FOR NEWBIES: Not all software costs money. In the early days of computers, in fact, most software was free and freely exchanged between teachers before software companies began to form and monetize the industry. Free software still exists, only you may not know about it because it’s free (they don’t advertise). This free software is called by some “Open Source Software. And now on to my story…

The surprise highlight of the conference for me came totally by accident as the result of a chance meeting between my good friend and ride to CUE, Nick Pernisco, and Steve Hargadon outside the exhibit hall floor that resulted in Nick helping Steve to set up the computers for his morning session.

I have read Steve’s blog but I admire him most for his creation of the the Classroom 2.0 site on Ning which has gone a long way in furthering my own professional development and advancing the cause of educational technology. It’s like Myspace for teachers, bringing together educators interested in similar topics of education. It’s also led the way to the creation of many other groups including the literacy coach group I started.

So I was very interested to meet Steve even though I assumed his topic, “An Introduction to Open Source Software” would be really boring. But Nick got me to go so I sat down at one of the Dell PCs and proceeded to look for internet explorer (it wasn’t there, it was the Open Source Pavillion…oops).

Steve saw me, I believe he recognized my name because we’ve corresponded before and he said hello. I was a little bit in awe as he was the most famous person I’d seen at CUE but I could tell right away by the fact that he came over to say hello that he is very down to earth and not the arrogant SOB I fear many popular ed tech personalities might be if I met them face to face.

Then came the presentation. Steve was passionate about the subject and that passion was quickly contagious. While I knew of several open source programs and linked to a few on the free software page of Mr. Needleman.com it turns out I didn’t know the first thing about Open Source Software.

What I learned…

Operating systems can be free. I really didn’t know what Linux was. I thought it was an impractical operating system for super-dorks. However, an iteration of Linux, called Ubuntu can be installed freely on computers and includes a Microsoft Office alternative called Open Office which can read and write files that can be read by the actual Microsoft Office (you don’t need to buy Microsoft Office). While the name Unbuntu may conjure up images of strange lines of code flying across the screen in African dialects (I imagined it would look like MS DOS 2.0) Ubuntu/Linux looks pretty much like Windows. Let me repeat, running Ubuntu looks almost like running Windows.

This Ubuntu can sometimes run on older machines that can no longer be updated with new operating systems. Let’s repeat that…Many schools have older computers that they are ready to throw out, but they could be given new life by installing Ubuntu and the cost of the Ubuntu operating system is free. Ubuntu has never had a virus and does not get spyware. How’s that for you? You can run PCs without spyware. Susan’s Gateway laptop which takes 30 minutes to start up might take only ten if we installed Ubuntu on it.

Interesting Points

Free does not equal no cost. There is the cost of the software (which is free) but there is a cost in man hours installing the software. However, this is really no different from installing the latest Windows or Mac operating system. Someone still has to go to each computer and install it.

Different tools for different jobs. Steve makes the point that a school with ten thousand dollars might by one Macintosh AND a whole lab of Ubuntu running machines to get the best of both worlds.

What I’m Wondering

Does Ubuntu run on old Macs? I prefer the Mac platform but on our older iMacs I wonder if Ubuntu would be a solution to bring them up to date.

Can you run commercial software on Ubuntu? If teachers install Ubuntu but still wanted to run Type to Learn on it, could they?

How do the creators of these software programs get paid? I know they’re nice guys and believe in making stuff free but I keep wondering if they’re each independently wealthy or how they are somehow able to profit from making this stuff available free. Especially, as something like Moodle gets repackaged and then sold by other vendors. Who is original Mr. Moodle and is he alright?

What I Wish

I wish that I knew of a free Open Source movie making alternative to iMovie/MovieMaker. I do know Audacity is a free alternative to Garageband.

My Two Cents

Steve didn’t mention one of my favorite Open Source software programs, NVU, a Dreamweaver web site creation alternative.

The Takeaway

This opens the doors to what is possible in schools. Teachers should be aware that there is an alternative to Macintosh/Windows operating systems that is much less expensive and could go a long way toward putting computers in every child’s hands. Steve’s made me a believer.