K-12 Examples > What are educators using? > Our survey results

Our survey results

This is the full description and analysis of our survey of current users in K-12.
See "What are educators using?" for a summary.

What are they using?

Operating systems | 75 Responses; April 2004 | Index | Analysis

Do you use open source operating system(s) (e.g. Linux) for:
Your desktop computer?
Yes	72	96%
No	3	4%
A thin client server?
Yes	40	53%
No	35	47%
Another kind of server?
Yes	60	80%
No	15	20%
Student desktop computers? (not thin clients)
Yes	24	32%
No	51	68%
Teacher/staff desktop computers? (not thin clients)
Yes	29	39%
No	46	61%

Backend solutions | 75 Responses; April 2004 | Index | Analysis

Do you use open source in the "back-end" for:
Web hosting? (e.g. Apache)
Yes	53	71%
No	22	29%
A Domain Name Server (DNS)? (e.g. Bind)
Yes	33	44%
No	42	56%
Web filtering? (e.g. SquidGuard, Dans Guard)
Yes	39	52%
No	36	48%
An email server (e.g. Sendmail)
Yes	41	55%
No	34	45%
A Web proxy server (e.g. Squid)
Yes	43	57%
No	32	43%
Security of firewalls (e.g. OpenLDAP, IPCop)
Yes	41	55%
No	34	45%
Finance or payroll system
Yes	3	4%
No	72	96%

Fronted solutions | 75 Responses; April 2004 | Index | Analysis

Do you use open source in the "front-end" for:
Student Web browsing? (e.g. Mozilla)
Yes	44	59%
No	31	41%
Teacher/staff Web browsing? (e.g. Mozilla)
Yes	40	53%
No	35	47%
Student productivity? (e.g. OpenOffice.org)
Yes	49	65%
No	26	35%
Teacher/staff productivity? (e.g. OpenOffice.org)
Yes	43	57%
No	32	43%
Other productivity? (e.g. GIMP, Web editing)
Yes	39	52%
No	36	48%

Recycled Hardware | 75 Responses; April 2004 | Index | Analysis

Do you use open source software with donated or recycled hardware?
Yes	55	73%
No	20	27%

Why backend | 70 Responses; April 2004 | Index | Analysis

Open source in the "back-end" (e.g. Web hosting, DNS, Web filtering)... How did the following influence your decision?
Customization
Don't know	1	2%
No importance	4	6%
Not very important	11	17%
Important	32	50%
Very important	16	25%
Desirable Features
Don't know	1	2%
No importance	1	2%
Not very important	4	6%
Important	36	56%
Very important	22	34%
Interoperability
Don't know	1	2%
No importance	2	3%
Not very important	6	9%
Important	27	42%
Very important	28	44%
Price
Don't know	1	2%
No importance	0	0%
Not very important	3	5%
Important	7	31%
Very important	53	83%
Reliability
Don't know	1	2%
No importance	0	0%
Not very important	1	2%
Important	12	19%
Very important	50	78%
Reputation
Don't know	1	2%
No importance	5	8%
Not very important	17	27%
Important	27	42%
Very important	14	22%
License Convenience
Don't know	1	2%
No importance	2	3%
Not very important	3	5%
Important	14	22%
Very important	44	69%
Security
Don't know	1	2%
No importance	0	0%
Not very important	2	3%
Important	20	31%
Very important	41	64%

Why backend (combined) | 64 Responses; April 2004 | Index | Analysis

How did the following influence your decision? (backend) "Important" or "Very Important"
Customization	48	75%
Desirable Features	58	91%
Interoperability	55	86%
Price	60	94%
Reliability	62	97%
Reputation	41	64%
License Convenience	58	91%
Security	61	95%

Why frontend | 46 Responses; April 2004 | Index | Analysis

Open source in the "front-end" (e.g. Web browsing, productivity)... How did the following influence your decision?
Customization
Don't know	2	4%
No importance	5	9%
Not very important	11	19%
Important	30	53%
Very important	9	16%
Desirable Features
Don't know	0	0%
No importance	0	0%
Not very important	7	12%
Important	32	56%
Very important	18	32%
Interoperability
Don't know	0	0%
No importance	3	5%
Not very important	6	11%
Important	18	32%
Very important	30	53%
Price
Don't know	0	0%
No importance	1	2%
Not very important	2	4%
Important	9	16%
Very important	45	79%
Reliability
Don't know	0	0%
No importance	0	0%
Not very important	1	2%
Important	21	37%
Very important	35	61%
Reputation
Don't know	0	0%
No importance	7	12%
Not very important	17	30%
Important	24	42%
Very important	9	16%
License Convenience
Don't know	0	0%
No importance	2	4%
Not very important	3	5%
Important	13	23%
Very important	39	68%
Security
Don't know	1	2%
No importance	0	0%
Not very important	3	5%
Important	18	32%
Very important	35	61%
Students and staff can take software home
Don't know	0	0%
No importance	6	11%
Not very important	10	18%
Important	18	32%
Very important	23	40%

Why frontend (combined) | 46 Responses; April 2004 | Index | Analysis

How did the following influence your decision? (frontend) "Important" or "Very Important"
Customization	39	68%
Desirable Features	50	88%
Interoperability	48	84%
Price	54	95%
Reliability	56	98%
Reputation	33	58%
Students and staff can take software home	41	72%

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Open Options is a product of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. These materials are in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission. The following acknowledgment is requested on materials which are reproduced: Developed by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Portland, Oregon.

This Web site was developed and maintained by the Northwest Educational Technology Consortium. The federal funding for the regional technology consortia program ended on September 30, 2005, and no further updates are planned unless additional funding becomes available. However, much of the content is still useful and NWREL will continue to provide access to this site to support educators and to meet its own technical assistance needs.