Crash Makes Me Walk the Free Walk
Across the board, this spring break sucked! First I caught the cold from the netherworld -- only my superhuman constitution and massive doses of Theraflu kept me out of the ICU. Then my watch stopped. My grandfather always told me, "There are only two types of people who take the backs off watches -- jewelers and fools." After trying to replace the battery on my "solar" watch (yeah, I know what that means NOW), I discovered I am not a jeweler. But the capper was the strange buzzing noise that my computer started making -- right before it crashed. I lost everything. Sure, I backed the computer up. But I can't find the hard drive that I backed up on. Ever notice how small those things have gotten? So basically I am screwed. Happy spring break!
To keep this from being a total loss, I am turning this setback into a learning experience. Yeah, one part of the learning experience is to be more conscientious about backups (OK, OK, Clate, I know you told me so). But I am going to attempt a bigger experiment. I have been talking the talk about Web2.0, freeware and open source apps for a while. Now, staring at this clean slate of a huge hard disk, I am not going to pay Microsoft or Adobe to clutter it up. I am going totally free! I am going to see how long I can work without buying any software -- or installing any of the software I have already bought.
Why? Yeah, I am a cheapskate. But that isn't the biggest reason. We have been telling people all along that we teach skills, not tools. OK, that is a little facetious -- you can't do new media without a modicum of competency with the software. But many of us have become more fascinated with the tools than the technique. We have succumbed to "latest release" fever. Our capabilities are being determined more by our software than our imagination. To make something even cooler, we need an update more than an idea. And the devastating downside of the application arm's race is that only the wealthy, the funded, and the endowed can play. That just ain't right. So I am going to see if I can make free feasible.
First stop is Google. Right now I am writing this in Google Docs and storing it online in Google's "Cloud." (Read below to find out who owns "The Cloud" -- ME!) The real irony is that if I had been doing all my work using the Google Docs word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software, I wouldn't have lost any of my documents when my computer crashed. And now, you can use Google Docs even when you aren't online. Yep, with a small installation of Google Gears, you can create and edit documents while you aren't on the internet. When you do connect, all of your documents are automatically uploaded. Plus storing in Google's cloud means that I am never stuck at my office without the file on my computer at home.
Sure, the Google's word processor doesn't have as many features as Word. But the only time I ever used the hundreds of bells and whistles was when I was trying to avoid doing what I was supposed to be doing. And I can even save my documents with the .doc extension so that my colleagues still addicted to Microsoft can open them.
Google's spreadsheets don't have some of the sophisticated formatting techniques -- so I am going to have to live without that awesome shading tool. But one feature Google has that Excel doesn't is the simplest way of putting an online form online ever. We used to teach it in a week but with Google it takes less than 5 minutes -- and even I can do it!
Yeah, this is going to be tough. I was spoiled. Big computers. Software budgets (although they are getting smaller each fiscal year). But imagine what it would be like if we could put a cheap computer in a student's hands and tell them they don't have to invest another dime to turn it into an innovation factory. The XO computer created through the One Laptop Per Child program (http://laptop.org/) is now less than $200 and has all the capabilities (connectivity, alternative power sources, and even a built-in camera) as some mega-machines. I get excited thinking that the power to create won't be limited by how much you have to spend. Wouldn't that be cool!
I will keep you posted on my attempt to squeeze a little lemonade out of the darn lemons I was handed this break.
To keep this from being a total loss, I am turning this setback into a learning experience. Yeah, one part of the learning experience is to be more conscientious about backups (OK, OK, Clate, I know you told me so). But I am going to attempt a bigger experiment. I have been talking the talk about Web2.0, freeware and open source apps for a while. Now, staring at this clean slate of a huge hard disk, I am not going to pay Microsoft or Adobe to clutter it up. I am going totally free! I am going to see how long I can work without buying any software -- or installing any of the software I have already bought.
Why? Yeah, I am a cheapskate. But that isn't the biggest reason. We have been telling people all along that we teach skills, not tools. OK, that is a little facetious -- you can't do new media without a modicum of competency with the software. But many of us have become more fascinated with the tools than the technique. We have succumbed to "latest release" fever. Our capabilities are being determined more by our software than our imagination. To make something even cooler, we need an update more than an idea. And the devastating downside of the application arm's race is that only the wealthy, the funded, and the endowed can play. That just ain't right. So I am going to see if I can make free feasible.
First stop is Google. Right now I am writing this in Google Docs and storing it online in Google's "Cloud." (Read below to find out who owns "The Cloud" -- ME!) The real irony is that if I had been doing all my work using the Google Docs word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software, I wouldn't have lost any of my documents when my computer crashed. And now, you can use Google Docs even when you aren't online. Yep, with a small installation of Google Gears, you can create and edit documents while you aren't on the internet. When you do connect, all of your documents are automatically uploaded. Plus storing in Google's cloud means that I am never stuck at my office without the file on my computer at home.
Sure, the Google's word processor doesn't have as many features as Word. But the only time I ever used the hundreds of bells and whistles was when I was trying to avoid doing what I was supposed to be doing. And I can even save my documents with the .doc extension so that my colleagues still addicted to Microsoft can open them.
Google's spreadsheets don't have some of the sophisticated formatting techniques -- so I am going to have to live without that awesome shading tool. But one feature Google has that Excel doesn't is the simplest way of putting an online form online ever. We used to teach it in a week but with Google it takes less than 5 minutes -- and even I can do it!
Yeah, this is going to be tough. I was spoiled. Big computers. Software budgets (although they are getting smaller each fiscal year). But imagine what it would be like if we could put a cheap computer in a student's hands and tell them they don't have to invest another dime to turn it into an innovation factory. The XO computer created through the One Laptop Per Child program (http://laptop.org/) is now less than $200 and has all the capabilities (connectivity, alternative power sources, and even a built-in camera) as some mega-machines. I get excited thinking that the power to create won't be limited by how much you have to spend. Wouldn't that be cool!
I will keep you posted on my attempt to squeeze a little lemonade out of the darn lemons I was handed this break.
posted by Grady College /University of Georgia at
2:04 PM
1 Comments
