For quite some time I've wondered why Knowledge Forum isn't open source. I'll try to put together my thoughts on the subject.
I think the main reason is that the Knowledge Building Community (KBC) envisioned by its creators is one in which ideas flow freely and are continually built-onto and risen above by a group people who profoundly believe they can always learn more and advance knowledge. Doesn't this sound very close to open source development communities? Aren't they groups of people who believe that by working together they can make a piece of software better every time?
Knowledge Forum (KF), as a platform designed to support KBCs, could certainly benefit from open source development. Here's what I think could happen:
- More people (schools, universities, individual teachers, businesses, consultants) would try out KF and therefore more people would finally adopt it, making KB more pervasive.
- More research will be done around the world as the community of users grows.
- A head group of developers, from OISE or U. Toronto (or Learning in Motion) will still lead the software development, coordinate with volunteers and release official versions and patches more often than updates are released now. Even though other versions may turn up (it would be, after all, open source), the official version will always stand as what it is.
- People will also develop new analytic tools, bolstering the possibilities of research around the world. Every school could design and costumize it's own tools, and the head developers would then decide which to include in the official version and which to leave out. I even imagine an "add-on" scheme for analytic tools, similar to Firefox's add-ons or plugins features.
- Schools that can't currently affort the software would be able to use it (i. e. public schools and schools in developing countries), bringing KB where it wasn't possible before. Great advances in access to computers and connectivity in many countries (such as Colombia) support this.
This is just a quick jab at the idea...
