from Technology & Learning
An open source solution that's time has come.
In 2001, Indiana officials at the Department of Education were taking stock. The schools had an excellent network infrastructure and had installed significant numbers of computers for 1 million public school enrollees. Yet students were spending less than an hour a week on the computer. Why?
Shuttling students to and from computer labs and managing their time there restricted computer use so much that, analysis showed, certain students had access cut to less than 35 minutes a week. It was then that state officials knew each student needed a computer, and Indiana's one-to-one initiative was launched. But how were they to pay for such a huge project that would have cost $100 million a year in software licensing alone?
Open source.
The often-misunderstood technology (thought of as "just free Web 2.0 stuff" by the uniformed) has been the answer in Indiana—and a growing number of school systems across the country—to shrinking school technology budgets and soaring software costs.
Today, more than 100,000 Indiana school kids (in all, 300,000 high schoolers are slated to receive one) have their own $298 computer and monitor with numerous free software applications, and, in turn, schools across the state have secure, reliable, sophisticated server systems thanks to Linux-based open source technology.
In other words, instead of using computers set to run either Microsoft or Apple operating systems, Indiana school children were given desktops running a Linux-based OS (in this case, distribution packages offered by Red Hat, Novell, and Ubuntu) and with preinstalled free open source software (commonly referred to as FOSS), much of it mimicking popular but expensive programming such as the comprehensive office suites offered by major companies.
Did Indiana children mind? "Who cares?" one student quipped to Michael Huffman, special assistant for technology, as he surveyed the one-to-one program's success across the state.
"Is Linux the answer? Obviously we think so," says Huffman, who estimates software costs total only $5 per machine annually. "It's the only model we've come up with that is affordable, repeatable, and sustainable.
"If you look at a lot of other states that have had laptop initiatives, I think there is a real breakdown. And there are a lot of them that aren't continuing. There are schools that have gone out and bought a lot of laptops, but there is no plan for four years down the road. That's why we went with open source," Huffman says.
Indeed, Indiana and other large school systems like San Diego and Atlanta have joined the until-now quiet, albeit multibillion-dollar, revolution in computing. So successful and popular has Linux become that Wired magazine recently dubbed it "the new black." And software development based on open source technology, now representing 10 percent of all development, is expected to soar to 20 percent by 2010, according to industry analysis by Saugatuck Technology, making it a roughly $5.8 billion market in the next three years.
Its popularity is due, in part, to:
Meanwhile, high-profile U.S. companies have raised the status of Linux by basing their entire operations on open source technology with amazing success. These include Amazon (which hosts more than 42 terabytes of data), eBay, and Motorola. Google, for one, has found Linux to be so successful (using open source, the search engine company processes 91 million searches a day and is the fourth-largest database in the world) that on Oct. 31 it rolled out an Everexmade gPC, on sale at Wal-Mart for $200, being touted by the company as a collaboration between the PC maker, the open source community, and Google that will "bring Linux to the masses."
No surprise then that nation's cash-strapped K–12 school systems are also looking for high-tech bargains. According to the Greaves Group's American Digital Schools 2006 report: "Beyond Linux and the well-known Indiana open source initiative, a number of other states and districts are considering open source.…Widespread open source usage will grow eightfold from 2006 to 2011."
One reason open source has been readily adopted by school IT departments is in an effort to improve the nation's 4:1 student-to-computer rate.
"With a 25 percent penetration of computers in the classroom, and home-based access linked strongly to household income, many children are simply blocked from the kinds of rich learning opportunities that modern computers can facilitate," says ed tech guru David Thornburg. "Computers today should be expectations, not options. They should be as commonplace as pencils, pads of paper, or books."
The way we teach the nation's 54 million K–12 students has evolved too, necessitating improved technology in the classroom. Nowadays, Web 2.0 applications such as videoconferencing, classroom management, podcasting, and wikis are common teaching tools that run off the Web, requiring elaborate networking infrastructure support and additional computers.
In the past, Linux was largely relegated to the back office as an operating system, out of sight of most teachers and students. But recent friendlier developments, including a graphical user interface, have made it increasingly viable for schools.
Now it's come out of the closet as districts seek even more innovative ROI solutions.
According to a Compass Intelligence report, spending on IT personnel is anticipated to drop 5 percent a year, to $2.4 billion by 2010. And federal funding of the last protected block grant for technology, Enhancing Education Through Technology, has been steadily chipped away at since 2005.
Today, old computers that would have been tossed out are being "repurposed" and set up either as desktops with a Linux OS (which tends to boot up faster with mature hardware than rival Microsoft) or transformed into "thin clients" (meaning, they are run off software housed on a school system server).
