Open standards and open source in swedish schools: On promotion of openness and transparency

Abstract

We draw from a study aimed to establish the state of practice concerning schools’ expectations and provision of IT and software applications in Swedish schools. Analysis focuses on Open Standards and Open Source Software (OSS), and considers educational lock-in. Results consider schools’ expectations and provision of software and standards for digital artefacts, and show that schools expect students to use a variety of different software systems including a number of well-known OSS. The study reveals significant misconceptions concerning standards and software applications, characterises problems, and presents some recommendations for action.