Open Source Integration with Education

Despite my better instincts, I veered from the teacher strand to attend a "techie" workshop about FOSS, free and open source software. Luckily, Dan Tran, computer systems lab manager at TJHSST and a University of Virginia student, put heavy emphasis on the "introduction" part of his session title. This was a wise strategy on his part because, essentially, this was a sales pitch. But can you call it that if you don't have to buy anything? Perhaps a better description would be a motivational speech, daring us to better ourselves by freeing ourselves from proprietary software. It's not likely that WBAIS will go full-FOSS anytime soon, but I did think that some parts of the pitch had merit for our school.

For 1-to-1 laptops: Linux
Dell, which is what we are now using the for the 1-to-1 program in middle school, now offers laptops pre-installed with Linux. The benefits of Linux are that it is easily deployable through a free server, meaning that teachers and even some students could download the program themselves without burdening Gintas. Also, it runs on less memory, leaving more power, so to speak, for other applications. Of course, the downside is, there are programs that won't operate with Linux, but never fear: If Linux is downloaded as the operating system, you can simply revert back to Windows by removing the program.
For student-owned laptops: Edubuntu
Ubuntu offers a package of free Microsoft Office-like software designed specifically for educational purposes and programmed to work with Linux. Once again, high-school students would be able to download both free programs on their own, so teachers would not have to deal with inconsistencies in software during instruction. Once again, there is a downside, mainly the myth that companies like Ubuntu will get students hooked on their products then start charging (yes, software as a "Gateway" drug), but Edubuntu has pledged to remain free forever.
For in-class desktops: Linux Terminal Server Project
As you know, eventually classroom desktops will stop being funded by the school, but if you wanted to bring breathe new life into desktops that have been designated as doorstops, you could consider the Linux Terminal Server Project. This allows multiple computers to operate off a single server that is loaded with the necessary software. The attached computers, called thin-clients, are only recommended to have a Pentium II/300 processor, 64MB of RAM, and a 4MB display card, in which case even the oldest of our computers probably could measure up.
For faster surfing: Squid
This program was introduced as a way to allow remote access to private databases (instead of having to post a bunch of usernames and passwords). But the more important point to me was Web page loading. Squid caches the first load of any Web page, meaning that any successive users who open the same page (your entire class, for example) will see it load much faster.
For e-mail: Zimbra
This software, which is backed by Yahoo, offers most of the features as Microsoft Outlook -- e-mail, webmail, anti-spam, anti-virus, databases, and contacts -- for free. Know how much you hate having to type in an e-mail address after looking up in that darned PDF file? Zimbra would solve that. It also could compile databases of e-mails by constituency (parent, teacher, etc.), so the administrative assistants wouldn't have to.
Dare I say it, for Blackboard: Sakai
The Sakai Project has developed a program that includes all the features of Blackboard and Moodle and adds new ones regularly. For example, the latest version includes searchable wikis, which many of you have wanted to develop for your classes. Because of this, many colleges, including the University of Virginia, are adopting this program over Blackboard.

So did I take the pitch? Am I FOSS believer now? Well, I'm at least thinking about the implications of the fact that this very philosophy exists. If you'd like to do a little bit of light philosophical reading yourself, you can check out Dan's presentation.