Network servers are being "virtualized" with technology—rapidly being deployed in the education industry—that allows singleapplication servers to simultaneously run UNIX, Microsoft, and Apple.
Cheaper technology, coupled with FOSS adoption, has freed up money in many districts' tech budgets, allowing them to reinvest in IT training or broader professional development, or to bring even more computers or Internet-connected devices into the classroom.
No question, the recent proliferation of cheap PCs has done a lot to bring Linux to the attention of the mainstream, both in and out of school.
Put on the international radar by Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child initiative for developing nations, inexpensive devices from Lenovo, Dell, and HP join Intel and ASUS in presenting a range of offerings to schools.
But certain folks in education fields are raising a key issue: Are these computers, which don't easily run the Microsoft OS or applications built to run on Microsoft, actually preparing our students for the workplace in their future?
In fact, Nigeria was most likely wondering the same thing when it decided to overwrite the operating systems of 17,000 Intel Classmate PCs with the Windows XP it had just purchased.
Many see the reason why software giant Microsoft won this battle.
ZdNet's ed tech reporter Christopher Dawson wrote of his interview with Frenchbased open source company Mandriva CEO François Bancilhon: He "reminded me that there are currently 8,000 languages spoken on Earth. If, as predicted, by the end of the century, 6,000 of these will disappear, there will still be 2,000 languages spoken worldwide; Windows is currently available in about 50 languages."
Still open source folks remain convinced that it will be difficult to stem the tide of Linux and other open source solutions. Increasingly savvy and tech-expert students, a mandate for sustainability, and district bottom line considerations requiring innovation in the area of ROI, Linux is increasingly attractive.
And who knows? With Google, Amazon, and other key players setting the stage, perhaps open source is the future for business, as well.
TUX GROWS UP
|
District: Saugus Union School District
Snapshot: About 11,000 K–6 students; 59 percent white, non-Hispanic; 10.6 percent eligible for free or reduced- rate lunch program
Innovation: Migrating the entire district to open source
In 2004, Saugus Union School District took on one of its most high-profile projects: adopting open source. Though you might assume cost savings was the primary motivation, it was the desire for a flexible system that actually motivated Jim Klein, director of information services and technology at the Santa Clarita—based school district, to switch all 52 systems from Novell NetWare to an open source platform provided by Red Hat.
In four weeks, Klein and his team adopted a system that includes virtual network computing, allowing the IT staff to provide technical support remotely for any Windows, Macintosh, or Linux workstation from any location in the district.
If Klein learned anything from the project, it's to dive in. "The best way to learn and/or refine your skills with Linux is to force yourself to use the solution," he says.
And he has a bit of practical advice: "Pick up your Widows machine (or Mac, if you are so inclined) that is on your desk and move it across the room. Make sure that you do not put a chair in front of it, and that you get up and leave your desk to use it."
Today, Klein says, Saugus boasts a computer network with faster computers. Even the oldest computers are more reliable. And the IT staff is better able to support teacher, staff, and students.
"Our technology was more flexible and capable than ever before," says Klein, who has since become an open source advocate, speaking at conferences around the country. "We were able to turn on a dime when a new opportunity or idea came along."
And, he continues, "We were able to smile when the latest security vulnerability surfaced, knowing that it wouldn't affect our systems."
In the first year alone, Saugus officials estimate that the district was able to save $65,000 in licensing fees by using open source desktop software—namely, OpenOffice, which includes a variety of easy-to-install applications, including software to run spreadsheets, presentations, and word processing.
The district's next focus is on open source Web applications. Presently the district uses online forums for teachers and students, streaming video so students can share video production training. And its latest innovation: a Web-based social networking site, which allows teachers and staff to securely communicate with each other and with the community.
—Melissa Houston
District: Vassalboro Community School Snapshot: 550 K–8 students; 100 percent white, non-Hispanic; 39 percent students eligible for free or reduced price lunch program Innovation: Introduced Linux-based thin clients throughout the school, as well as installing an entire thinclient computer lab Case Study: Linux Solution in Maine
|
OPEN VS. CLOSEDFind open source alternatives to your favorite commercial products. Browse through software categories and compare pros and cons of both commercial products as well as open source software. Information courtesy of osalt.com. BUSINESS Commercial COMMUNICATIONS Commercial INTERNET & NETWORKING Commercial MULTIMEDIA & AUDIO Commercial SECURITY & PRIVACY Commercial SYSTEM UTILITIES Commercial WEB DEVELOPMENT Commercial |