No Desktop Apps -- First Impressions

I have been using open source software and web-based applications (mainly just Gmail) for almost two weeks now, and I have stored up some thoughts and first reactions.

• I imported all my contacts and distribution lists from Outlook into Gmail last Sunday. This turned out to be relatively painless, but it has not made my interaction with the Gmail interface any easier. I don't like it. It's too busy. And I don't have a lot of time to learn all its features. (But, it's not like I used all the Outlook features either!)
• First big "duh" moment: I spent the last two weeks trying to make the Portable Apps installed on my flash drive work on a Mac. Turns out you can't use Windows applications on a Mac. Yeah, I knew this, but I wasn't thinking.
• First stumbling block: The argument that you can use these open source applications to create and send documents to folks and "none will be the wiser" has not proven entirely true. The OoWriter application has a built-in PDF function. I have used it as well as the open source PDF Creator about three or four times to post completed assignments on my IT 578 (web design) homepage. When the instructor tried to open and print these PDFs, she encountered problems with the formatting. When she caught onto the fact I was using an application other than Adobe to create PDFs, she asked me (and others in the class) to refrain from doing so.

No Desktop Apps -- First Impressions

Why "Analog Girl"?

The name for this blog comes from a song by Texas singer Guy Clark. It turns out the name isn't that original -- there is already one blog named "Analog Girl." Apparently, the phrase appears in a rap by Erika Badu, and there is some other underground, college radio artist who goes by that name. But neither of those facts inspired me. I just love the Guy Clark song, and if you hear it or read the lyrics, you will understand why I stole the title.

Another name that I considered was "What in Hell am I Doing?"

Why "Analog Girl"?

What am I doing?

As you can see from the header, this blog will document my learning about and through computers, with a particular emphasis on how these experiences inform my classroom practice. Specifically, I will write about what happens over the next several weeks as I complete my projects for IT 521 (Computer Applications in Education), a course I am taking at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

The projects I have chosen to undertake include:

• develop a "computer disaster recovery plan," in which I wipe my hard drive clean and re-install the operating system (a worthy undertaking, as these days disaster seems imminent just about every time I turn on my computer)
• install and run an Ubuntu operating system on my tired, old laptop
• develop, design, and create a classroom homepage using NVu and/or Moodle (an open source course management program)
• develop an online list of searchable, browsable URL's using Webliographer, and link this list to the project site I am building in IT 578 (intro to web design)
• create a Wiki
• use strictly web-based and open source applications for the remainder of the semester

What am I doing?