Utilizing OSS in Schools of Hong Kong Joey Chan July 10, 2004.
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Transcript of Utilizing OSS in Schools of Hong Kong Joey Chan July 10, 2004.
Utilizing OSS in Schools of HK
What Is Open Source? Administrative Issues Educational Issues Research Findings Conclusions & Recommendations Major References
What Is Open Source?
In the 80’s, programmers in the “hacker” community liked to compete their skills
A programmer distributed his/her own program with its codes on Internet
Interested users read the codes and made improvement (occupies less memory, runs faster, etc.)
They also fixed bugs and added new functions
Everybody in the process could enjoy the result of this cooperation
What Is the Difference?
Proprietary Software Conventional software with source
codes closed as secret Freeware & Shareware
Can be obtained freely, but not with source codes
Open Source Software Source codes are freely available
What Is the Difference?
Open source doesn't just mean access to the source code. The distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the following criteria:1. Free Redistribution2. Source Code3. Derived Works4. Integrity of The Author's Source Code5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor7. Distribution of License8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product9. License Must Not Restrict Other Software10.License Must Be Technology-Neutral
http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php
What Is the Point? Open source is an innovative
method for developing reliable software (Eric Raymond, 2001)
The availability of source codes lets people from all over the globe participate in the process of debugging and improving software (Richard Stallman, 1998)
Open source represents the recognition of social cooperation in the information age (Steven Weber, 2003)
Administrative Issues
Budget Challenge Flexibility in Control Opening the Quality of Software Total Cost of Ownership
Application Proprietary Alternative Cost
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Pro $780
Office Suite Microsoft Office XP Pro $1,380
Anti-Virus Norton Anti-Virus 2004 $295
Graphics CorelDraw 11 $1,050
Photo Editor Photoshop 7.0 $2,190
Video Editing Adobe Premiere 7.0 Pro $1,780
Development Tool Microsoft Visual FoxPro 8 $900
Total $8,375
Proprietary Software Price List
Proprietary Software Price List
Application OSS Alternative Cost
Operating System Fedora Linux Core 1 $ 0
Office Suite OpenOffice.org 1.1 $ 0
Anti-Virus Clam AntiVirus 0.7 $ 0
Graphics GIMP 2.0 $ 0
Photo Editor GIMP 2.0 $ 0
Video Editing JahShaka 1.9 $ 0
Development Tool MySQL 4.0 $ 0
Total $ 0
Budget Challenge
OS + Office Suite + Anti-Virus Primary School
$2,455 x 91 computers = $223,405
Secondary School $2,455 x 247 computers =
$606,385 Technology Upgrading Hardware Lifespan
Schools may develop a thinner version of Linux, like the K12LTSP, running on the obsolete computers
Flexibility in Control
Adoption and Adaptation Not an “all or nothing” selection OSS application on proprietary OS Proprietary client connects OSS server
License Management Storage of license Inventory control and audit Legal trap for administrators
Scalability No software purchase red tape No CAL needed
Quality of Software
Reliability Large firms and governments are
investing in OSS Market shares are increasing
Security Less attacks and fewer viruses Bugs are transparent High configurability may cause problem
Usability Used to focus on power & function, not
usability
Total Cost of Ownership
Introduced by IT Research Agent, Gartner 15 years ago, TCO is a concept of considering “all costs associated with computing when making management decisions about computer acquisitions, upgrades, support, and administration”
Total Cost of Ownership
“Taking TCO to the Classroom” helping school leaders in understanding
the long-term costs involved in constructing and operating a network of computers
Checklist includes six elements: 1. Retrofitting 2. Connectivity 3. Software 4. Replacement5. Professional Development6. Support
Total Cost of Ownership Professional Development
Teachers may be gridlocked into old patterns and perceptions (McKenzie, 1991)
Opportunity to restructure the previous software specific, technique based training course for teachers
Support Because of the lack of qualified
personnel, the cost of technical support can be greater for open source
Open source, open support source
Knowledge Sharing
OSS demonstrates that Internet opens the pool of collaborators to the world
Programmers around the world are building knowledge products with collaboration, and the result is significant
OSS guarantees the freedom for the public to study how software works, to adjust for individual needs, to redistribute copies to others, and to improve it and share the improvement to benefit others (Stallman, 1996)
Dynamics and Innovation
