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Open-Source and Open-Access Learning June 2006 Author:  Eilif Trondsen Contributor:  Rob Edmonds About This Report Table of Contents   Download the full report  (PDF) About This Report In the past couple of years, open-source software (OSS) has seen rapidly growing interest and use in industry, as more and better products have emerged on the market. The value proposition of most of these products rests on the lack of a licensing fee and full access to the products' source code. The volume of free, digital content of all types (much with improving quality) or open-access content (OAC)—is also exploding. These two megatrends are starting to have a significant impact on formal and informal learning in all sectors of the global economy. Thus, learning professionals and learning executives are wise to start planning how to address these developments, if they have not already done so. This report first places OSS and OAC in the context of the broad movement toward openness in business today, as a growing number of organizations recognize that they must increase their use of external resources to achieve sustainable success. Organizations with cultures that value and embrace openness will have the easiest time in innovating, building speed into their operations, and gaining the flexibility to adjust to the rapidly changing business environment. The report then examines key OSS and OAC developments in kindergarten through twelfth grade (K–12) and higher education and in government and industry. The status of OSS and OAC varies widely across these sectors, partly because of differences in the financial and technical resources available to take advantage of OSS and OAC. For example, the K–12 sector often has limited resources available to exploit high-quality software or content. Higher education, government, and industry have greater opportunities to take advantage of emerging developments and opportunities. The report offers perspectives on how OSS and OAC will play out in learning and training markets and highlights specific developments likely to emerge in segments of learning-related software, looking at how these developments will affect specific sectors. The final section of the report makes recommendations and suggests action steps that enterprise adopters and vendors of software and content can take to position themselves to benefit from future developments in OSS and OAC. We welcome feedback about this report and the program, and we encourage you to contact us with any questions or suggestions. For more information, contact Eilif Trondsen, director, Learning-on-Demand (LoD) Program; telephone: +1 650 859 2665; fax: +1 650 859 4544; e-mail: etrondsen@sric-bi.com. We appreciate your support of our program and look forward to working closely with you as a Learning-on-Demand sponsor. Table of Contents About This Report 1 Executive Summary 2   Toward Openness 2   OSS and OAC in Schools and Higher Education 2   A Government and Industry Perspective 3   Predictions and Scenarios 4   Recommendations and Action Steps 5 Toward Openness 6   Open-Source Appeal and Benefits 10   Open-Source Motivations and Business Models 11   The Next Phase of the Blended-Learning Model 13 OSS and OAC In Schools and Higher Education 16   Higher Education: The Proving Ground for Open Source in Learning 17   Selected Issues and Challenges 22   Lessons and the Path Ahead 24 A Government and Industry Perspective 24   Role of OSS 25   The New World of Creating and Using Digital Content 31 Predictions and Scenarios 33   Open-Source Software 36   Open-Access Content 39 Recommendations and Action Steps 45   Users of Learning Software and Content 45     Software 45     Content 46   Vendors of Software and Content 47     Software 47     Content 49   Tables Open-Source Developments by Sector 15 Selected OSS Projects 20 Moodle Use 23 Open-Source Systems for Content Management and Collaboration 30 Selected Open-Source Desktop Products 32 The New "Buy Strategy" 36 Examples of Open-Access Content 41 References on OSS and OAC 48 Summary Recommendations and Action Steps 51   Figures The Search For Competitive Advantage 10 The New Blended-Learning Model 14 Evolving Course-Management Ecosystem 18 The Apache Model 38 The Challenge of Integrating Open-Access Content into Teaching Curricula 40 Merlot Members and Materials 43   Boxes A Primer on Open-Source Licensing 8 Motivations for Creating and Using OSS 12 Philanthropic Foundations' Funding of Open-Source Initiatives 17 Open Source in the Collaboration Market: An Expert Perspective 26 Adobe's Pursuit of a Profitable Middle Ground 33 Gizmos by ExploreLearning: Sign of What's to Come? 44

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