Welcome to my first post along with Open Source in Schools…

22Mar08

I have been using blogs off and on for the last couple of years, but this is my first use of the Word Press format. I have seen others that have used this format and I liked the looks of it. What really got me here was a post I read that got me to thinking about Open Source software in public school systems. Like Mr. Crawley, I too work in a rural Illinois School district, and have pushed very hard for the introduction of open source software to offset the costs of closed source software. Unlike Mr. Crawley, I am a teacher as well as a technology coordinator, so my time is split between the two jobs. Since I do not have full days to deal with all the duties of a technology coordinator, I use software that is the most convienent for me. Sometimes this is open source, sometimes it is closed source.

-My Story-
When I took over as Tech Coordiantor 7 years ago, the district was lagging behind in technology after being one of the leaders in the state just a few years prior. I set my goal to upgrading the hardware systems in the district to be as homogenous as possible. Once that was accomplished, I then began to upgrade server software. Some servers had to stay as Windows for applications to run correctly, but others could be switched over to open source Linux. The first to do was our web server, which I changed from Windows 2000 to Mandrake (now Mandriva) Linux. Since I ran Mandrake on my home computer, I felt fairly comfortable with it. The web server was changed, and no one noticed it, which is how I wanted it. We also are bound by the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) so we had to have an Internet Filter that complied with this law. I ended up choosing the SME server with SquidGuard (after testing several commercial packages that failed to stop 2 high school students from going whereever they wanted too) . Again, the SME server is Linux based, and has performed wonderfully for the last 7 years.

For the most part, all of our systems are Windows based units. All the lab computers, laptops, and staff systems run Windows. However, there are a number of Open Source programs that we use on these systems (Open Office, Gimp, Audacity). I teach business as well as computer classes, and in those, I teach Microsoft Office. The only reason that I do is that I realize students will have to have an understanding of MS Office to function in the “real world.” However, I also teach them the Open Source alternatives, so that they all know that there is an option for them to use. In addition, we have a few Macs, and on those we use Open Source programs. My PC in my office runs Ubuntu. And all of our servers (except 2) run a version of Linux (Ubuntu, Mandriva, Fedora). The two that do not are application servers that have to have Windows on them.

-My Conclusion-
Thus far, I have concluded that there must be more consideration for Open Source alternatives in schools. Students should be exposed to as much as we can offer them, so that they can make an informed decision. Also, with budgets shrinking, and more responsibilities being placed on smaller staffs, we must be able to implement tools that can perform the job, no matter what source they be (open or closed.) I have been very fortunate in that the administration at my school respects my decisions, and is open to any ideas that is for the betterment of the district. I will admit that most of my staff is not that knowledgeable on open source software, but they are also willing to use whatever it takes to get the job done.

Filed under: Computers, Information Technology, Linux, Open Source, Public Schools, Rural, Schools, Small Towns, Software, Ubuntu, Web Design   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Computers, Information Technology, Linux, Open Source, Public Schools, Rural, Schools, Small Towns, Software, Ubuntu, Web Design