Scott wilson's open source in edu oss watch talk from the ucl event
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This document discusses open source software in education. It provides background on OSS Watch, an independent organization that supports education with open source. Open source is defined as software that provides users with freedom and control over the software. This includes the freedom to use, modify, and share the software. The document argues that open source is relevant for education for two main reasons - to provide sustained value from ICT over time by reducing costs and avoiding vendor lock-in, and to better meet user needs through flexibility and collaboration. While open source adoption has increased in UK universities, challenges remain in evaluating solutions, managing deployments, and enabling collaboration and development.
Scott wilson's open source in edu oss watch talk from the ucl event
- 1. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Open Source in Education Scott Wilson @scottbw
- 2. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 OSS Watch Independent Non-advocacy Based at University of Oxford Long history of supporting education http://oss-watch.ac.uk @osswatch
- 3. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 What is Open Source? What is Free Software?
- 4. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Software Freedom 0: The freedom to run the program, for any purpose 1: The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs 2: The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor 3: The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits
- 5. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Open Source Definition • Freely Redistributable • Source Code Included • Derived Works Permitted • Integrity of Author Source Code • No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups • No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavour • Distribution of License • License Must Not Be Specific to a Product (or distribution) • License Must Not Restrict Other Software • License Must Be Technology-Neutral (no 'click wrap')
- 6. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Open Development • Some, but by no means all Open Source projects practice a form of community-led open development • Open development supports sustainable software communities, fostering collaboration and user engagement
- 7. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Why is this relevant to education?
- 8. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Two Reasons • Sustained Value from ICT • Meeting User Needs
- 9. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Sustained Value • Reducing total cost of IT • Avoiding lock-in • Accessing the best solutions for purpose
- 10. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Reducing cost Open Source solutions usually, but not always, have a lower TCO This is driven principally not by removing licensing costs, but by wider choice of suppliers when it comes to hosting, support, consultancy. For example, many local SMEs provide services for common OSS platforms such as Drupal, Wordpress, Joomla, etc. In some cases this alone has driven 90% savings
- 11. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Avoiding Lock-In The takeover, and subsequent end-of-life of WebCT by market leader Blackboard was a wake up call for many in the sector Both closed-source and open-source software need to be evaluated for sustainability and viability of exit strategies examined as part of risk management
- 12. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Accessing the best solutions
- 13. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Meeting User Needs • A key characteristic of Open Source is the flexibility to innovate, contribute, and extend without having to seek permission • A key characteristic of Open Development is ability to collaborate to share costs of niche requirements
- 14. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Shared Solutions
- 15. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Where are we now? • Most UK Universities have procurement policies that consider open source • Open source options available for consideration in many, but not all, application areas (see http://oss.ly/opt )
- 16. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Where are we now? http://oss.ly/gdn
- 17. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Challenges? • Evaluating solutions • Managing deployment • Collaboration and open development
- 18. Scott Wilson, 20/6/2013 Find out more http://oss-watch.ac.uk @osswatch