In last week's post, I was complaining about having to pay a subscription for using NoodleBib, but after reading Walter Minkel's article, "NoodleTool's Tough Choice," I have to do like the kids and say "my bad." In the article, Minkel explains why Debbie Abilock and her son Damon, co-creators of NoodleTools, had to start charging for what was initially a free service. It seems that the site was getting as many as 400,00 hits a day and so their Internet Service Provider shut the site down because "it was clogging its bandwidth." In the effort to continue serving the thousands who demanded the service, Abilock and her son set up their own server and that costs quite a lot of money. Plus, they needed time and and manpower to maintain and upgrade the site. They, therefore, had no choice but to start charging a fee for the service.
Read the complete article at
What does that mean for us? As we prepare to provide our students with the best access to information through reputable sources, we will have to demand that our school administrators give us the money for subscription fees for resources like NoodleTools. That is a must-have in today's library. I already have to write memos to continually beg and remind the principal and assistant principals to put aside money for databases and other services, since there is no specific fund for technology in the library. I have my work cut out for me, but I want to get this resource for my students.
2 comments:
Ahenryst,
I certainly think that Noodletools is worth the money. However, with many high schools having well over 1,000 students, even the $300 or more may meet with resistance on the part of administration. One way to deal with any opposition is to encourage school administrators to view the site themselves and see firsthand the wealth of resources it makes available to teachers and students. Hopefully, after exploring Noodletools, they will be convinced that a school subscription would be a worthwhile investment.
Melodee
Great Article,I was glad to see that a mother and son was responsible for the site.
I would not mind if a product is worth paying for if it is an excellent resource. Unfortunately, they had to charge a fee, it was not there intention, society dedicates that.
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