According to Siècle Digital, the health crisis has accelerated and even caused the EdTech sector to explode. Numerous digital solutions have been born or have developed strongly, becoming a priority for higher education establishments.
In a hurry, universities had to turn to external, sometimes foreign, solutions, such as Zoom, the videoconferencing platform claimed to be “used by 96% of the best American universities” and by more than twenty French universities. Turning to the outside world was the most effective solution for public institutions, which had to act quickly to ensure the continuity of teaching for tens of thousands of students. This radical change in teaching methods also plunged teachers and students alike into the deep end of EdTech solutions. As a result, the pace of innovation in the educational technology sector has accelerated, with more and better feedback from the educational community.
Beyond the need to adapt quickly and efficiently, which led to the acquisition of proprietary solutions, universities, as we explained in a previous article, had already embarked on their digital transformation long before the health crisis. Some of them have been developing and deploying open-source solutions¹ for several years. The Esup-Portail consortium, which brings together 80 French institutions, is a close-knit group of collaborators who are continually developing solutions tailored to the needs of universities. Other solutions have been developed on a more confidential basis within the academic community, before becoming benchmarks for open source. Such is the case of Jitsi, born in the late 2000s as part of a doctoral project at the University of Strasbourg, which has since become a commercial videoconferencing solution, although its source code remains open.
All these open-source solutions (Moodle, Jitsi, BBB, RocketChat, Pod, NextCloud, etc.) have been used by some universities during the crisis, but they have required the mobilization of considerable human resources by the establishments, particularly for scaling up to several tens of thousands of users. That’s why we don’t believe that these solutions are accessible to everyone, as the availability of human resources can be an obstacle to the deployment of such a configuration.
In spite of this, and in some cases, the use of certain open-source software solutions is quite widespread within universities. This is particularly true of the Moodle LMS, used by 98% of French universities long before the health crisis².
A few exceptions are also emerging in the university landscape for more widespread use. Avignon University, for example, has opted for a 100% open source approach to all its digital solutions for teaching and learning.
Could zero GAFA have a future in French universities?
Why does open source have a place at university?
1. Protecting data
One of the primary reasons why universities commit to the development or deployment of open-source software resources is data protection. Establishments are overflowing with information on their students, teachers and, more generally, on all university players, which is data considered to be sensitive. The first step is to “avoid the mass-market solutions offered by GAFAM, where you can’t keep control of the data”, according to Nicolas Can, Web and Multimedia Manager at the University of Lille. It’s vital to know where the data is going, so as to be sure of being able to protect it in the long term.
(Re)discover the fascinating interview with Nicolas Can, Web & Multimedia Manager at the University of Lille and creator of the Pod solution!
2. Avoiding dependency
Moving towards large-scale proprietary systems also means collaborating on a contractual basis with a system that evolves according to its own policy, in response to global objectives. If the company’s strategy evolves, or its strategic roadmap no longer meets the university’s needs in terms of solution development and improvement, the university’s dependence on the solution becomes problematic.
3. Creating interoperability
Using Open Source software opens up the possibility of greater compatibility between the different solutions developed, with the collaborative aim of pooling skills and combining the strengths of different solutions. This interoperability creates real flexibility and the ability to customize your solution to suit your priorities. However, solutions need to respect certain norms or standards in order to work together. This argument also applies to certain EdTech solutions, which strive to facilitate interoperability with other solutions.
“Interoperability is set to be a major issue in the coming years. That’s why we’re developing a hub of sovereign connectors, with a focus on data analysis and security”, says John-Edwin Graf, CEO of Beecome.
Read his full interview here :
4. Pooling skills and supporting academic talent
Working in Open Source, in the development of free software, enables the pooling of skills and thus the possibility of accelerating innovation. By acting in the common interest, the accumulation of skills creates solidarity-based projects, and drives innovation that aims above all to serve the long-term evolution and transformation of universities. The values of sharing and solidarity are very strong in the university world, with a desire to perpetuate and pass them on. Favoring open-source solutions also means supporting and enabling talented academics to showcase their work.
5. Reducing costs
Finally, open-source software has no licensing costs. While they do require associated costs, such as technical expertise to develop, implement, deploy and maintain them in operational conditions, these costs are often lower than for a commercial solution. Using open-source solutions is also a more affordable way of appropriating new technologies, with the possibility of targeting and choosing the modules to be integrated into the system.
So what are the limits of these open source solutions?
1. Cheap but costly
If open source software had the answer to every problem, EdTech companies would not be booming. The use of open-source software solutions requires substantial human and technical resources, and is therefore aimed at universities with the capacity to develop, deploy and maintain solutions in-house. Some universities, particularly those with insufficiently staffed IT or digital departments, often choose to purchase turnkey solutions on the market to meet their needs. In such cases, EdTech can provide more comprehensive and tailored solutions to a specific problem identified by the university.
2. UI/UX, are we talking about it?
In the opinion of many, especially users, one of the major problems with open-source solutions is often the UI/UX, the interface design and associated experience, which is lacking.
Yet this is one of the decisive factors in the adoption of a software solution. And this is exactly what EdTech has understood, by focusing on the ergonomics of the solutions they offer.
Open Source and commercial EdTech solutions are not incompatible – on the contrary. More often than not, they complement each other in the catalog of digital solutions needed to run a university. Proof of this can be found in the varied range of solutions deployed in most French universities, comprising both open-source and proprietary solutions.
Nevertheless, as the CNIL points out in its opinion issued on May 27, we need to remain attentive to the way in which data collected through the use of commercial solutions, particularly American ones, is processed. “The use of these solutions highlights the increasingly important issues of international control of data flows, access to data by third-country authorities, and the European Union’s autonomy and digital sovereignty”, the Commission points out.
That’s why we believe it’s essential to bring the academic community closer to the national and European EdTech ecosystem, to facilitate the co-design of solutions that are adapted to needs, ergonomic and respectful of personal data.
Digital sovereignty will be built together, with the support of public authorities and by bringing together entrepreneurs and universities!
¹ A solution is said to be free when it is licensed to the public and therefore available to universities as Open Source.
² Source: “Survey on the digital practices of French universities during the crisis”, conducted for VP-Num by Simone et les Robots in May 2020
