The State of Open Source Software
by Rob Abel, March 1, 2006
This report is the first of a series. It provides an overview of the use and attitudes toward open source software in higher education. Follow-up reports will provide details on best practices for implementing open source solutions.
http://www.a-hec.org/open_source_state.html
A interesting sounding report focusing on Open Source educational tools in U.S. higher education. It only appears to be available to members but certain portions have been made public, for example:
- 32% of institutions haven't seriously considered open source
- 23% considering Moodle
- 19% think Moodle is viable today
- 5% currently using Moodle
There's also some very intersting comments attached to this (rather negatively toned) Inside Higher Ed commentary piece
The slashdot coverage is also interesting (give or take the usual wild tangents and obsessions) especially as the report author contributes. His comments in particular, remind me of someone here in Moodle.org, who seemingly accurately predicted that Sakai would play directly into people's stereotypes of open source being difficult to set up and administer, especially in the US where it is promoted more heavily and where attitudes to Open Source can sometimes seem a bit backward generally.
While the author seems very genuine, you can tell from his comments that he can't quite believe that Open Source (e.g. Moodle) could in any way surpass proprietary software, whether you're talking about ease of set-up, maintenance costs, installed base, usability, scalability (always my personal favourite) etc. It's a tough prejudice to shift, even in the honest and open-minded.