Should USEP adopt Open Source Software (OSS)? This is a question that begs to be answered and if the answer is yes, then the question, WHY, should be answered next before the, HOW could be discussed. These are questions that need to be answered.
Should USEP adopt/ apply or use OSS? My answer to this question is a resounding YES.
WHY:
“A leading university in the county that fosters innovation” and “A dynamic and balanced leader in Information and Communications Technology innovations” are two lines that every IC student of USEP should have engraved in their hearts, the former comes from the University’s Vision statement while the latter from the Institute of Computing’s. Innovation, that is exactly what OSS offers.
OSS has a lesser Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) or the total expenditure in using and maintaining the software. OSS doesn’t necessarily mean ‘no fee’. Most OSS are. They could be downloaded via the internet. The cost of installing an OSS on schools is much cheaper compared to installing propriety software the later usually having one computer one license policies. But on the over all scheme using OSS would put a lesser strain or no strain at all on the school’s budget and would allow excess funds to be diverted to other concerns.
The third reason for using OSS in USEP is an ethical concern. By using OSS the university would be promoting a more democratic form of technological practice as Gary Hepburn and Jan Buley put it. www.innovateonline.info The problem concerning the training of students to use a particular company’s software would be addressed. No longer will the students be locked in using a particular software but they would be given the chance to explore new and in some instances better software.
HOW:
The most difficult part of all is doing what we know we should have done. It is not enough just to know what is the right way, we should also DO the right way. So, how could we apply OSS in our University? It can be done, that is for sure. We could see that on the many examples of universities and high schools that applied OSS in their campuses. www.schoolforge.net compiles stories about these schools. Gary Hepburn and Jan Buley also wrote an article entitled “Getting Open Source Software into Schools: Strategies and Challenges”, this could be found at www.innovateonline.info. Before you could access the article you are first required to sign up at their site.
In the article three approaches are outlined on how to implement OSS on schools. All three of them could be applied in USEP but not at the same time. First, the university should run OSS applications in conjunction with propriety operating systems. When the students and staff become comfortable with the set up, the second approach could then be applied, that is running both OSS and propriety Operating Systems in one computer. After that a change to full use of OSS could be made.
References:
1. www.innovateonline.info
2. http://edge-o.org/grouch/schools.html
3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4642461.stm
4. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39198432,00.htm
5. www.networkworld.com/weblogs/smb/2006/012953.html
6. http://www.cjlt.ca/content/vol131.1/hepburn.html
7. http://www.netc.org/openoptions/home/quickstart.html
8. www.schoolforge.net
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