The term “open source” software is used by some people to mean more or less the same category as free software. It is not exactly the same class of software: they accept some licenses that we consider too restrictive, and there are free software licenses they have not accepted. However, the differences in extension of the category are small: nearly all free software is open source, and nearly all open source software is free.
– Free Software Foundation
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/categories.html
OpenSource Definition
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What an interesting topic!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how you will handle something like ePals SchoolMail and Global Community.
Both are free in the sense of no cost. The Global Community has always been free, and SchoolMail was $8 a student until about 2 years ago, when the company decided this was something they would contribute to the good of K12 schools worldwide. Every company gives away something in education.
However, the ePals SchoolMail code is not available, as the owners of the code do not wish to allow others to modify it. And ePals is a for-profit company, not a nonprofit. It's part of a new genre of companies with social responsibility tied to profits. (see article in New York Times in Feb. 2009 about that concept with ePals being one of the illustrations of a new type of company)
I'm not sure where it fits into the scheme of GNU above....but if the code is not available, they probably don't like it for GNU. But is that the only criterion?
In addition, the ePals company allows schools and districts to plug in their own apps. So for example, ePals has translation into 35 languages. If a school district has purchased an API for another language that isn't among the 35, then that could be plugged in. And that is an important and powerful point for districts.
Another issue is integrity of student data (and other things that might not be public information, such as teacher employment records). Some data may not much matter; other data (such as my credit card info) I want to make sure has the highest level of security.
I think you will have a very interesting session, and I look forward to seeing the results of your deliberations!
Open Source Software you should look at is Flexbooks from CK12, its allows people to collaborate on the creation of books and more.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ck12.org/flexr/
Use this link for CK12 / Flexbooks
ReplyDeletehttp://about.ck12.org/about-us
So, I thought open source really meant-code available to anyone who wants it to modify, add, etc. Linux would be the example. Is that true and the term "open source" sort of got hijacked by others to also mean "free?"
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