Open Source Software in Schools

A study of the spectrum of use and related ICT infrastructure costs This report records work that Becta has done with schools which have implemented a range of open source software (OSS) solutions. This project, funded by the DfES, was one of an interrelated series, all looking at ways of helping schools make effective and sustainable use of ICT by exploring the total cost of ownership (TCO) of their ICT infrastructure. The project started with a pre-existing set of 33 non-OSS primary and secondary schools that had agreed to take part in more general TCO work. Becta used existing OSS contacts and websites to identify a number of additional schools that were already using OSS, and invited them to take part in the project. Fifteen of these schools agreed to participate within the project timescales. While both sets contained a range of schools in a variety of settings, they were not selected to be matched sets or to be more widely representative, and four schools were members of a mutually supportive cluster. They therefore represent opportunity samples. The details of the OSS schools' ICT-related expenditure were compared with those of schools that are not using such software. Further contextual information from eight case study schools is also provided, and explores the nature of the range of implementations, the effect the choice of implementation may have on cost, and how staff and pupils feel about using OSS. The project has produced three related publications: • The project report, which outlines the use of open source software in the project schools and related infrastructure costs • A case study report containing details of how eight of the schools in the project implemented open source solutions • An information sheet summarising the findings of the project.