Is FLOSS / open source a viable option for your School? Well we a blended approach has had some significant benefits for us here at Hamble Community Sports College.
As for open source is FREE? I don’t intend to swim in those murky waters. Open maybe FREE but, but it is FREE as in ‘FREE Kittens.’ What is open source most certainly is, is redistributable, allowing for the legal (and encouraged) use of the software outside of school and hereby eliminating significantly reducing the impact socio-economic background of the student.
Open source also requires the development of our staffing expertise. Open source community is second to none and has also lead to more conversation with our local partners and the use of online communication tools such as Twitter and Gtalk. There are many other discussions to be had, reliability, interoperability, security, scalability but for now that’s a good starting point.
One final point, don’t forget edugames or commercial games now re-licensed as freeware, our students have really enjoyed Savage: The Battle for Newerth, just select your games wisely.