In this article via readwrite.com MIT Labs is shown hacking a Kinect via an open source Chrome browser extension.
These developments could come together to provide an interface for Early Years children and the disabled in all sorts of interesting ways in education.
Those interested in getting involved are going to GitHub and downloading the software called depthjs which is open for collaboration there.
NB Microsoft is not amused by the open source software community's effort to build its own Kinect drivers. The company says that it won't condone reverse engineering and has promised to use technical and legal measures to prevent unauthorized third parties from repurposing the Kinect camera. Open Source Schools is merely reporting on this activity and doesn't in any way encourage or condone it.
Whilst we are on the subject of binding kinect into Open Source technologies - here is an example on Blender Nation of a point cloud created and imported into Blender:
"It shoots out a point cloud of what the Kinect sees into Blender, where you can export to PLY or any of the other formats Blender supports. This will also allow you to put this into something like Meshlab (or use Blender scripts that do the same thing) and get a 3D model of whatever the Kinect is seeing." (source Blender Nation OSS amendation to point to Wiki reference links)
This brings the art of Rotoscoping right up to date - shoot infrared points onto someone and there you go - an animation you can skin and export to different formats.
It looks like kinect will be an interesting tool for innovation coupled with open source plugins and licences if allowed to go ahead.
As a further addendum to all this activity readwriteweb.com has a comprehansive meta list of ongoing Open Source and Kinect drivers, plugins etc at http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/weekend_project_hack_microsoft_kinect.php