Three e-Learning producers were talking about a new project. During the discussion, one of the producers said, “We really need some capabilities that the tools we’re using now don’t offer, if we’re going to do this project right. The trouble is that we don’t have the budget to upgrade. I wonder if there are any open source tools that we could use.”
The least experienced producer said, “You know IT will never go for open source. I’ve heard the director say that open source software isn’t supported, it’s buggy, and there are licensing issues — some open source software has ‘license traps’ that say it can’t be used by for-profit organizations.” The third producer said, “It doesn’t matter anyway. There’s no open source software for e-Learning, and even if there is it’s way underpowered.”
Would you be surprised to learn that the second and third producers are wrong?
Lack of budget is a serious obstacle to high-quality e-Learning production in many organizations, and open source software can certainly help overcome this barrier. But a number of misconceptions also affect the perceived acceptability of open source software. These include questions about support and suitability for the purpose.
In this article, I will discuss exactly what open source software is, the level of support and the kinds of benefits users can expect, and some common concerns, such as licensing, distribution, and intellectual property issues. I will offer some examples of organizations and e-Learning projects where open source software has played a key role. I will conclude with lists of open source tools for e-Learning, and of other resources that you can use to fill in the gaps in your own knowledge of open source software.
What is the open source concept?
Are you building today’s e-Learning with yesterday’s software tools because you cannot afford more current software? New projects often mean new challenges that can’t be met with old tools. Software updates definitely affect return on investment, raise overhead costs, and reduce profits. Continual improvements and software obsolescence challenge us to keep up with new features and capabilities. While technology improvements (infrastructure and hardware) also enable better delivery, they create the need for expensive and time-consuming software changes: buy a new computer — buy all new software. It costs a lot of money to stay updated and to keep pace.
And cost isn’t the only issue keeping e-Learning developers awake at night. Today we have many concerns over security and privacy, concerns that it often seems commercial software does not address. When you have a problem using software, how easy is it to find answers? When there are bugs in a piece of off-the-shelf software, how long does it take the vendor to correct them? If a commercial software product needs just a little “tweak” or some other small modification, or additional capability that would make all the difference in your project, can you make that change, or get the vendor to make it? The right answers to these questions would help us all create more with less.
The open source software community claims to have the answer for more cost-effective, higher-quality software. Advocates suggest that open source software addresses long-standing concerns in training and education regarding the cost and performance of proprietary commercial learning products, authoring tools, and management systems. Open source developers are finding ways to provide great software, upgrades, and support whenever you need it, all via the Internet. When the software does not do exactly what you need it to do, users can customize it to meet individual or organizational needs. Open source makes it possible to use the same free software on all computers in an organization without having to buy multiple seat or site licenses. An entire school district, university, or Federal agency can install any number of open source applications from a single set of disks purchased for only a few dollars, or obtained from another institution. When there’s a bug, or when a user is having trouble with software features, there is an entire community available to help solve the problem quickly, at no charge.
However, we have yet to realize the full potential of open source software. As e-Learning professionals, we should be attempting to understand the progress of open source development as more cost-effective solutions and opportunities become available.
The Open Source Definition (OSD), and the Open Source Initiative (OSI)
“Open source” has been a topic of discussion among developers for a number of years. There are several ways to understand the term and the open source movement. Probably the most widely accepted definition of “open source” originated in 1997 in the Debian developer community. (Debian is a free distribution of the GNU/Linux operating system, related software packages for many computer architectures, and a package management system.) This definition has its formal expression in The Open Source Definition. The definition lays out 10 criteria for the distribution terms of open source software. (See Sidebar 1) The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is a nonprofit corporation that manages and promotes the OSD. See the OSI site at http://www.opensource.org for additional details, including:
- The Open Source Definition
- Licenses approved by OSI and the license approval process
- Trademarks, graphics, and the certification mark and program
- An extensive FAQ file (Frequently Asked Questions)
- News about Open Source
- Software products that meet the open source criteria
Open source doesn’t just mean access to the source code. The distribution terms of open source software must comply with the following criteria:
- Free redistribution The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.
- Source code The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. Where some form of a product is not distributed with the source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost — preferably, downloading via the Internet without charge. The source code must be the preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program. Deliberately obfuscated source code is not allowed. Intermediate forms such as the output of a preprocessor or translator are not allowed.
- Derived works The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software.
- Integrity of the author’s source code The license may restrict source code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of “patch files” with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original software.
- No discrimination against persons or groups The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.
- No discrimination against fields of endeavor The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.
- Distribution of license The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.
- License must not be specific to a product The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program’s being part of a particular software distribution. If the program is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the program’s license, all parties to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in conjunction with the original software distribution.
- License must not restrict other software The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open source software.
- 1 License must be technology-neutral No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface.
