The argument goes that we have no control over what happens in external services in terms of outages, security, and preservation (or access to) data, not to mention the equally significant reality that most users don’t even glance at the terms of use and tend to adopt sites without the slightest clue what they’ve just agreed to. There’s also the fact that at least some people will try to seek out local support for any service they use – even those the institution may never have heard of.

In some regards I see where they’re coming from in this, but really my perspective is that we need to examine all options and possibilities in educational technology, because in diversity lay opportunity.

The reality is that the scale of the internet, and all the providers in it, offers far more opportunity and choice than a single institution could ever hope to replicate. There are solutions to suit virtually any use-case or need, from the most mammoth to the most specific.

In this respect asking people not to use these services in favour of far less personalised local solutions is limiting the potential learning opportunities that might exist, and in many regards creating artificial or arbitrary delineations between life and learning in the classroom from that outside of it.

That said though, the themes of security, data preservation, privacy, and legal obligations are significant ones to contend with. Yet it seems to me that these are topics that the average person should be familiar with – not sheltered from. Living and working in an era in which information and interaction with others is increasingly occuring online requires at least a basic awareness of the implications and safe working practices. If we do not leave opportunities open for people to explore and develop these skills in a safe environment, then we are in fact doing them a disservice.

There is a whole lot more to this train of thought than I’ve included here – from both persectives. My point is that I don’t agree that ruling out use of free services is a particularly sensible option – or even a practical one. What’s needed, really, is more informed use of free services.

Posted via email from Mike Bogle