Link is-
http://www.edugeek.net/forums/blue-skies/60124-open-source-schools-miles-berry-offers-radical-response-ict-funding-cuts.html

Thanks,
James
-Please note that I am not in any way affiliated to Edu Geek-

Nokia are also in on this act. They’ve just released the App Wizard: http://appwizard.ovi.com/web_nokia/signIn.jsp

It looks like it does similar things to the Google system.

Mark

I do think you have hit on some fantastic points … and the finance constraints will force some issues to be faced, but I seriously worry that the cutting of corners (and that is what it will be) is the excuse for other agendas.

I think in a school with a technician that knows what they’re doing, this would work, but for most of us, we’ll have to rely on paying others I’m afraid! I’m a teacher, not a network manager.

First off, I applaud the challenge to community involvement, self-help and collaborative approaches. Yes, people do need to take more responsibility in-house and not just pay shed-loads of money they haven’t got for little-used proprietary solutions.

Of course it’s a truism to say “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” – but there isn’t!

ICT expertise is hard won and expensive (at very least in terms of time). Not everyone wants to do it and some will feel incapable.

Schools ICT cannot be left to an ad hoc mix of enthusiastic teachers, skilled learners and volunteer parents – that is simply unsustainable in many cases.

To say that schools can draw from open source solutions is one thing, but to suggest that they can replace the whole gamut strikes me as unrealistic.

Kids are used to excellence in much of the media they use. (Yes, they also watch a lot of amateur YouTube stuff at times too – but would they accept that in the classroom day after day?) We need some of the excellent content-creation and insprirational learning software that comes with a subscription/payment.

We are no longer in the textbook era, but your argument is little different from saying 20 years ago that textbooks are too expensive and that teachers should make their own. The textbook market grew up for a reason (and not just because of “approved” curricula.)

And the banda/photocopier also became prevalent for a reason – teachers/learners need a good mix.

While I agree with most of what you’ve written to various degrees, I can’t honestly say I think it’s completely sensible. In particular Point 5 seems misguided and makes a lot of wrong assumptions about what “LA or RBC” connectivity is and bases it entirely around a connection to the internet and access to NEN content.

As others have pointed out, simply switching on DansGuardian isn’t enough and the final part about children’s rights assumes that LA/RBC filtering can’t be controlled by schools or even learners. Of course, in some LAs that’s the case – but not all, in fact any LA, RBC or service provider worth their salt will be able to devolve filtering control to a school so that that institution can vary it by time, location, user… etc. It’s the case that the limiting factor is almost *always* schools’ reluctance to become legally responsible for what’s devices in their school can access. Are you assuming that since some LAs aren’t flexible enough then it’s OK to bin those that are, or is it that one person’s experience should approximate to a recommendation to everyone else?

We have a number of schools who do their own thing regarding their connection to the internet, but don’t realise that they are missing out on a shared infrastructure that they don’t realise they could use or even need. Anyone from our schools could, if required, log in to a Moodle in West Sussex, or an LGfL service, without the receiving institution needing to create and manage extra usernames and permissions – but those who opt-out for perceived “control” reasons are effectively leaving themselves out of those who band together and take a common infrastructure – which is useful in critical areas such as collaboration, transition, CPD, movement of staff and pupils between schools, teaching of shared courses – but of course, since most schools don’t think in these terms yet, it’s not worth having a common infrastructure that supports it. Right?

I have to say I think you’ve missed an opportunity to write something really positive – and I hope I don’t have to convince you of my thoughts on OSS & open approaches in general & all the benefits they can bring. This post does read like a list of directive “Don’ts” rather than a reflective, considered approach. There is no doubt that in certain circumstances a lot of the “Don’ts” are applicable – but to apply them unthinkingly is surely as much of a fault as dogmatically saying “Do buy software”, “Do replace your computers” and/or “Do pay for CPD”. I think labelling the points “Consider whether…” would be far more in keeping with the idea of “openness” – open to doing the right thing at the right time, rather than Not Doing Things because That’s Just What We (Don’t) Do. There are times when it’s not necessary to buy new machines – but there are times when it is, surely? Similarly, running GIMP or iMovie is appropriate for some things, but in certain circumstances learners (and teachers) need to use specific pieces of software, particularly when the vocational & careers side of things is concerned. I think the phrase “consider” would be particularly appropriate when examining Google Apps for Education and similar services, which are excellent but, like it or not, _do_ have issues around data, privacy etc – which I know you’re aware of, but which appear not to exist in the context of this post.

Am I wrong?

With best wishes,

Ian.

Great article. I’m just a *little* concerned that you make it all sound so easy.

Especially when you talk about hosting websites , Moodles and Elggs. Yes, it’s easy to set them up – but to ensure they run securely and efficiently is something for people who know webservers. So there’s still an investment to be made there – whether internally or externally.

On the filtering side of things, have you come across OpenDNS? (http://www.opendns.com/solutions/k12/) I don’t know how it compares price-wise with other solutions, but I’ve used it personally for a few years now, and would recommend it wholeheartedly. (Happy for you to delete this paragraph if you want – I don’t mean it to be spam – I’ve no connection with the company)

“them would be one way of making them aware of the digital footprint they leave on Facebook’s and Google’s servers too?”

please understand that digital footprints are about what you say, what others say about you and what the device you are typing on is telling the service about you. Worry less about what they say, and worry more about what others say as that you don’t control and you cannot remove.

more on my blog htt://www.mydigitalfootprint.com

Tony