Comments on: Open content and tie-dye http://openedweb.com/blog/2008/12/03/open-content-and-tie-dye/ Education and Technology Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:28:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Steve http://openedweb.com/blog/2008/12/03/open-content-and-tie-dye/comment-page-1/#comment-2133 Steve Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:26:59 +0000 http://openedweb.com/blog/?p=775#comment-2133 This tension between tools and content tears me in two directions. I am trying to shift my balance away from the tools, and increasingly to content and pedagogical use of the tools. There is a place for proprietary software, but neither I nor my school can afford it. The degree to which one needs programming skills depends very much upon what software one chooses to use. Elgg is more complex in that it is somewhat of a niche product (I suspect not as niche as the developers expected though), it is very young with limited documentation, and has a fairly small community. There are others such as WordPress that are pretty simple with push button installs and intuitive management. It is a mature project with awide user base, and large community. I also was able to install that tie-dye discussion forum, configure it very quickly and had a community running within a few days of the intial concept. Thanks for stopping by and adding your thoughts This tension between tools and content tears me in two directions. I am trying to shift my balance away from the tools, and increasingly to content and pedagogical use of the tools.

There is a place for proprietary software, but neither I nor my school can afford it.

The degree to which one needs programming skills depends very much upon what software one chooses to use. Elgg is more complex in that it is somewhat of a niche product (I suspect not as niche as the developers expected though), it is very young with limited documentation, and has a fairly small community. There are others such as WordPress that are pretty simple with push button installs and intuitive management. It is a mature project with awide user base, and large community. I also was able to install that tie-dye discussion forum, configure it very quickly and had a community running within a few days of the intial concept.

Thanks for stopping by and adding your thoughts

]]> By: Matt Edminster http://openedweb.com/blog/2008/12/03/open-content-and-tie-dye/comment-page-1/#comment-2126 Matt Edminster Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:56:47 +0000 http://openedweb.com/blog/?p=775#comment-2126 Steve ... this idea of bottom-up knowledge sharing is exactly what drew me to OpenSource programs like Elgg. Because we are sharing information over geographical distances - tie-dyers, teachers or in my case rural churches - we need ways to share this information in practical and easy to use ways. Kasimpaur's clarification that open knowledge is the goal is helpful because oftentimes the tools we use to achieve this goal become the focus in and of themselves. I've now spent countless hours attempting to learn how to use and customize Elgg. I sometimes wonder if this shiny new tool will ever meet with its intended purpose or if it will completely steal the spotlight. Perhaps there is a place for proprietary programming if it allows content providers to share their knowledge without having to worry about the mechanics. I certainly prefer the open source concept (my wallet concurs). But especially those of us without programming skills (including many in both your and my target groups) are a bit disadvantaged when it comes to creating the tools for the job. Steve … this idea of bottom-up knowledge sharing is exactly what drew me to OpenSource programs like Elgg. Because we are sharing information over geographical distances – tie-dyers, teachers or in my case rural churches – we need ways to share this information in practical and easy to use ways.

Kasimpaur’s clarification that open knowledge is the goal is helpful because oftentimes the tools we use to achieve this goal become the focus in and of themselves. I’ve now spent countless hours attempting to learn how to use and customize Elgg. I sometimes wonder if this shiny new tool will ever meet with its intended purpose or if it will completely steal the spotlight.

Perhaps there is a place for proprietary programming if it allows content providers to share their knowledge without having to worry about the mechanics. I certainly prefer the open source concept (my wallet concurs). But especially those of us without programming skills (including many in both your and my target groups) are a bit disadvantaged when it comes to creating the tools for the job.

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