Weblog Entry by: john arle In Weblog e-Learning Conference 2/11-14/06 modified at Feb 14, 2006 11:33 PM
Published on Feb 14,2006 11:33 PM

Proprietary v. Open Source Course Management Systems

This forum was a rather light-hearted debate between Jim Farmer, Sakai Community Liaison and Afroze Mohammed, Director of Marketing for Blackboard, Inc. I'll divide this report into key points made by each side.

Open Source
  • Proprietary Costs are high and escalating
  • Open Source promotes innovation and invention; by its very nature, institutions customize open source resources; creation and proliferation of the Internet was an example of given of the open source concept; Proprietary CMSs limit innovation by creating restrictive environments forcing "1 size to fit all."
  • Expertise - open source arises from the user so expertise is local.

Proprietary CMSs
  • "Coopertition" - Proprietary organizations cooperate and integrate with competing products often from open source.
  • Mission Critical approach to e-Learning
    • Provides support
    • Quality control
    • Dedicated team
  • Unified Approach - Support and development teams are geographically close. This proximity allows for easy exchange and cooperation. Open Source fragments support. Expertise is limited to a few individuals which puts the system at risk.
  • Proprietary platforms are extend-able and they evolve with market demand and influence.
  • Costs - Licensing costs are relatively small when reduced to the individual student (as small as $4/student/course). Open Source has its costs, too. It all boils down to where you want to spend your dollars.
  • The Internet may have an Open Source origin, but, it has been optimized by corporate proprietary platforms.
  • Accountability - Proprietary CMSs hold themselves accountable for the effectiveness of their product.
  • Innovation Incentives - Open Source will generate many innovations BUT proprietary management provides the incentive for this production.
  • Institutional Limitations - Local expertise and development may be a limiting factor for many institutions considering Open Source. Staffing and development costs may ultimately be prohibitive.
  • Interoperability - Standard CMS platforms integrate many Open Source solutions.

The final "vote" from the group seemed to favor Proprietary CMSs.
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