Dave Lane
A free and open source software advocate, developer, sysadmin, and lots of other things besides.
OERu's MVP Open Tech Platform
What, how, and why
Complex Systems
Learning environments are complex technology systems.
Two models:
1. Monolithic (Hare)
2. Loosely Coupled Components (Tortoise)
Image credit: Tortoise and the Hare - public domain
Hare
Monolithic approach
First foray into new solution domain
Integration via top down control - "Cathedral"
One vendor
Inherent monoculture
Often start-up with VC funding
Multiple competing, incompatible Monoliths
Winner-take-all via "Network Effect"
Image credit: Spanish Cathedral - CC0 license
Hare
Monolithic - pros
Fast to market - 1st Generation
One vendor to contend with
Fairly complete, well integrated solution
Image credit: Monolithic Rock - CC0 license
Hare
Monolithic - cons
Slow to adapt functionality as market matures
Customer has little influence on direction
Reliance on one vendor and their competence
Monoculture and monopoly
No upgrade path
Lock-in
Image credit: Ant Swarm - CC0 license
Tortoise
Loosely Coupled approach
Components integrated by agreed rules - "Bazaar"
More complex marketplace
Only emerges as solution domain matures
Builds on "level playing field" of open standards
More diversity - vendors can focus on components
Flexible and adaptable
Natural habitat of Free and Open Source Software
Image credit: Morocco Bazaar - CC0 license
Tortoise
Loosely Coupled - pros
Best-of-breed components
Adaptable - swap components in/out to meet needs
Incremental change: robust and stable over time
Upgrade paths
Self-determination - customer controls direction
Vendor diversity - no lock-in
Eventually: vendor "curated" collections
Image credit: Mob of Giant Tortoises - CC0 license
Tortoise
Loosely Coupled - cons
Customers need to know more, take responsibility
Takes longer to arrive at mature solution
More diversity can mean less visual consistency
Image credit: Croc Teeth - CC0 license
Closed vs Open
Yes, but can FOSS be credible?
Some FOSS you might have heard of:
WordPress (25% of all websites)
Linux (most widely used computer operating system)
Firefox (main reason Microsoft doesn't "own" the web)
Android (85% of mobile devices)
Moodle (widely used LMS worldwide)
Image credit: Open evening market - CC0 license
MVP Tech Platform
Curating a "Digital Learning Environment" for the next generation
The Difference
A handful of high quality components, each focused on doing one thing really way, and easy to connect to one another, allow you to build remarkably sophisticated things.
When domain experts are empowered to shape and share their own tools, leaps in participation and effectiveness are possible.
Image credit: Lego Cathedral - CC-By-SA license
4 Freedoms
FOSS is built on "4 Essential Freedoms" (coined in 1985 by Richard M Stallman)
Text
0. run the software for any purpose
1. study how the software works, and change it to make it do what you wish
2. redistribute and make copies so you can help your neighbor
3. improve the software and release your modifications to the public, so that the whole community benefits.
Image credit: 4 Hot Air Balloons - CC0 license
5Rs
Prof David Wiley's "5Rs" are based on Stallman's "4 Essential Freedoms", repackaged for educators instead of programmers:
1. retain
2. reuse
3. revise
4. remix
5. redistribute
(
Image credit: Cape Flattery Looking north to Vancouver - CC-By license
Hitting our stride
The Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) story
FOSS components are like (non-proprietary) Legos®:
Try them out in new ways and combinations.
See what works, drop what doesn't.
Accelerated digital evolution.
No need for product reviews, procurement processes, or ... budget.
OERu Tech Mix
MS PowerPoint/Apple Keynote
MS Office 365/Google Apps
Adobe Creative Suite
Slack/Trello
MS Skype/Apple Facetime
Twitter/Facebook
SurveyMonkey
Medium/Blogger
Text
Reveal+Slides
NextCloud+CollaboraOffice
GIMP/Krita/Inkscape/Scribus
Rocket.Chat/Wekan/KanBoard
Jitsi Meet
Mastodon/Diaspora
Lime Surveys
WordPress
You've heard of these folks... because they have all your money.
The others just write software.
Image credit: Pick and Mix - CC0 license
FOSS Story
Text
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We use Free & Open Source Software (FOSS) to:
1. Support OERu internal processes
2. Help OERu partners assemble OERs
3. Make full OER-based courses for our learners
4. Help everyone collaborate
5. To glue everything together
Why we use FOSS might not be so apparent:
1. Consistent with our open values
2. Scale up exponentially with minimal cost
3. Full control, beholden to no corporate agenda
4. Share it with you and your institutions
FOSS User Apps
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WikiEducator - versioned collaborative OER assembly (MediaWiki)
OERu Email/Planning Lists (OnlineGroups.Net) moving to an email-integrated next gen forum (Discourse)
OERu Chat - media-rich real time chat (Rocket.Chat)
Video Conferencing (Jitsi Meet)
File sharing and collaborative editing (NextCloud + Collabora Office)
Planning Kanban (Kanboard)
FOSS Components
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Flexible course delivery platform - (WordPress - multisite configuration)
Single Sign On (WordPress OAuth Server)
Websites with CMS (Drupal, Silverstripe)
Automated rule-based email service (Mautic)
Questionaires and Surveys (LimeSurvey)
Website Analytics (Piwik)
Link Shortener - oer.nz/tech17 (YourLS)
FOSS Infrastructure
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Deployment Containers (Docker)
Relational Database (MySQL/MariaDB/PostgreSQL)
Smart Object Store (CouchDB)
Publish-Subscribe Framework (Faye)
Web Server (Apache/Nginx)
Secure Hosting Certificates (Let's Encrypt)
Platforms (NodeJS, WordPress, MediaWiki)
Glue Languages (JavaScript, Bash, Python, PHP)
Email Services (Exim4/Postfix)
Server Environment (Ubuntu/Debian Linux)
Acknowledgements
Books by flockine dedicated to the public domain under Creative Commons CC0
OER Foundation 2017
Unless stated otherwise, the presentation is licensed as follows. Logos are all rights reserved.
LEARN MORE AT
https://tech.oeru.org
Partial Copy of OERu MVP Open Tech Platform - what, how, why
By Dave Lane
Partial Copy of OERu MVP Open Tech Platform - what, how, why
Explanation of our platform, the value of "loosely coupled" and full control (only really possible with open source)
