1. Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)
in Education :
A Guyana Perspective
Lenandlar Singh & Malcolm Williams
Department of Computer Science
University of Guyana
E-Conference Presentation – August 13, 2011
2. Limitation
• Preliminary Study – more in-depth investigation
and analysis to determine the success and
inhibiting factors of the acceptance and use of
FOSS in Guyana is forthcoming
3. Outline of Presentation
• Motivation
• Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)
• FOSS in Education Perspectives
• FOSS in Development
• Research Methodology
• Results
• Discussion
• Recommendations and Conclusion
• References
4. Motivation
• Identify level of FOSS usage in
Education in Guyana
• Identify policies and plans for future
use
• Propose an approach for integration of
FOSS in Education
5. Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS)
Richard Stallman[1] – Founder of the Free Software Movement [2]
• pioneered “copyleft” – “ … a general method for making a program (or
other work) free, and requiring all modified and extended versions of the
program to be free as well” [3]
• advocate for free software
• campaign against DRMs, Software Patents
6. Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS)
Linus Torvalds – Creator of Linux Kernel (M.Sc. thesis was titled
Linux : A Portable Operating System.) [2]
•Torvalds believes [2]
▫“open source is the only right way to do software“
▫ use the "best tool for the job", even if that includes proprietary software
7. Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS)
FLOSS Proprietary Software
Linux Windows
OpenOffice MS Office
Mozilla Firefox Internet Explorer
GIMP Photoshop
Moodle Blackboard
Apache IIS
8. Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)
• “Free software” is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand
the concept, you should think of “free” as in “free speech,” not
as in “free beer.” [3]
• Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to
run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve
the software. More precisely, it means that the program's
users have the four essential freedoms:
▫ The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
▫ The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your
computing as you wish (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition
for this.
▫ The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
▫ The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom
3). By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your
changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
9. FOSS in Education Perspectives
•Students and Educators must develop the spirit of freedom of choice
•FOSS promotes this freedom
•FOSS helps to foster creativity – make and break software like toys,
develop problem solving skills, critical thinking skills, software-
engineering skills [4] {constructivist}
• Develop Spirit of Community , sharing, exchanging ideas, etc
{connectivist}
•Development of Science – Development of Foss is Analogous to the
development of science [5]
•Modern Student is Freedom-seeking?
▫Leave home early
▫Choose what they want to learn, use, do
▫etc
10. FOSS in Development
•Independence – no dependency on particular
technologies or countries [6]
•Development of local ICT industry and capacity
•Foster Innovation - alternative method of creating
and dissemination knowledge
•Cost Savings –initial acquisition + licenses + less
expensive hardware (TCO)
• An Approach to manage Piracy
11. Research Methodology
• Document check for Policies, Plans and Programs
• Questionnaire developed mailed to selected FOSS users
• Semi-structured interviewed done with officials from Ministry of
Education and other Education institutions. Questions centered
around the following themes:
▫ Questions on ICT Strategy, Policy and IT Governance
▫ FOSS Policy and Usage
▫ Future Plans for FOSS use
▫ FOSS in Curriculum
▫ Attitude towards FOSS
▫ Issues with Implementing and Using FOSS
12. Findings
•Strategy and Policy
▫National Level – Guyana National ICT Strategy
Document (2006) [10]
▫“Explore the use of Free and Open Source Software”
▫“National Agencies and the ICT education sector should
strongly consider appropriate open source solutions”
▫“To Develop and Implement strategies to integrate ICT
into the Education and training system”
“include open-source in the ICT curriculum”
13. Findings
•Strategy and Policy
▫Ministries of Government level – each Ministry is left on
their own to decide ICT direction. No drive from the top.
Use what is available.
▫Ministry of Education Level
Strategic Plan of MOE comprises 7 strategic areas – one of
which focuses exclusively on ICTs
▫School Level
Each school is left to decide what software to use – depend
on available skill. No directive from MOE. No Policy on
FOSS
14. Findings
• Schools level
▫ Core Platform is MS
▫ Schools however can choose what goes on top
▫ Teachers are free to experiment [ constrained by platform]
MOE Administrators Level
Use MS/Commercial Software predominantly
More MS skill available for MS support and technical issues
Easier to build app from scratch than customize [ skill level]
15. Findings
•Curriculum
▫ICT Teachers Competency Framework – UNESCO
▫Use Commercial/Purchased Software (not pirated)
▫Buy all software needed.