Copyright (c) 2006 by the Open Source Initiative (opensource.org)
“Free” vs. “open”
“Free” has a variety of meanings and connotations. Although the term always means it costs nothing to download and use, it does not always mean that the source code is available, that the software is “free” of copyright restrictions, or that anyone may use it.
“Open source” always means that the software is free to redistribute, that it includes the source code, and that anyone may use it. Just be sure that you verify the licenses of software for OSI certification.
What does “open source” mean in this article?
Because the open source idea is so popular, people tend to make somewhat imprecise use of the term. For our purposes in this article, open source refers to software created and maintained by a community of developers, rather by than a single vendor, and distributed under a license that conforms to the OSD as identified by the “OSI Certified” mark.
Open source benefits
It would be easy to think, given the “free redistribution” criterion in the OSD, that the main benefit of open source software is what we might call “zero licensing cost.” However, like any other software, there are always costs involved in implementation of open source products. In fact, even with commercial software, the license cost may be only a small part of the total cost of ownership. Depending on the product, installation of open source software may involve considerable expense and effort, as anyone knows who has ever installed a learning management system (LMS).
Looking beyond the issue of initial cost, the true benefits of open source software may vary from one organization to the next. However, for many, the chief value of open source appears in OSI’s one sentence summary: “Open source promotes software reliability and quality by supporting independent peer review and rapid evolution of source code.”
The issues of reliability and quality are as critically important in e-Learning applications as in any other. This is particularly true when the e-Learning supports mission-critical outcomes such as certifications, career development, and succession planning.
Furthermore, for organizations that can support programming efforts, the fact that it is possible to modify source code may be quite important. This frees the organization from dependence on single vendors, and from the uncertainties of product development (or product elimination). It also permits customization to whatever degree best serves individual or organizational needs. Other benefits may apply to your organization, and I have already mentioned several of these: upgrades and bug fixes from the user community more often and/or more quickly than a vendor would be able to do, simpler licensing, and better support.
Misconceptions, objections, and responses
Two of our developers in the opening discussion expressed doubts about the acceptability and availability of open source software for e-Learning. You may hear a number of reasons, some credible-sounding and others not, why organizations might not adopt the use of open source software.
“You can’t use open source software if you’re a for-profit business.”
This is an easy objection to deal with, if the software is OSI certified. The Open Source Definition prohibits license traps that prevent open source from commercial use. If you find a “free” product with such a restriction in its license, it is not true open source, and it is not OSI certified.
“There’s no support for open source software.”
This objection is often expressed in a number of ways:
- Critics sometimes suggest that a particular open source tool may be too risky to implement because it is not a proven product.
- Some IT managers may object that open source applications are too costly to administer because those applications depend on a large community pool of developer resources, or because they require someone in IT to manage more frequent upgrades and patches.
- Others may fear that for a particular open source application it might be difficult to keep track of current program development status, and that there may not be a guarantee of future expert development.
- Some suggest that adopting an open source strategy moves the problem of managing vendors to one of managing programmers. • Other critics feel that open source tools are too often works in progress, not ready for the mainstream desktop, and only suitable for niche markets of expert users with programming experience.
The positive experience of several million enthused mainstream users of open source software largely counters these fears. Of course, adopting a given open source solution requires due diligence, just as for commercial software. If you find that a particular open source application is not easy to use, does not have documentation, or is too feature rich, then it may not be ready for the mainstream user.
One way to check the level of support for an open source application, as well as the current program development status, is to make use of the resources on Eduforge (http://eduforge.org/) and SourceForge (http://sourceforge.net/). These resources include forums, Weblogs, and wikis. Each project on Eduforge and SourceForge also provides an ongoing status report. It’s important to recognize that as long as there are devoted contributors for a given application, that program will have support for many years. This is in contrast to commercial software, where a vendor may abandon or discontinue products, or may cease to support a product, after a time as part of planned obsolescence.
“Open source is full of bugs and security risks.”
Another common IT objection is that open source software can be as risky as proprietary software if the application is not a mature, well-tested product and if you do not manage it appropriately, efficiently, and cost effectively. There are fears about problems with ensuring security, or establishing liability if something goes wrong or something does not work.
Open source software may actually be more secure and more reliable because of the peer review process. As experience with Linux has demonstrated, it is extremely unlikely that any security issues or problems with code will go undetected for any appreciable length of time. Many users of open source software find these applications to be more secure than the commercial alternatives.
“You give up the intellectual property rights to your content if you use open source to author.”
While you should always read the fine print, the provisions of open source licenses affecting free redistribution and source code do not apply to content authored with those products.
“There are no open source applications for e-Learning.”
A quick investigation at Eduforge and at Source-Forge will demonstrate that there are dozens of open source applications designed for e-Learning and education use, and hundreds more that will be useful to the e-Learning development team.
