Technology & Learning November 2007 - (Page 19) move it across the room. Make sure that you do not put a chair in front of it, and that you get up and leave your desk to use it.” Fast Forward Today, Klein says, Saugus boasts a computer network with faster computers. Even the oldest computers are more reliable. And the IT staff is better able to support teacher, staff, and students. “Our technology was more flexible and capable than ever before,” says Klein, who has since become an open source advocate, speaking at conferences around the country. “We were able to turn on a dime when a new opportunity or idea came along.” And, he continues, “We were able to smile when the latest security vulnerability surfaced, knowing that it wouldn’t affect our systems.” PHOTO BY ERIC HAYES ware to run spreadsheets, presentations, and word processing. District: Saugus Union School District Snapshot: About 11,000 K–6 students; 59 percent white, nonHispanic; 10.6 percent eligible for free or reduced-rate lunch program Innovation: Migrating the entire district to open source Up Next The district’s next focus is on open source Web applications. Presently the district uses online forums for teachers and students, streaming video so students can share video production training. And its latest innovation: a Web-based social networking site, which allows teachers and staff to securely communicate with each other and with the community. —Melissa Houston Problems Solved In the first year alone, Saugus officials estimate that the district was able to save $65,000 in licensing fees by using open source desktop software—namely, OpenOffice, which includes a variety of easy-to-install applications, including soft- place where the next open source revolution will occur. One popular site in the education arena is Moodle, an open source course management system that competes with Blackboard (which is partially owned by Microsoft), designed to help educators create curriculum and coursework. “If we can do with textbooks and curriculum what open source did for software development, imagine the education and curriculum we can produce?” muses Paul Nelson, who pioneered Linux use in the classroom through his K12LTSP (the K-12 Linux Terminal Server Project), a group based in Oregon. “That’s what the future is.” Indeed, the future is already upon us. Sun Microsystems’ spin-off education site Curriki has been pioneering just such a combination of curriculum plus wiki, a direction that’s proving a new source of discomfort in publishing circles. Hardware MIT’s pioneering and visionary Nicholas Negroponte, with his One Laptop Per Child initiative (selling a $100 drawstring-powered Linux-OS computer replete with cameras) has opened the world not just to inexpensive hardware but to the accessible Linux software as well. And PCs are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to hardware made with Linux-based engineering or which runs with open source software. For a rundown on different hardware available using open source, see Make’s extensive gift guide featuring open source ideas at www.makezine.com/ blog/archive/2006/11/the_ open_source_1.html. With the proliferation of open source software and affordable hardware, it’s no surprise Linux is now a $41 billion a year industry, to which Torvalds still holds the trademark. All of this success, however, seems not to have fazed its 38-year-old inventor, who maintains a low profile working at the Linux Foundation near Portland, Oregon. Said Torvalds in his quest to develop the mascot Tux: “I don’t want a macho penguin.” Indeed, here’s a man who walks the talk. —MH Technology & Learning November 2007 | 19 http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/11/the_open_source_1.html http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/11/the_open_source_1.html http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/11/the_open_source_1.html
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