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Will Open Source Software Unlock the Potential of eLearning?
11/30/2004
In addition to the direct benefits of open source software, open source projects also put intense market pressure on the proprietary alternatives to innovate and add value. As open source alternatives to proprietary applications succeed, they will drive down the cost of the proprietary alternative effectively turning the application into a commodity. For example, if the core course management system is a commodity, commercial enterprises must seek new ways to add value to generate revenue from that commodity. One way to do so is to sell innovative new capabilities protected as proprietary software. Eventually the open source movement will replicate the commercial innovation and the company will need to find new capabilities to continue adding value. This healthy cycle perpetuates innovation.
Information and communications technologies (ICT) hold great promise for learning and teaching because they can enhance interaction among people, information, and systems in ways that never before have been possible. The proprietary eLearning systems available today have only just begun to scratch the surface by delivering content and connecting people across distance and time. Yet while these proprietary systems have begun to show the promise of technology in teaching and learning, they also seem to have hit an early plateau. Open source applications are standing on that plateau looking forward.
Resources for more information:
Open source, opens learning
www.opensourcesummit.org
www.sakaiproject.org
www.theospi.org
www.ja-sig.org
www.moodle.org
www.lamsinternational.com
vue.tccs.tufts.edu
Christopher D. Coppola is president of the rSmart Group, a provider of open source solutions for education. He is a board member of the Sakai and Kuali foundations.
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