Starting with a computer made from recycled parts by 8-11 year olds and a copy of Edubuntu, this County Kerry school with a diverse catchment and a comitment to child centred education has massively expanded its curriculum IT provision, making extensive use of open source software.
Tralee Educate Together National School, is a primary school in County Kerry, south west Ireland. The school is part of the 8% of primary schools in Ireland that are non Roman Catholic. There are 120 pupils on roll; 80% of whom are of non-Irish origin – with parents who have refugee status or who are from the new EU states. The school is a member of Educate Together, a charitable organisation promoting multi-denominational, co-educational, child-centred education.
Until 2007, the school had no computing facilities at all and no budget for procurement. The initial use of open source came about when Treasa Ni Eachthigheirn (then working as a resource teacher and now one of the class teachers) proposed that the school should consider building a computer from recycled parts and open source software.
Background
Treasa, who has a technical background and couldn't believe the school didn't have a computer, was able to provide a range of computer components, which were brought into school. Pupils from years 4, 5 and 6 took part in workshops led by Treasa about the main components of a computer. The result of these workshops was a recycled computer on which Edubuntu was installed. Having built themselves a computer, Treasa then researched software that it would be useful to add to the bundled applications in Edubuntu.
The school recently received a grant to fund the purchase of one computer per classroom. However, the funding only covers the hardware and, with the exception of Windows as the operating system, the software used is open source or freeware. Applications include :
Teachers
Teachers were initially reluctant to try operating systems and software that they were not familiar with. A compromise was reached to install Windows as the operating system for the new grant-funded computers, but all of the software installed on these Windows machines is open source or freeware.
The initial benefit has been the ability to provide a computer for the school. The pupils benefit from the wide range of applications provided by Edubuntu and the school benefits because the use of this software incurs no cost.
The school has pupils with special needs who have been able to use the computer to develop motor skills through the use of the mouse. Autustic pupils have benefited from using the open source application 'Tux Typing', which allows them to perform repetitive tasks. Treasa feels that students with special needs benefit greatly by having access to a computer.
Being able to download and try open source software, without having to go through a procurement process, has also been a benefit.
As a disadvantaged school, pupils are lucky if they have a computer at home, but the use of open source in school means that those with access to a home computer are able to install the same software on it that they use at school.
Challenges have mainly related to staff being reluctant to move from familiar software and a wariness of software that is not purchased (in a box). There was a need to convince teachers that it wasn't impossible to work without proprietary software.
The school aims to teach the core skills needed to undertake tasks using applications rather than teach specific packages. Pupils can transfer the skills they've acquired by using open source applications to proprietary packages if required.
The school is likely to continue with open source and free software as it does what is needed for the school and fits in with the Educate Together ethos. As additional funding for IT is unlikely, open source allows the school to make the most of limited resources.
As a result of the success in using Edubuntu, Treasa would advise others to start by installing Edubuntu on an old computer – wipe the disk and install the operating system. This also has environmental and financial benefits by re-using and re-cycling equipment that would otherwise be thrown away.
Another way of extending the life of a computer is to realise that not all computers need to be multi-functional – assign a specific purpose for the computer (word processing or internet browsing, for example) and just install the minimum amount of software needed for these tasks.
A valuable source of information and support came from Access Space, a free media in Sheffield, which performs a strong community social function and is based on peer to peer learning. Treasa spent time at Access Space in summer 2007 and has used that experience to good effect in the school.
Treasa's ultimate goal is to establish a free media lab in Tralee where pupils and the local community can learn about and benefit from open source software.