Proposals
From Schoolforge-UK
Contents |
Background
Following the meeting hosted by Becta on 14th April, there is an urgent need for a coherent strategy to broaden the use of Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) in UK schools and colleges. To be effective, such a strategy must be credible and acceptable to the wider Open Source community, and so capable of engaging widest participation from the community.
Outline of Proposals
In presenting their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) project, Becta emphasised three key messages:
- FLOSS does provide an appropriate infrastructure for schools
- Schools choose different levels of FLOSS deployment, ranging from desktop systems, to network servers, to FLOSS applications running on Windows
- Success in using FLOSS to reduce TCO is always achieved by "champions" who possess both technical and planning skills
With these in mind, Schoolforge-UK is working on these proposals:
- Schoolforge-UK will affiliate with the Open Source Consortium to establish the Education Working Group with the aim of providing Becta with a single point of contact representing the Open Source community
- The Schoolforge-UK web site will be remodelled to provide a continuously developing support service, with pages of helpful links and "How-To" information, together with searchable email lists
- A Schoolforge-UK Consultant Accreditation Scheme for independent consultants who can advise schools on the TCO impact of different strategies for implementing FLOSS, which schools can use to assess the merits of alternative approaches
- Schoolforge-UK SysAdmin Qualifications, which recognise the exceptional range of knowledge and skills needed to successfully implement FLOSS systems in schools
Messages
We need to make sure our line on this is right...
1) FLOSS can now be installed by companies or interested parties - you don't need to have a skilled FLOSS techie person on site.
2) FLOSS is about sustainable computers in classrooms - 4 classrooms with proprietary software, 10 with FLOSS:
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| FLOSS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
3) With FLOSS you get more than double the value out of your hardware and support costs.
4) Schools and colleges should be co-operating to commission the open software solutions they want, and release them under the GPL.
5) Schoolforge-UK is the obvious point of contact for interested parties
6) Schoolforge-UK leads the Open Source Consortium Education Working Group, which brings together all interested parties to enable people to deploy FLOSS in their school or college
Participant organisations
We welcome the widest participation from the Open Source community to develop and carry through these proposals. If you would like to participate please contact conference at schoolforge org uk.
