Navigate 2.1.3 Commercial versus Open Virtual Classrooms

There are certainly pros and cons associated with using both commercial and open source products for the virtual classroom. In most cases, it's a battle between functionality and cost.

Commercial

While commercial products are often extensive and constantly updated to include the latest and greatest features, the higher cost is a deterrent. Other obstacles that users may encounter: may require a large amount of hard drive space, may require additional add-ons, may not function well with all operating systems.

Open-Source

The affordability of open-source products is without a doubt their greatest attribute. Unfortunately, though, the open-source materials offer no real guarantees for the duration or improvements of the product. They also offer limited tech support.

About five years ago, I fell in love with a Web 2.0 tool called Slide Rocket. This free presentation software was fabulous because it was embeddable and offered vivid themes and backgrounds and fun transitions that surpassed anything that PowerPoint ever dreamed of. Sadly, Slide Rocket basically evaporated into thin air, with only a 30 day warning to its users. I assume that the company decided that it wasn't worth the up-keep since they were not profiting at all (there were no advertisements, either). So, just like that, it was gone, and I lost 5 years worth of material. My robust class website, full of lovely embedded presentations, quickly went to ruins. In hindsight, I should have NEVER invested so much time and effort into a single open-source resource like that. I am far more conscientious about how the tools and resources I use, in an effort to avoid that heartbreak again.