I have fired the starting gun on an exercise to create an information pack for schools on open source software. It will have sections on what open source is, a workbook of strategic questions to ask before embarking on a migration, implementation hints and tips a set of case studies (from this site) a directory (again from this site) and questionaire / feedback contacts and so on. The document will be public domain or CC license which is compatible with this site, and I intend to create a "release candidate" for peer scrutiny of this community as I know a lot of you actually work in schools (unlike me).
For me the low growing fruit is in the case studies and software directory that are already documented. I want to take these and cross reference them in the pack based on types of deployment, skills required and a set of other categories. In some cases a school board may have an idea about deploying an open source tool, but no current reference point, hopefully the pack will be able to link a target with a particular case study. On the other side of the coin a school may be looking for ideas but not be aware of their choices, in which case outlines of case studies with references to the full case study would be able to assist. The aim is to make one generic universally accessible pack that puts the case for open source and provides a roadmap to assist getting from concept to implementation.
However what I really need help on is the strategic planning for migration to open source. Ideally I would like to know the kinds of questions that those that have already implemented open source solutions in schools have asked themeselves or (if they were to do it again) would ask themselves before deployment.
I don’t work in a school but from my experience of ICT the kinds of questions I would ask as a head or board of governers before making strategic decisions are:
What level of OSS skills do I currently have?
Would the teachers and support staff be willing to migrate?
How can I mitigate the risk of a key staff member leaving?
What will I need to invest in?
These are just 3 that come off the top of my head, I am sure that there are others out there that could think of more. If you could spare the time could you please post your suggestions (and the reasoning behind asking the question) here so that I may include them in the pack. Similarly if you have any other ideas / suggestions for other sections mentioned (or additional sections) please discuss here.
Thanks for your assistance.
Tom.
Am I prepared to provide the leadership required for this particular change backing any strategy with my full authority and gain that of the governing body?
Reason: No meaningful change will take place without the strategic leaders being willing to drive it through.
Will I get any support from the LA?
Reason: In my experience some LA people are actively obstructive because they have their knowledge links and relationships entrenched in the proprietary world. Others are pro and supportive of individual apps, others more generally. It is best to find out where you stand, who is going to help and who is going to get in the way.
What can we do to prepare teachers to accept the change and its rationale?
Reason: Change has to be incrementally fed into day to day work over a period of time. There are many day to day things that can be done to prepare the way. Make understanding the importance of Open Systems part of the curriculum, for example. (This was the rationale for the INGOTs after experience of installing Linux thin clients) Explain where savings can be redeployed, the relationship between open systems and inclusion. I drafted an ITQ unit for e-skills on it so this might be useful. It is just a draft so any of it can be hacked, http://theingots.org/community/digital_inclusion
What are the small changes that can be implemented to move in the right direction with low risk?
Reason: Efficiency. Do the easy things first.
Do simple things first that don’t affect users to any great degree. Put Inkscape and Audacity on the School network. Do some training to show how these tools could be used in lessons and at home. Provide an option to use Firefox as well as IE. Offer the Schools ITQ and save on the exam bill. Give them some choice. Put an understanding of copyright and licensing in the core curriculum somewhere.
What alliances can I make with community groups to help in the change process?
Reason: Need support and expertise and the community is a free resource to start with. There is also more chance of finding consultancy that knows what it is talking bout rather than relying on the usual support systems.
I think people should start thinking around and beyond LA support/ sanction because there are too many gatekeepers and vested interests willing to block such activity.
What is missing in my book is central LA sanction and the investment in services to create a localised third tier of support for schools.
I think part of the problem is a dependency culture brought about by gatekeeping – it isin’t agile enough for the 21st Century .
There is a VERY interesting daily blog going on about Ten Steps to Transformation at Nesta at the moment – it is highly pertinent here I think, as the financial situation rolls out:
http://www.nesta.org.uk/keep_in_touch/ten_steps_to_transformation/stop_d…
The graph line for government income for the public sector is interesting. It was rising to a peak in 2000 and ever since has been lower. The forecast seems to be 2013 to get back to the 2000 level. So it would seem that all the money that was sloshing about for curriculum on-line etc over the last 10 years was all borrowed. And really, what is there to show for it apart from massive entrenchment in closed source systems that are phenomenally expensive to maintain?
We have fairly ineffective labels like "investors in people" and "lifelong learning" – they often end up as simple symbols that provide a cover for "no real change". Jump through some hoops, get the label, sorted. People need incentives to change. In a competitive sector that comes from the need to survive. In monopolised sectors whether public or private sector, radical change becomes almost impossible unless government or shareholders direct it and usually they are so broad brush and risk averse that change is unlikely especially if they are also cavalier with the money because they ignore savings through change that causes hassle. BECTA was a good example. More interested in procedures than the outcomes.
I think that the entrenched inertia is so great that by the time it starts to break down, cell ‘phone technology and cloud based applications will have taken over and so the FOSS debate will have moved to something very different. There is a good chance this country will be left behind by those in the so called "developing world" who didn’t have the money to waste locking themselves in to the current desktop technologies and whose only hope of an education is to do it via new low cost internet based systems. They are hungry for it, we are not.
PC – 1
LAN – 100
WEB/Cell phone – 1,000,000,000
Economies of scale for sharing the digital resource are a no-brainer and it is why web resources doesn’t need a license based business model to sustain development. However they do need some sort of business model whether advertising, donation or services and often those models have to go beyond national boundaries let alone LA groupings.