Schools must not bind itself with single off-the-shelf proprietary software and let students explore the infinite possibility of OSS (Moyle, 2003)
The opened source codes have established a user innovation network to counter problems (Drakos, 2002)
OSS demonstrated “the viability of a massively distributed innovation system that stretches the boundaries of conventional notions” (Weber, 2003)
Information Literacy
Helping to solve digital divide (Dravis, 2003) OSS facilitates students to question both with
in and outside the boundaries imposed through the use of closed source code systems (Moyle, 2003)
Application-specific training provides little opportunity for students to apply their IT skills solving the real-life problem (Perez & Uline, 2003)
OSS has given a significant advantage to educators and students to understand the details (Pfaffenberger, 2000)
Research Stages
Acquire OSS opinions from computer users in school
Observe the utilization of an OSS based staff intranet server in school
Record the experience on the OSS desktop system setup and usage
Research Findings (1) Common Believes
The majority of computer users has little understanding and has misconceptions on OSS
They usually believe that the lower cost of OSS may eventually exchange the quality of the software
Participants also concern that the change in software will affect their efforts on existing files
Most of them prefer not to change from familiar software existing in their work place
Research Findings (2)
OSS Based Staff Intranet
Some successful OSS utilization ingredients are identified: Technology transparent (no bias) Strong professional IT support team Soft launch with patience Availability of training Deliver new functions with technology
(not just a change of current habit)
Research Findings (3) Desktop Trial
Not quite like the used Microsoft language Need time to find operating procedures Some common proprietary software has
not yet had any OSS alternative File format conversion has problem Some desktop peripherals and website
support only Microsoft products The acceptance of pirated software is
higher than OSS OSS tends to yield its users to have better
understanding on computer operation
Conclusions - Pros
Lower software acquisition / upgrade cost Keeping latest software in school Prolonging lifespan of hardware Greater flexibility and scalability Easier software inventory control Can be partially adopted Solving digital divide among students Real-life sample of collaborative learning
and knowledge sharing Promoting innovation Advancing information literacy
Conclusions - Cons
Not easy to configure Lower usability Requiring extra training for staff Higher support and maintenance costs Low acceptance from computer user Lower software availability, e.g. FrontPage
alternative Lower peripherals / website support Need patience to adapt and adopt
Recommendations
School must have more than one technical personnel who are familiar with the operation of OSS
The OSS adoption may be started with new file servers, the Internet server, or Intranet server providing new services to users
Rush or hustle often results reluctance Partial utilization does no harm, and the
school can still benefit from OSS
Opportunities for Teachers
Utilize donated computers with Linux operating system and other OSS applications as information stations
Building new school intranet server with hands-on OSS like phpBB and Open WebMail
Sharing software with students Looking for software with no budget?
http://sourceforge.net/search/ http://www.schoolforge.net/software.php
Major References
Birk, J., Horluck, J., Jorgensen, N. & Pedersen, M. K. (2003). Open-Source Software in Digital Management in the Public Sector (Sun Microsystems, Trans.). Retrieved December 27, 2003 from http://wwws.sun.com/software/whitepapers/staroffice/Open_Source_050803_v4.pdf (Original work published 2002)
Fink, M. (2003). The Business and Economics of Linux and Open Source. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR.
Moyle, K. (2003). Open Source Software and Australian School Education, An Introduction. Australia: @education.au limited. Retrieved December 27, 2003 from http://www.educationau.edu.au/papers/open_source.pdf
Dravis, P. (2003). Open Source Software, Perspectives for Development. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank Group. Retrieved December 27, 2003 from http://www.infodev.org/symp2003/publications/OpenSourceSoftware.pdf
Major References
Raymond, E. S. (2001). The Cathedral & The Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly. http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue3_3/raymond/
Stallman, R. (1994). Why Software Should Not Have Owners. Retrieved October 1, 2003 from http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-free.html
Weber, S. (2003b). The Success of Open Source. Retrieved
December 27, 2003 from http://brie.berkeley.edu/~briewww/people/SWChapter%201final.pdf