ED 650: Open-Source Software

Open-Source Software: Current Issue Paper 6 Open-source software is software that is licensed for anyone to use, “study, modify, and distribute… free of charge” (Corbly, 2014, p. 66). Both the software and the code behind it is openly shared. Oftentimes, open-source software is developed and improved collaboratively by interested individuals worldwide, typically resulting in a program that is better and more reliable than one would expect from a single developer or team of developers. There are certain open-source software that Continue reading ED 650: Open-Source Software

ED 650: GotS, A New Alternative

Guide on the Side: A New Alternative for Interactive Tutorial Creation ED 650 Current Issue Paper 5 While researching of interactivity of tutorials in fall 2014, I discovered an emerging technology in the form of a specific tool for tutorial creation that I found very exciting. Guide on the Side (GotS) is an open-source software program created by librarians at University of Arizona. Sult, Mery, Blakiston, and Kline (2013) describe GotS as a frame that overlays onto any website (such Continue reading ED 650: GotS, A New Alternative

ED 650: Is Interactivity Worth the Cost?

Is Interactivity Worth the Cost of Flashy Technology? ED 650 Current Issue Paper 4 One of my major long-term goals as an instructional design librarian is to lead an ongoing project to develop tutorials for library users on a variety of topics (such as searching the library catalog, searching particular databases, placing holds or interlibrary loan requests, etc.). Over the past 15 years or so, library tutorials have taken many forms from screenshots with text to screencasts to interactive tutorials. Continue reading ED 650: Is Interactivity Worth the Cost?