▫All Software must be licensed
▫No training specifically on FOSS tools
▫No specific focus on FOSS in the National IT Curriculum (CXC included
FOSS in Syllabi a few years ago(circa 2006) upon a proposal made by a
number of ICT professionals in the Caribbean) [11]
▫Concern about cost of Training for FOSS given all teachers already familiar
with MS – why change when what we have works?
16. Findings
• Views of FOSS
▫ Have constraints – limits what can/cannot be done
▫ Needs national drive – one Ministry alone cannot push a
platform
▫ Believes in best from FOSS and Proprietary – “freedom for
schools is important”
▫ Believes commitment is lacking – Government should push
▫ Needs a standardizing body
▫ Needs a national discourse
17. Findings
•Implementation and Infrastructure
▫60% commercial, 40% in-house developed; 95% MS, 5% Linux servers
▫Have implemented some tools, but not platform – still MS,
▫No change of platform in near future
▫Not enough tools for individual subjects – MOE has deployed Success
Maker (Primary School level) countrywide (runs on MS)
▫Teachers receive training from NCERD (MOE Division) on Moodle
▫MOE have limited FOSS capacity
▫Entertain FOSS where there’s minimum implementation needs
▫Policy and strategy driven by each new manager
18. Findings – Three (3) National Projects
•Commonwealth supports ICT teacher training in Guyana
▫“Last year[2010] the Secretariat, COL and Microsoft signed a Letter of
Agreement (LOA) to implement UNESCO’s ICT Competence Framework
for Teachers, an internationally recognised framework to promote ICT
education” [7]
•“One Laptop Per Family”
▫Government of Guyana will distribute, starting from October, 2011, 90 ,000
Laptops to families over the next 5 years [8] – MOE does not have a direct say on
how project could be maximized. Hoping to work with team to meet MOE’s goals
• Ministry of Education, Guyana, will equip schools across the country with
1400 desktop computers etc to the cost of 223M Guyana Dollars. According to
the Minister of Education
▫ “the project is in keeping with the Ministry’s support of the One Laptop
Per Family (OLPF) Programme since it will see the children passing their
knowledge on to their families and there are plans underway for the
government to use several of the schools as training hubs for the OLPF
programme” [9]
19. Findings
•Other Experiences
▫BrainStreet Technologies – http://www.brainstreetlearning.com
Reduce start up cost
Software development tools available
▫Limited by what customers want, lots of MS demand
▫Cost clients more in the long run – training, maintenance
etc
E-learning (runs on Moodle)
▫IDCE, UG - http://uog.edu.gy/schools/idce/
Offers distance education courses using Moodle
▫Global Technology - http://www.gtechweb.com/
Plans to offer Linux training by limited/NO interest
20. Findings
•Other Experiences cont’d
▫Devnet - http://www.devnet.org.gy/
NGO – promotes use of FOSS
Implemented LTSP community project – no longer available
Advocacy
Limited FOSS consulting
▫GLUG - http://www.glug.org.gy/
Free training
Advocacy
▫UG ,CS Department - http://csi.uog.edu.gy/
Uses FOSS for teaching
Encourage FOSS Entrepreneurship and software development
Use FOSS tools for R&D;
21. Discussion
• Policy to embrace FOSS exist at the National Level but no obvious
and meaningful change is visible.
▫Why?
Incumbent solutions are easier to work with, no need to change.
Existing approach to national ICT projects does not EXPLICITLY demand the
use of FOSS.
All hardware comes with software arrangements and that is usually MS/Proprietary
products. Again, why change what works?
All three (3) cases highlighted previously have adopted this strategy.
Change to FOSS is potentially a lengthy process . This may not be in the best
political interest of those responsible. Further, path-of-least-resistance and a
safe option approach may influence this process. In our political landscape, risk-
taking may result in criticism . However, traditional approaches are also
criticized.
