EduApps - a case study in sustainability

by Steve Lee on 6 July 2009 , last updated 11 July 2011

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Introduction

EduApps is a collection of open source and freeware ¹ Windows programs that are deployed on a USB memory stick and may be run directly from the stick without prior installation. The JISC-funded Regional Support Center (RSC) Scotland North & East has developed three bundles of these portable programs that target different educational use cases: AccessApps for accessibility, LearnApps for students, and TeachApps for educators. A key goal of the service is to improve educational provision by raising awareness of such programs as well as improving access. Thus users can easily evaluate potentially useful programs and subsequently use them on any computers that they visit.

EduApps is possible precisely because of the licensing conditions of the software it bundles: as most of the programs are open source licensed, anyone has the explicit freedom to redistribute and duplicate without restriction. This removes a barrier commonly found with proprietary software, where the licence restricts such uses. The bundled freeware programs are also suitable for EduApps, though in cases where explicit permission for redistribution is not given in the terms, it was necessary to get it from the authors. The availability of an open source option was also important for the menu system, which allows users to select programs once the stick is plugged into a computer. The menu is a vital component, so sustainability and lack of lock-in to one solution are important factors.

EduApps is not typical of software development projects, where code is the primary manufactured artifact. Rather, it provides a service to collect, package and distribute programs and so makes them easier to access and evaluate. This is somewhat akin to a Linux distribution. Additional online media resources are provided to guide new users and this is further supplemented by a support service that draws on the RSC’s experience in educational applications and accessibility.

OSS Watch engaged in a detailed consultation with EduApps as part of its strategic project work. This allowed OSS Watch to develop a clear understanding of its attitude to sustainability and open development, and this is described in this report. The EduApps team felt that this process was invaluable in helping them to better understand open development and enabled them to clarify their position in relation to developers and other potential USB stick producers.

Project history

RSC Scotland North & East developed the original AccessApps as part of their JISC- funded support activities for e-Learning and accessibility. The concept is to spread awareness of free accessibility tools, allowing students to investigate those that are personally most useful and to have free access to them. This is important, as accessibility adaptations are most effective when tailored to individual preferences. Such adaptations should be available on any computer a student might use, something not easily achieved with restrictive proprietary licences or pre-installed programs.

Scottish RSCs receive specific funding for accessibility work and this extra person resource enabled RSC Scotland North & East to develop AccessApps. AccessApps was instigated by Craig Mill after he joined the RSC team as accessibility e-Learning Advisor. He discussed the possibility of putting portable programs on a stick with Kenji Lamb and Martin Hawksey, who are both e-Learning advisors with a technical background. With managerial support from Sarah Price, the team developed AccessApps and released the first version in September 2008, with some 50 programs provided. Subsequently, JISC RSC UK funded the supply of 100 sticks to each RSC for them to distribute to their individually supported FE colleges. At least one RSC is now creating and distributing further copies due to a demand for obtaining AccessApps without the need to download or copy. In December 2008, the AccessApps team won the Excellence in Education category at the Scottish Open Source Awards.

Though the original AccessApps concentrated on applications for accessibility, a number of generally useful programs were included, such as Firefox and OpenOffice.org. Spurred on by the successful uptake of AccessApps, the team expanded the concept to become the ‘EduApps’ family of three bundles. These each provide a set of programs selected to be generally suitable for a particular use: the original AccessApps for accessibility, LearnApps for students and TeachApps for teachers. There are now a significant number of such collections. In addition, MyApps allows the selection of a custom bundle from the 80-odd programs using a simple web application.

EduApps, collectively, are a finalist in the 2011 BETT awards.

Key technologies

EduApps programs are portable Microsoft Windows applications that run without having to be installed. This allows them to be invoked directly from a USB memory stick, with minimal impact on the host computer’s registry settings or file system. Some programs will work in this manner without modification, but others have to be specifically adapted. Projects such as portableapps.com perform this adaptation for popular open source programs.

The programs in EduApps are licensed using a variety of OSI-approved open source licences and bespoke freeware licences. Open source programs have the advantage that redistribution is explicitly allowed by the licence. With freeware, the conditions are not always explicit, and where permission for redistribution is not stated, it must be obtained from the author. Where necessary the EduApps team has obtained the requisite permission.

