This is really just something to seed my blog.  I wrote it to explain the non techy themes for SMT when Moodle was being looked at for Exeter College VLE provision.

Myths and refutations

• Hackers in bedroom - many commercial orgs; Novel, Sun, IBM, HP......
• Free = cheep 'n' nasty - often very reliable and full featured, much of internet runs on OSS.
• No support  - available from community and commercially
• All or nothing - can mix, OSS use of open standards makes that easier

Philosophy - community, sharing, derived works, freedoms

At the heart of Open Source is a philosophy of community collaboration and building on other's works. Easy access to electronic communications makes global collaboration easy and the low cost of entry means more can participate. Copyright laws are used to ensure the works remain available to all and foster derivation and innovation. These ideas became recognised in software development but have roots in the way science and art develop and are growing in areas as diverse as windsurfing and journalism.

Contrast this with the proprietary model which focuses on keeping secrets using licenses, patents and Non Disclosure Agreements.

Code is becoming commodity, commercial companies make money other than through a license e.g. through support contacts. Note Open Source can be commercial but never proprietary.

Open Content is similar but for non-code works. The Creative Commons licenses allow authors to ensure works are reusable but control the conditions. This has big implications for educational resources, with much content available for reuse and development in teaching e.g. WikiPedia.

Open Resources align with educational needs and ethos with colleges and Universities embracing it. A growing grass roots movement of educators is developing the solutions THEY need, using easily personalised tools to deliver content and engage students. David Hargreaves of Becta thinks it is vital for teachers to form Opens Source like 'innovation networks'.

Cost - savings on license, lower TCO, bridge digital divide

The big one. Schools can make large (60K) costs savings as license fees are usually 0. The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) covers training, maintenance, development and can be low. Community aspects reduce these costs to.  Often the developers themselves are freely accessible and give first-class first-hand support. Fast fixes or feature additions are commonplace and no forced expensive upgrades.

Fixes can be done by in-house tech staff (and return to projects) as code is transparent and good community support is available to help. OS development tools are popular (or even standard) and projects attract techies with good skills so people can often be easily found.

Low cost bridges digital divide as more can own tools.

Data Ownership - access, future access

Proprietary data formats mean that your data is locked up with the manufacturer controlling access. These can lead to vendor lock-in with inability to access data in future without (expensive) upgrades. In contrast OS tools often use Open Standards like Open Document which mean more ways to access data. In addition access to code gives security and older versions often available.

Community - support, contribution, participation

Many popular open source projects have very active communities of users working alongside voluntary and commercial contributors. They provide support at many levels and rapid turn-around of feature requests and maintenance needs. Features can be based on users needs not vendor motivations.

The 'works' exist in a 'commons' with free access and an expectation (but not requirement) to contribute back in some way. e.g. customisations returned to project.  This provides a way to contribute to a community. Schools can cluster in mutually supportive  groups spreading knowledge.

License and cost grant freedom to give tools always for staff or students to use at home or part of community outreach.

Can teach global citizenship by getting students involved in OS projects.

Status - rapid uptake by business and education

Open source appears to have reached a 'tipping point' with large scale interest and uptake. The cost savings, reliability and close match to education needs and philosophy mean that Becta and JISC and indeed the UK Government now recommend Open Source Software.

I've only had time to scratch the surface but really like it so far. Looks like an excellent tool for forming lose collaborations which is just what the doctor ordered.

A few observations on this .net instance:

Delete key doesn't work in blog editor (IE in Windows)

I'd like to specify the license for my blog. Ideally a text box to paste CC license code from their license chooser page or any other HTML + javascript.

To help visibility of activity i'm interested in I'd like a like more flexibility in RSS feeds. Ideally a basic aggregator allow picking of which sources and whether my posts appear in freinds blogs feeds etc.

It doesn't seem possible to thread blog comments. If I respond to a comment on my blog will the author be notified of my response?

I guess there is a way to raise these issues but I haven;t found it yet