Barry Polley has kindly sent me a revised verion of the MoJ open source discussion paper.
Some changes reflect further consultation, others reflect feedback from the NZOSS list and website.
A summary of changes is as follows:
- Added TCO policy (#11)
- Updated references to OSS adoption within public sector (global and NZ)
- Corrections to version and documentation policies
- Wording changes based on additional feedback from readers.
You can't fit that much detail into an Op-Ed piece but at least the authors have a go here.
Their conclusion? Education is very teacher centric at present and current computer use in classrooms tends to reinforce that view. There are historical reasons for that however they opine that for the future the 'classroom' must become child or student centric i.e. change from a monolithic teaching structure to modular learning structure. Linux is used as both the example and the means to do this.
Of course we see the benfits of this here in New Zealand with the results from the use of Moodle by the Telford Rural Polytechnic. The case studies from Telford and other NZ academic institutions using Moodle can be found here.
Over the last few years the NZOSS has been able to participate in the training portion of IBM New Zealand's Kidsmart deployment. As part of that training we have provided copies of Open Source software CD's based around The OpenCD and now The OpenDisc to every Kindergarten and Childcare Centre that has received a KidSmart unit. The training is hands on and includes tutorials and demonstrations of the power of Open Source tools. Feedback from the training sessions has been universally positive especially as the Open Source philosophy is closely aligned with how many parents and teachers expect learning to happen.
We have written up a short description of what Open Source software we recommend the Kindergartens and Childcare Centres should use and why here.
We would encourage you as parents to use this information as guide for what may be acheived in your own childs education.
As part of the IBM KidSmart (PDF) program the New Zealand Open Source Society has provided copies of popular Open Source programs to over three hundred Kindergartens and Child Care centres throughout New Zealand. We have used the ISO CD images from The OpenCD project in the past and will use the images from The OpenDisc project in the future.
Many businesses are embracing open source technology within their business. The following list of business users of open source shows that open source is now being taken seriously from small businesses to multinational companies.
https://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/ Air New Zealand
