Teach: Why are you using that?

"Why are you using Art Pad? We have Pixie."

This is a quote from one of the teachers I work with. We have incredible discussions about everything media, from Wikipedia to Google. It's a great challenge.

But this one, I didn't answer right away. I wanted to think. This is what I've come up with:

I use Art Pad and online resources to give my students opti0ns. Pixie is great. I have nothing against Pixie. I don't have issues with any of the software that we have. They are all good at doing what they do.

The only issue I can think of with any purchased software is that is was purchased. Pixie costs money. Art Pad is free online. I could argue for days that the money spent on software could be better spent on other things but that is a school issue not a student issue.

My students won't have a copy of Pixie or any other software on their home computer. The library may or may not have Pixie (and you could replace Pixie with any other software). They will always have Art Pad. Just go to the website. (The other issue is access, but that is another post.)

My students need the options. They need to know that, even though they can't afford something, there is a just as good alternative online for most of what they might want to do. I think I would be doing my students a huge disservice if I told them that they should use Pixie and not give them adequate access to Pixie.

So, online resources for my students it is. I'm trying to think beyond my classroom.