Freeing Educational Applications

You should think about using open source software in education. For starters, the price is right-it's free. And some of it is quite good. Misconceptions about open source educational software abound, however, and they need to be cleared up:

Free means junk. Not necessarily. Just like commercial software, there is a lot of open source junk and vaporware. But there are some gems, too, described below. Indeed, sometimes, there is such a thing as a free lunch.

Open source software only runs on a Linux box. Wrong. Most recent open source software is written in Java, which will run on current Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers, without requiring downloads. Other open source software is available as applets that run in almost any browser.

Open source software may be free now, but what about later? If it's open source now, it will always be open source. The open source copyright forbids anyone from withdrawing open source software and making people pay for it. That said, you may want to pay someone who bundles open source software into a convenient package, but there will always be a free option.

Open source software will crash and burn. Not likely. Open source software tends to be better than commercial software when lots of people are involved in maintaining it. This hasn't happened yet for most interesting educational applications, but if enough people begin using open source educational applications, it will.

Only geeks use open source software. No way. All the software described in this article can be downloaded and run by most users with some (but not advanced!) technology experience, just like other educational applications.

If it's free, it must be open source. Not necessarily. Developers sometimes make early versions of their software free to get you hooked, and then begin charging later. Check the licensing to be sure it's copyrighted under one of the open source licenses, like the GNU General Public License.

Right now, open source (OS) educational software is "pre-takeoff." Not many are aware of it, there is not much high-quality software, it is scattered, people confuse it with open source system software releases like Red Hat and Fedora, and there is no real community of programmers supporting the code base. But that will change soon, and we hope to be part of this exciting development by committing our talented software team to generating excellent open source applications, and by stimulating interest in the use of OS applications.

You can help, too, by using this software, sharing it, and telling your friends and representatives in government how great it is. Some of the open source applications you should know about are described below. Be sure to let us know about other open source software you're using. The software tools and models showcased here were designed specifically for education in a particular discipline area or topic. Most of these are in mathematics and science, because the National Science Foundation has funded almost all this software. No comparable source of funding exists for educational software.

Mathematics

Seeing Math Interactives. The Seeing Math project has developed a series of interactive software that clarify key mathematical ideas for teachers and students of algebra. Five packages are currently available that allow students to explore various aspects of linear and quadratic functions. http://seeingmath.concord.org/resources.html

Shodor Software. This is a collection of over 60 Java applets for all levels of math, with student activities. http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/tools.html

StarLogo is a special kind of model-building programming language like Logo. It is hard to categorize, because it can be used to create interesting models of systems in mathematics, science, and social science. These models all involve giving simple rules to an "agent," and when there are lots of these agents, the system as a whole sometimes has some unexpected "emergent" behavior. http://education.mit.edu/starlogo

Science

BioLogica is a multi-level model of classical genetics that is often known as "Dragon Genetics" because it allows students to explore the mythical genetics of dragons as a way of discovering all the major forms of inheritance. The software is available as a series of guided explorations, or as an open-ended tool called GenScope. http://molo.concord.org/database/activities/30.html

Dynamica provides guided exploration of two- dimensional kinematics and dynamics. It can trace its roots to ThinkerTools, which once ran only on a Commodore 64. Request a demonstration account at http://mac.concord.org/portal/registration/register.php?action=demo. You will then be given a username and password that will give you access to a "Software" button on the left-hand panel. Look for physics software.

Molecular Workbench is a model of atoms and their interactions that can be used to explore many properties of atomic and molecular systems in biology, chemistry, and physics. A database of over 100 student activities based mostly on the Molecular Workbench can be found at http://molo.concord.org

The Molecular Workbench software provides a variety of 2D and 3D molecular dynamics engines and an authoring system to create models and activities based on these engines. Left: A simulation for an NaCl crystal, with the 3D graphics rendered with Jmol. Right: Molecular dynamics simulations of two intermetallic compounds (Au3Cu and Cu3Au).

Open Source Physics is a collection of Java applets related to a text by Harvey Gold. http://www.opensourcephysics.org

PhET. The Physics Education Technology (PhET) project at the University of Colorado produces fun, interactive simulations of physical phenomena that make bridges to the real world. A collection of 40 Java applications for introductory physics is available. http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phet

Other

Participatory Simulations developed at MIT for handhelds, use Palm computers to embed people inside simulations. Interactions between players in the game are mediated by beaming. Current systems model genetics, logic, ecology, and infection. http://education.mit.edu/pda/index.htm

Sustainable Education Software. Three packages help students think about environmental scenarios, communities, and their "ecological footprint." http://www.concord.org/research/sustainable.html

Squeak is a "media authoring tool," which allows you to create your own media to share and play with others. A modern implementation of Smalltalk, it is great for kids and serious programmers alike. http://www.squeakland.org