We all have the common thread of school – good memories and bad. Talking about any school subject stirs up the waters pretty good, as your responses to my comments about Open Source software offering advantages to schools. Some responses were favorable (the majority, thank you). Reader Mike said, “I’ve actually been asked what to stock a Information Processing class, and I asked what their budget was, and since they don’t have all that cash to blow, I suggested the Gimp, and Blender, OpenOffice, etc.. And I think they are pretty satisfied.”
Gimp, the GNU Image Manipulation Program, offers image manglers great functionality for free. I didn’t know about Blender, but it’s a 3D modeling and rendering program. OpenOffice is the Microsoft Office equivalent available for Windows and Linux operating systems with a price tag of zero (zip, nada, zilch). Mike continues, saying, “the downfall is, those programs are usually harder to teach, less known, and not industry standard.” I don’t know Blender, but Gimp and OpenOffice have achieved what I would consider mainstream acceptance. Certainly their price makes a strong argument for their use. If the choice is teach a non-commercial application or don’t teach computing at all, I say teaching something technical is better than teaching nothing. My comments were aimed less at classroom instruction than reference computers used by students to complete assignments and research on the Web. Reader Leon said, “Good article! Not convinced about Linux but OpenOffice would be a good start. Getting them to use safer browsers like Firefox would be another. I’d broaden this out and argue that social organizations and charities could really do well by going open source too.” I am convinced about Linux for security reasons if nothing else. A Linux desktop with Browser and Word Processor icons would give students what they need while avoiding the security hassles of Windows. Not everyone agrees with me. Reader Nikhil said, “Its easier said than done. And YAWN. This is the billionth article I’m reading about implementing Open Source in schools. People can’t use Windows properly. What makes you think that they will use Linux? With its poor documentation and poor usability?” It is easier said than done, but teaching students things they don’t know is the entire idea. I also believe Linux documentation (especially online help) and usability improvements just about equal what we get from Microsoft today. Reader Dean offers a long personal story (check the feedback from the original article for the entire note) but says getting teachers to even consider Open Source as an alternative has failed. Dean makes a great point that at least giving students who can’t afford Microsoft Office (even at the educational price of $149) free copies of OpenOffice solves a serious problem quickly and easily. As Tech Coordinator of his school district, Dean would be the main guy to implement Open Source, but says only two out of dozens of teachers and administrators he’s approached have been receptive. Not surprisingly, students have no problem with the concept. Do you have a success story helping schools or non-profit organizations save money with Open Source software? If so, let us know.
