eduWeb 2008 in 140 words – Vendor Free: Open Source Solutions by Nick Shontz from the University of Montana

Note from Karine: This year, I’ve asked all the eduWeb speakers working in universities/colleges to share in 140 words or less the biggest take-away from their presentation or table talk. If you’ve attended this session, feel free to weigh in by posting a comment, a question or a suggestion.

Universities struggle to find all the right solutions for their wide audience base. Everything has to be branded and easy for everyone to use. Products are required to meet accessibility standards that are often not considered by commercial software vendors. There are a multitude of software solutions available and many of have no upfront cost.

Open Source Solutions are designed with a different motive than conventional software. They are designed to accomplish a task or to fulfill a need, not to turn a profit. This encourages a sense of community and from this community comes free support, often directly from the developers. These products are often designed to be custom tailored to fit your specific needs, anything from custom themes and templates to custom data fields.