When the stick is inserted into a Windows PC, an icon appears in the system tray, which opens a menu when clicked. In this way, the user can select and run programs or open documents. ASuite, an open source project developed on Sourceforge, provides this mechanism. The fact that the project is open source was an important factor in the choice of this central component, as it ensures EduApps is not dependent on the decisions of a proprietary vendor but has a number of options for obtaining any required modifications. For example, the ASuite team can make changes themselves or find others who will do. If all else fails, it will be possible to convert to use another menu system. Having access to code allows this to be done with full confidence that the current menu data formats are transparent and understood.

The EduApps website includes a download service that provides two pre-configured bundles of programs: Lite and Full. Additionally, a simple ‘pick ‘n’ mix’ web application allows the selection of individual applications that are then packed into a ZIP archive ready for download and installation onto the USB stick. Once again, open source plays an important part in the implementation of the service, as the popular PHP server scripting platform is used. The web application is due to be replaced with a new mechanism where programs can be selected and downloaded through a program included on the EduApps stick itself.

Community

The primary target community consists of students and support staff in UK FE institutions, most notably those who received one of the 1,300 sticks funded by RSC UK for distribution to each of the RSCs. This community has grown as a result of the ease of copying and downloading the contents to make further copies. Accessibility community members have found AccessApps to be useful, resulting in a reasonable uptake.

OSS Watch has identified a wider potential community, including others who wish to create custom sticks. This includes TechDis, Open Source Schools and the UK accessibility charity AbilityNet, which has already created a couple of sticks based on AccessApps. However, the EduApps team regards itself as an end user service and has no plans to support a sustainable open development community for stick creators. Such a position remains sustainable while there is central funding to the RSC to continue this work.

Community interaction is currently limited to the consumption of web published resources supplemented by email support. Interactions are thus controlled and restricted to what the EduApps team provides. In a bid to improve user engagement, a web forum is to be launched and while this will undoubtedly be effective, there are no plans to further embrace open development practices. Community interaction could be increased by adopting further open development practices such as the introduction of a ticket system, which would allow users to monitor the progress of issues they raise.

Sustainability

By exposing the included programs to the scrutiny of more users, EduApps will have had a positive effect on the sustainability of the wider open source community, especially if any of those users engage directly with the projects. The EduApps team members themselves are interacting with project communities, for example by passing on issues they find or that are reported by EduApps users.

The use of open source software for the critical menu component of EduApps has helped the project’s sustainability by reducing lock-in and easing migration should it ever be required. In addition, the same benefit is realised for the supplied programs, which are open source programs. In effect, there are various options for the resolution of problems that are discovered, be they technical issues or those caused by decisions made by the upstream project maintainers.

There appears to be scope for improving sustainability and ensuring that EduApps can continue if current funding or team activity is removed. Encouraging community provided support will share experience and knowledge as well as providing opportunities for others to contribute. The forums and other online resources could be hosted elsewhere to reduce dependency on the current team. Project memory could be made public to provide access to the accrued experience of the team and explain the various decisions made. That said, if the need should ever arise to reproduce EduApps, the component programs and menu system are freely available from original sources while existing example sticks provide insights into configuration details.

Conclusion

The EduApps team has developed a useful and already popular resource that leverages the strengths of open source to facilitate free redistribution of useful tools for users to evaluate and use on any machine. The original AccessApps provides accessibility users a means to easily identify and access tools that work best for their individual requirements. The team also provides a support service to back up the sticks. This represents a core service provision of the RSC.

During the consultation, we identified a significant interest in the possibility of creating an open development community of groups interested in developing similar sticks. OSS Watch believes the most sustainable community structure consists of a core open development project that supports other independent projects, including EduApps itself. This would manage the core technology such as the menu system and maintain a central pool of portable programs, along with public mechanisms for addition, review and QA. By enabling a diverse community of interested projects, this structure will allow the sharing of the core project, which is then not limited to the requirements and resources of any single project. As a result, the sustainability of all the projects is improved.

Open development practices can reduce development costs and improve sustainability by ensuring that all parties can fully engage in a project, thus bringing resources and effort to the project as well as obtaining value themsleves. This is supported by having a clear governance model and by using collaboration tools such as public mailing lists and ticket systems that ensure all activity is open to public scrutiny and contribution. However, strong leadership is needed for open development to be effective, even in those cases were meritocratic governance exists. Significant effort is required and a fallow period can be expected before valuable community contributions occur. After due consideration the EduApps team came to the conclusion that such a role is not consistent with their business strategy. We congratulate them for their vision and effectiveness in paving the way and look forward to the emergence of a community leader from the other interested parties to fill this role.

OSS Watch provides unbiased advice and guidance on the use, development, and licensing of free software, open source software, and open source hardware.