listen & Type Transcription Tool

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I’ve been a bit slow on the blogging front these days as I have been immersed in Skype interviews for my open source study. Although the interviews have been extremely enjoyable, transcribing audio has never been my favorite activity.

However, I’ve recently discovered Listen & Type, a great transcription tool that has been making my life much easier. Listen & Type is shareware available for Mac users, and it’s basically a tool that allows me to easily control audio playback (start, stop, back, etc.) without having to leave the keyboard or the application.

This application may have been out for a while, and there are likely other ones out there that are as good or better, but it works fine for exactly what I need so I was happy to pay the $20 shareware license fee. If there are other tools out there, I would love to know. If not, this is a good one.

Update: Heather Ross was quick to point out that she has been using Transcriva. SO, I downloaded it, installed it and figured it out in about 3 minutes, and I must say, I already prefer Transcriva to Listen & Type. Transcriva is free to use, although to get full functionality, and to get rid of some watermark issues, you can pay the roughly $27 Canadian for it. Looks like a good buy. Thanks Heather!

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Crash Ballet 3: Joe Enjoys Yelling

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Crash Ballet is a series of contests focused on having participants remix public domain media into innovative new versions, often amusing. The latest installment (Crash Ballet 3) is focused on taking stills from a 1953 Encyclopedia Brittanica filmstrip and producing a remix.

I love the idea, and working with public domain or open media takes this overboard for me. Projects like this, particularly in the classroom, have the potential for demonstrating how creative culture can be fostered by building on ideas and artefacts from the past. While I am not sure if Crash Ballet in itself is classroom appropriate (there are a couple of iffy remixes), the concept is good and could easily be replicated by choosing (or having students choose) elements from the Internet Archive or the Creative Commons (for instance), and implementing similar guidelines for production.

$4500 For Student Open Source Projects From Google

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Google has announced the Summer of Code project which promises $4500 for every student who successfully completes an Open Source project by the end of Summer 2005. The program is geared toward developing new programmers, and introducing these individuals to the licensing structures and collaborative processes found in the open source community.

I think this is a great idea, and it’s excellent to see a company like Google fostering such a program that can ultimately lead to more exposure to the open movement, and greater health to the overall computer programming community. Additionally, it’s interesting to view this contest in comparison to Microsoft’s Thought Thieves competition which is based on a radically different orientation towards intellectual property.

If you know of those who may be eligible and interested in this summer (and perhaps lifetime) opportunity, do spread the word.

See: http://code.google.com/summerofcode.html