Open Source Software: What School Leaders Should Know

Open Source Software (OSS) is computer software that can be used, changed and distributed by users. It’s usually free of charge, and it's becoming increasingly popular. So why should school leaders pay attention?  Mark Clarkson, ICT teacher explains:  "Open Source tools make it easy for students, parents and staff to access software without the need to buy expensive licenses or to illegally download programs. Microsoft Office ranges in price from £100 to over £500, whereas OpenOffice - which features a powerful word processor, spreadsheet, database and presentation tool equivalent to Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint; comes completely free of charge."

What are the benefits of using OSS?

Using OSS is likely to reduce licensing costs for schools, and BECTA's 2005 study shows that "for OSS schools, cost per PC at primary school was half that of non-OSS schools, and cost per PC at secondary school level was around 20% less that that of the non-OSS schools." However, the benefits go far beyond cost reduction. Miles Berry, Headteacher and BECTA Open Source Schools Community Manager told me that there are four fundamental advantages of using OSS in schools, which allows the freedom to:

•    use the software however you choose
•    study and adapt the software so it fits more closely to a school's own particular needs
•    improve on what's there already, through participating in the project's community
•    distribute programs to students and teachers, so they can use the same platform at home and school

Schools using open source have found other benefits too, such as improved reliability, the chance to use innovative, cutting edge technology, and a greener, more sustainable approach to computing. It all sounds pretty liberating!

OSS is more flexible and adaptable than proprietary software. Mark said "A commercial software developer aims to make money by charging for upgrades or extra functionality - sometimes deliberately limiting functionality so as to avoid competing with another product. With open-source software the opposite is true. Software developers want to meet the needs and requests of the end-users". There also is a valuable educational message about the advantages of collaboration here too, as open-source software products are created by teams of people who choose to work together towards a common goal. Open-source software is frequently upgraded to take into account recent security issues, bug fixes and essential features." Moodle, the open-source learning platform, is a great example. It is almost endlessly customisable and modular so that the user can make it their own, and there is a thriving community of committed Moodlers sharing ideas, support and good practice.

Are there any pitfalls my school should be aware of?

I asked Mark whether inertia was a bit problem in getting staff and students on board with using OSS. He said: "Fear, rather than inertia, is a significant factor. People feel comfortable with the names they know and are wary of upsetting the apple cart. There is also an image that 'free' software must be given away because it is rubbish and nobody would pay money for it." Mark also suggested that it takes time to get to know new systems and senior leaders will need to factor training and support into their planning. Generally speaking, it would seem that in the UK we are slightly behind the curve on this. In Eastern Europe, the use of OSS in schools is standard practice.

Will my school get criticised during inspection for using OSS?

Miles said "Becta is increasingly supportive of open source software in schools, publishing some interesting case studies and a study of total cost of ownership savings a few years ago, highlighting concerns over certain proprietary operating systems and office suites, and now supporting the Open Source Schools community of practice for UK teachers and techies. New Cabinet Office guidance is that open source should be the preferred solution for publicly funded projects when all other factors are equal, and Becta is likely to have a key role in advising schools on this."  Ofsted's recent report on The Importance of ICT also does much to encourage schools to explore open source for themselves, citing examples of the way open source encourages the development of greater flexibility and transferable ICT capability, as well as helping schools obtain best value in procurement.

Miles added "As OFSTED's report makes clear, too much ICT in too many schools has been concentrated on training children to use a particular suite of applications rather than in developing a broader ICT capability including the ability to critically reflect on software itself. Open source lets schools do far more with their limited ICT budgets, but the vision has to be there for this. Schools also worry about ongoing support of open source, but those who have tried it generally find the support from online open source project communities far better than that via tech. support helplines, and, of course, commercial support is readily available for the better known applications."

I'd like to find out more. What do I do next?

Miles urges school leaders to find out more. First and foremost it is well worth encouraging ICT teachers and network managers to join the Open Source Schools community (http://opensourceschools.org.uk,) and to participate in the OSS 'unconference' at NCSL on 20th July 2009. Mark recommends: "Senior Leaders in school should try using OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office, look for examples of Moodle learning platforms and calculate the budget savings in replacing some Windows computers with open-source platforms."

There is no need to change everything at once. OSS can work well side-by-side with proprietary software. The key thing, particularly during this age of budget cuts, is to look at the ICT curriculum and resources and ask "could we be doing more?" and "could we be doing this for less?".

Thanks to:

Mark Clarkson @mwclarkson on Twitter

Mark Clarkson is an ICT teacher and Assistant Head of Department in an Outstanding 11-18 school in the North East of England. He works in a school which uses Solaris, Linux, Mac OS X and Windows operating systems and is a firm believer in education and choice when it comes to making decisions about technology.

Miles Berry @mberry on Twitter

Miles Berry is head of Alton Convent Prep and community manager for the Becta supported Open Source Schools community. He is a fellow of Mirandanet, Naace, the RSA and the British Computer Society, and speaks and writes widely on education technology. In addition to open source, his professional interests include programming in schools, knowledge management, informal learning and learner voice.

Resources

http://happyhippy.edublogs.org/

http://milesberry.net

http://opensourceschools.org.uk

http://www.theopendisc.com/education/

http://portableapps.com/

http://php.opensourcecms.com/

http://publications.becta.org.uk/

http://opensourceschools.org.uk/unconference09