22. Discussion
•What is special about Guyana?
▫ Small and the political environment means it is risky for decision makers
to do “new” things. Forced into “must-win” choices all the time or lose
votes and popularity
▫Short term gains and quick implementations appear to guide/lead decision
to stick to existing tools. This is natural but a gradual, lightweight approach
is likely to gain buy-in, allowing for experimentation, learning from
experiences without high risks and disruption
▫Strong leadership is necessary – allow bottom-up approach to solution
development while providing support, guidance and policies from the top-
down.
23. Discussion
• Ministry of Education
▫ Diffusion and Penetration of FOSS appears to be hindered by
clear policy directions. Even though there’s guidance from the
National ICT Policy, the Ministry is free to take its own approach.
▫ Emerging evidence of donor lock-in also appears to influence
diffusion but even when the existing platform is MS, FOSS tools
can still be deployed. Support from sponsored initiatives with
Proprietary support is also a limiting factor. In the Guyana
case, training for teachers was dominated by a MS-supported
initiative
▫ Limited Technical capacity is a major factor preventing the MOE
from pushing FOSS. Most of the technical capacity is MS-based.
Migration of trained Linux/FOSS professionals is a national
issue. In addition, Linux professionals are in high demand and
are inevitably attracted to the private sector.
24. Discussion
• Schools and Curriculum
▫ Most teachers are already MS-trained and given that the
curriculum does not absolutely need FOSS to be taught,
teachers have little incentive to change.
▫ High turn-over rate, along with the demand for ICT-skills
mean that the school system is left to compete with the
private sector. Incentive-wise, this is a challenge for
Education Systems.
▫ Even though adopting FOSS could be staged (use, create,
customize), higher level FOSS adoption (creating and
customizing) calls for advanced technical skills on the part
of the teacher. On the other hand, the best ICT-skilled
personnel may not be attracted to teaching. This is a major
challenge for education system.
25. Recommendations and Conclusion
A Three-Prong Strategy
• 1. Government Level – Lead with Definitive Policies on FOSS
and ENGAGE with the Promotion of FOSS nationally.
Encourage FOSS usage in Government and Create a forum for
national discourse on FOSS
• 2. Support and Strengthen NGOs To ASSIST Small Business
Development. Provide Incentives for adoption and use.
Develop and Promote FOSS Entrepreneurship
• 3. Ministry of Education via Schools MUST embrace FOSS.
Make it a part of the curriculum along with Proprietary. Use
lightweight approaches to FOSS introduction in the education
system. Engage in Professional Teacher Development. Provide
Incentives for early adopters.
26. References
• [1] Richard Stallman. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman
• [2] Linus Torvalds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Torvalds
• [3] The Free Software Definition. Accessed August 12, 2011. Available at
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
• [4] Morelli, R. et al. (2009). Revitalizing computing education Through
• free and open source software for humanity. Communications of the
ACM, 52(8), 67-75.
• [5] Pfaffman, P. (2008). Transforming High School Classrooms with
Free/Open Source Software: It’s Time for an Open Source Software
Revolution. The High School Journal, 25-31
• [6] Garcia-Perez, A. et al. (2006). Imperatives of Free and Open Source
Software in Cuban Development. formation Technologies and International
Development, 3(1), 1-17
27. References
• [7] Commonwealth supports ICT teacher training in Guyana
Available at:
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/news/235360/250311iguyanateachers.
htm
• [8] One Laptop Per Family (OLPF). Available at: http://www.olpf.gov.gy
• [9] Education Ministry, Digital Technologies sign $223M contract.
Available at: http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2011/07/14/education-
ministry-digital-technologies-sign-223m-contract/
• [10] Guyana National ICT Strategy. Available at:
http://www.ict4d.gov.gy/ictstrategy/ICT4D_Strategy_FinalDraft.pdf
• [11] Inclusion of FOSS in CXC Syllabi at CSEC and CAPE.
Available at: http://glug.org.gy/content/inclusion-foss-cxc-
syllabi-csec-and-cape
