Education for a Digital World Advice, Guidelines and Effective Practice from Around Globe, 2008a

8 – Exploring Open Source for Educators: We’re Not in Kansas Anymore – Entering OS
Clearly there is evidence of significant interest in
open source and free software—if only measured at a
shallow level by operating system interest or website hits.
According to Fima Katz, CEO of Exadel, “The real
problem is widespread unfamiliarity and lack of expertise
with open source [and free software] across all levels
of the organization” (V world New Media [Designs4nuke.com],
February 7, 2006). A survey by Exadel
conducted at the 2005 Gartner Open Source Summit
found that “more than half (55%) of survey respondents
reported that their organizations currently have limited
internal knowledge of open source[/free software]” (as
cited in V world New Media [Designs4nuke.com], February
7, 2006). Moreover, the February 23, 2005 Gartner
report, “Positions 2005: Open-Source Solutions Will
Restructure the Software Industry,” found that “40 percent
of respondents claimed that their organization’s
lack of knowledge about open source [/free software] as
the top vulnerability to adoption” (as cited in V World
New Media [Designs4nuke.com], February 7, 2006).
Despite the various barriers, current trends indicate
that freely sourced software will flourish, as witness the
proliferation of Apache servers, GNU/Linux operating
systems, as well as ATutor, Sakai, and Moodle sites, To
ensure this, Potter (2000) offers the following suggestions:
formation of a non-profit and/or governmental
body to certify interoperability and portability of freely
sourced software; using freely sourced software code as a
legal remedy for monopoly, anti-trust, and copyright suits;
as well as government endorsement of freely sourced
software through its own policies, adoption, and use.
The question then is: when, if ever, is it the right time
for you to migrate to freely sourced software? Only a
comprehensive contextual assessment of your situation,
as well as increasing your knowledge of free software
and open source, can help you make that decision. The
next sections offer a possible methodology to increase
your knowledge, and move from initial considerations
of freely sourced options to implementing pilot projects
and widespread organizational adoption.
Common misperceptions of the
“Great” Wizard
“The wizard? But nobody can see the great Oz.
Nobody’s ever seen the great Oz … Even I’ve never
seen him!” – Guardian of the Emerald City Gates,
The Wizard of Oz (Langley, 1939)
Just as Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Lion and the Scarecrow
held misconceptions of Oz’s Wizard, there are many misconceptions
about open source and free software. Some of
the most common of these are (1) freely sourced programs
have no costs; (2) freely sourced programs are of
low quality; and (3) freely sourced programs can’t compete
with proprietary commercial applications.
MISCONCEPTION 1: NO COST
As a point of clarification, source code is free in open
source and free software applications. Chances are,
though, you will still need someone or several people
with technical know-how to install them, run them,
tweak them, update them, etc. Sometimes the original
developers provide this kind of support for a price. One
example of this is ATutor (http://www.atutor.ca), a Canadian
open source content management system for
course delivery developed at the University of Toronto
and licensed under GNU’s GPL (Adaptive Technology
Resource Centre, 2006). ATutor claims to be, “the first
inclusive LCMS complying with … accessibility specifications
at the AA+ level, allowing access to all potential
learners, instructors, and administrators, including
those with disabilities” (Adaptive Technology Resource
Centre, 2006). ATutor also complies with “W3C XHTML
1.0 specifications” so it is “presented consistently in any
standards compliant technology” (Adaptive Technology
Resource Centre, 2006). It allows for content portability
by compliance with “IMS/SCORM Content Packaging
specifications, allowing content developers to create
reusable content that can be swapped between different
e-learning systems” (Adaptive Technology Resource
Centre, 2006). If you need help with the technical end of
things, you can purchase varying levels of ATutor support,
from one-time installation to course hosting and
individualized consulting.
Recent mergers of commercial proprietary businesses
have made it difficult to accurately reflect current fees
for similar proprietary commercial service provision.
Actual amounts vary based on enrollment volume as
well as bargaining power of a purchaser. Available information
can give us a rough idea of current price points. A
posting by Michael Penney (July 29, 2005), Learning
Management System Project Manager for California State
University, Humboldt, cited basic Blackboard institution
costs as follows for 7,500 course enrollments: a base fee of
approximately $7,000 US, $4,000 US for encryption, and
$0.75 US per enrollment for MSSQL ($5,625 US/7,500
enrollments). This would total approximately $16,625
for 7,500 course enrollments—exclusive of any content
or course development. Blackboard can provide some
economies of scale compared to other commercial pro-
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