Quite by chance, I just got to see a copy of a (presumably monthly?) newsletter from LTS Interactive Media, and there's some interesting stuff in there, such as this news item:
U3 is about to launch technology that turns a USB flash drive into a USB smart drive. They say this lets you carry programs and personal preferences, launch software, and access all of your own data on any Windows XP or Windows 2000 PC without the need for local software installation.
The potential for the OU could be an end to many of the installation/configuration problems our students experience, plus the capability to mail out the main program and heavy media assets, but to then supplement or amend these via online links as the course progresses.
At last..! Some of us have been saying (though not doing, admittedly) that we should be looking at ways of letting students take their OU context with them wherever they go, and (fingers crossed) someone will be keeping more than a weather out on this sort of technology.
I think at one point it was mooted that the Technology Short Course/Relevant Knowledge Programme courses should be made available on a USB drive (after all, they're largely just HTML pages, with the odd bit of Flash and Javascript, and a few movies) but for some reason (there was a reason, I'm sure....) this never happened.
Anyway - as we wait for the arrivial of USB Smart Drives, here's one way of allowing students to carry a browser context around with them on a USB drive: Portable Firefox 1.0.4 (USB Drive-Friendly).
For a long time, I've thought we should be providing students with a branded, extended and personalised OU browser. (For starters, it would be easy enough to preinstall an OU library toolbar (which I really need to upgrade with the MyLibrary Record bookmarklet)). This version of Firefox looks like an ideal platform for prototyping some of my thinking in this area.
Another point of note - John Haller, who's made the USB-able Firefox download available, has also made some other open source packages USB friendly too, such as the USB-friendly Open Office suite.
Posted by ajh59 at June 16, 2005 11:50 AM