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Paul Robinson writes:
Why don't we use more open source technology in schools?
OSS seems an obvious choice for public sector bodies that need to keep costs down, but for some reason we're still struggling to see proprietary software - Microsoft products in particular - make a retreat from the classroom. This is costing money and unwittingly is conditioning children into thinking commercial software is the only "right" choice.
In the UK at least, The Open Schools Alliance is trying to do something about that. They are a campaigning group of open source businesses, technical experts and "concerned citizens". It seems many of their supporters have been frustrated by Government efforts to prohibit the use of OSS in schools and they hope to shift the attitudes within Government. Anybody can join, so if you merely count yourself amongst the "concerned citizens" (I know, I thought about becoming a teacher once too), don't shy away.
On Friday 19th October, if you're near Liverpool, you can also attend their Success in Education event and hear stories of Open Source ICT in Education and explore ways to help out. The event is completely free and by registering and turning up, you can get the warm and fuzzy glow of knowing you've done something for the kids - and the tax bill for the rest of us.
From the Open School Alliance website:
We're very pleased to announce our Success in Education Conference, with keynote speaker Martin Dougiamas, the CEO and founder of Moodle.
Reasons to attend:
• Learn about real-life implementations using OSS in Education
• Understand the benefits and problems
• Speak to people who claim to have saved millions by switching to OSS
• See for yourself how teachers and students are using OSS not only to
learn about ICT but to become creators of both applications and content
• Try out different products and see live demonstrations
The conference is free to attend (lunch included), but numbers are limited so please register early to avoid disappointment.
Location: Liverpool Digital, Babbage House, Edge Lane, Liverpool, L7 9NJ
Date: Friday 19th October 2007, 8:30am to 3pm
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