Freie Software für die Universitäten
(Interview) Gerade in Entwicklungsländern
können Schulen und Universitäten von kostenlosen
Programmen und Inhalten profitieren. Guilaine Thébault
sprach mit dem Team von eLearning Africa über die Potenziale
von Open Source und Open Content für den afrikanischen
Kontinent. Text in Englisch.
eLa: Do you think that African universities and
higher education institutions are open-minded regarding open
source?
Guilaine Thebault: Yes, I’m quite sure that many institutions
are open-minded regarding open source. However, only a few
people approach the subject strategically. Senegalese universities,
for instance, do not have a real global policy regarding open
source yet. Nonetheless, they are constantly looking for partnerships.
In this context, Microsoft of course holds a strong position.
eLa: Are there some universities where a particular
system has already gained the mastery?
GT: Well, the principal of Dakar University recently told
me that his university has entered into a partnership with
Microsoft that includes training as well as business training.
He did not talk to me about analogous Linux activities, but
this does not mean that Linux is not represented in the University
at all. In fact there are some individual initiatives.
eLa: You said that the open movement could have a
strong impact on developing countries such as Senegal. Could
you explain this in brief?
GT: There are two points: First of all, open source enables
anyone to copy, modify, and redistribute the source code.
This means that universities can freely adapt software to
their needs. Open source code also evolves through community
cooperation and collaboration work. Therefore it is based
on users’ contributions and should progress faster.
This experience can be made fecund for the public as well:
Higher education institutions, adapting the software to local
needs, can thus address contextual development requirements.
Further, as they train national human resources, the universities
transmit these principles and research results to the society
faster.
eLA: How far have your investigated institutions –
AUF and AVU – proceeded?
GT: Both AUF and AVU do support open source. For the AUF,
it is clearly a priority because this institution promotes
open source actively. Many actions have been launched at a
global scale by the Agency. The AUF signed an agreement with
the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) and has officially
become the LIP Francophonie. The main action is to build the
Centres Linux et Logiciels Libres pour le développement,
whose three aims are consciousness-raising, training, and
open software development. As a consequence of this commitment,
the AUF has installed Ubuntu and Open Office on all its computers,
providing its users with Internet access.
At the AVU, these priorities are less visible. It seems that
on the local scale, there is not the same degree of thought
about the platform, educational goals, etc. since local staff
are not those who create and distribute curricula. Local centers
have not yet conceived their own programs, but there are some
basic approaches.
eLA: Can you also tell us something about the status
of implementing open content within these institutions?
GT: The AUF definitely promotes open content by giving access
to a digital library and through the program “Run on
Line”, a collection of online courses entirely designed
with AUF’s support by teachers of the French-speaking
countries of the South and East. Because the teachers and
their universities remain owners of their programs, AUF has
to acquire the rights of distribution. Regarding the AVU,
there are also programs about contents production, but I am
not sure they are effective as yet. To sum up, I can say that
the question of open content is still far more complex than
that of open source.
Dear Ms. Thébault, thank you very much for
your time.
Über Guilaine Thèbault
Für ihre Doktorarbeit erforscht Guilaine Thèbault
das Potential von Open Source und Open Content für die
weiterführende Erziehung im Senegal. Ihr Ziel ist es,
mit unterschiedlichsten Akteuren und Interessenvertretern
zusammenzutreffen, die in diesem Bereich tätig sind –
Entscheidungsträger, Tutoren und Studenten. Zudem will
sie die Diskussion über Open Source und Open Content
beobachten und ihren Einsatz in der Praxis beschreiben. Zu
diesem Zweck steht sie mit zwei wichtigen eLearning-Providern
im französisch-sprachigem Afrika in Kontakt, Agence Universitaire
de la Francophonie (AUF) und the African Virtual University
(AVU).
Das Interview ist zuerst erschienen auf eLearning-Africa.com.
Die Veröffentlichung erfolgt mit freundlicher Genehmigung.
Die eLearning Afrika Konferenz 2007 findet vom 28.
bis 30. Mai in Nairobi, Kenia statt.
- Zurück zur Rubrik "Medien & Kompetenz"
- Zum Forum "Medien & Kompetenz"
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