Open Options | Why do educators choose it?

Here's how educators feel about open source:

Why open source?
The open source community
Zeal & pragmatism
Decisionmaking & migration

See "Interview highlights" for some excerpts by topic, including some write-in responses from the survey.

Why open source?

Educators are attracted by the low cost of open source solutions. They choose open source if it's clearly the lowest TCO, or if they have the flexibility to experiment. They want to spend money and other resources wisely. Educators continue to use open source because "it just works" and seems to have a lower TCO. Open source may foster new and dynamic learning, including advanced curricula in technology. Open source may create technology where none could exist, especially when students take the software home. Few educators modify source code, but they see the benefits of access in the regular improvements to the software they use.

More: "Interview highlights: Why open source?"

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The open source community

Educators are attracted to the collaborative, mutually supportive community. The open source community is very welcoming and supportive of schools, with a thriving subpopulation of educators. Some educators feel they get more than they give. Most believe it's getting easier for new people to experiment with open source and get the help they need for free.

More: "Interview highlights: The open source community"

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Zeal & pragmatism

Educators are pragmatic and practical about meeting stakeholder needs with the best technology solutions, proprietary or open source. Most want to use more open source solutions when and where they can. They feel pressure from budgets, software audits, and changing licensing systems. They're seeking to save money and develop more independence and flexibility with open source.

More: "Interview highlights: Zeal & pragmatism"

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Decisionmaking & migration

Most current users are acting independently, finding solutions and implementing them without top-down leadership. Open source is still poorly understood by most stakeholders. Open source has the most penetration on the backend (just like in business) where stakeholders are least impacted by change. Frontend programs like the GIMP and OpenOffice.org are growing in popularity as they mature. Migration is challenging so educators recommend careful experimentation and incremental change.

More: "Interview highlights: Decisionmaking & migration"

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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.