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Re: eForesee malta-ict: Scenarios for Malta in I CT

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  • Subject: Re: eForesee malta-ict: Scenarios for Malta in I CT
  • From: Dekkers Martijn at OPM
  • Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2002 16:04:15 +0200

Hi Juan, 
 
Your comment: 
 
> The use of computers will be the fulcrum of delivery of 
> curriculum. 
 
This raises an interesting subject - many schools are 
severely cash-strapped, and the use of computers is becoming 
increasingly expensive, and therefore prohibitive. 
 
There are several projects that work specifically with Open 
Source software to assist schools everywhere with offering 
more and better software, and at the same time lowering the 
financial burden on schools. For example: 
 
 - The SEUL/EDU and Schoolforge projects work together to 
bring a massive range of educational software within reach of 
most schools. 
http://richtech.ca/seul/ 
http://schoolforge.net/ 
 
 - The K12 project delivers a linux-based infrastructure that 
allows schools to re-use very old hardware (386 and 486 
machines) and upgrade their labs for a fraction of the normal 
cost. 
http://k12os.org 
 
 - The Freeduc project also maintains a massive index of free 
educational software 
http://www.ofset.org/freeduc/ 
 
Then, this discussion is about a newly launched study about 
the use of Open Source software in schools: 
http://newsforge.com/newsforge/02/08/19/2135220.shtml?tid=1 
 
The person sponsoring the study makes an interesting point: 
 
"John Weathersby, OSSI founder and chairman, says the goal of 
the study is for it to be a "logical and practical" guide for 
schools looking at Open Source software as an alternative. "I 
keep going back to practicality, because I think that's 
extremely important," Weathersby says. "Technology for 
technology's sake is not worth a lot to me, but technology 
that's applied, that's where the true value comes in." 
 
Weathersby says he hopes the study will focus on specific 
areas -- such as literacy skills, math skills, visual arts, 
databases and Internet browsing -- where Open Source can 
replace other software. 
 
 "We believe that Open Source solutions represent a 
practical, viable way to save our schools money and increase 
their computing efficiency," he adds. "Not to explore and 
leverage this technology for the benefit of our school system 
is, in my opinion, civilly negligent." 
 
The article is worth a look. 
 
Personally, I am in contact with management, teachers and 
sysadmins from schools all over the world that have adopted 
Open Source software - on a daily basis. All of the schools 
that have made the switch are extremely satisfied with the 
quality and performance of Open Source software, and have 
gained a lot more space within their IT budgets for items 
that really matter to the educational process, as opposed to 
having to spend it on basic infrastructure that adds little 
value on its own to the eductional process. 
 
Kind regards, 
 
Martijn Dekkers 
Chief Enterprise Information Architect 
 
Architecture Team, 
ICT Governance Department, 
Central Information Management Unit, 
Office of the Prime Minister, 
Gattard House 
National Road 
Blata l-Bajda HMR02 
Malta 
 
Tel : +356 25992369 
Fax : +356 234707 
 
http://cimu.gov.mt 
 
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