In the past couple of decades we have seen a new standard, where schools and education institutes decide which US corporate entity to lock themselves into.
Schools have generally chosen to use either Google or Microsoft.
For a traditional non-tech school this decision only affected staff workflows and school administration. So could have been considered a purely commercial decision.
Nowadays post COVID, work from home and schooling have changed, offering a more online/computer based interface for both work and education. So now the decision of which vendor to choose, impacts education too, not just internal administration.
For a science and tech focussed school, like The Academy, the decision of what software to use affects education to an even greater extent, as computing is part of our core curriculum.
What type of school are we then?
We are first and foremost, an open source software school, running Linux in our base operating system.
This means we evaluate open source software solutions, before we evaluate commercial software.
It does not mean, we are anti-commercial software, and we will use commercial software where it makes sense to do so.
Schools should not be sales reps for big brands! We challenge the modern doctrine "You'll own nothing and you'll be happy", we have a DIY attitude, which from a wider philosophical angle, we believe keeps corporate vendors in-check, and creates a healthier technological and social environment where everyone can learn, and contribute.
How does Open Source benefit my childs Education?
- Brand Agnostic - We should not be educating our children to follow a particular brand's implementation of an idea. Education should be brand agnostic, and abstract from specific company implementations.
- Technical expertise - To use advanced open source software, you need to understand how the software works. Open Source doesn't assume you are ignorant. In contrast, if you need to learn something to use commercial software, it would be considered a barrier to entry. It is assumed the user knows nothing, therefore commercial software hides the complexities of what is really going on, behind a vale of graphics and assumptions. Open source software provides a deeper learning experience, and creates "power users".
- Engagement - When you build something yourself, you develop a sense of ownership and responsibility for it. Ultimately you care about something you have created, more than something you purchase from someone else. Choosing a Linux or open source operating system, puts choice and freedom back into your hands. You choose how you want your computer to work, experiment with different options, make it work for you, and when you reach a dead end, you are actually allowed to extend it.
- Transparency - It's built into the name, open source software is open. You can actually see the source code, so you can learn how it works. In contrast to commercial software; which is protected by intellectual property, copyright and technical controls; designed to obscure how it works and hinder competition. In contrast, open source software is freely modifiable, you can download the source code, modify it in anyway you wish, and even learn how to contribute back to a vast community of developers. Put simply; how can you learn how something works, if you're not allowed to see how it works?!
- Availability & Cost - Open source software is free to use, unlike commercial offerings, thereby reducing ancillary education fees. Open source software is more readily available, as there are no purchasing and licensing barriers to use it. It's not limited to specific hardware vendors, so you can use the software on a wider range of hardware. In contrast, take Apple as an example; they require that you purchase an Apple computer to use their operating system and most of their software. That is a massive barrier to entry. Whereas you can install Linux on a 20 year old computer, and still have the same experience that you have today on a new computer.
- No vendor lock-in - Companies come and go, software can get better or worse over time. It is the goal of commercial software to keep you using their software for as long as possible, and the best way to do that, is to make it hard to switch to another solution. Because open source code is open, you can always see how data is stored and accessed, making it essentially impossible to limit your freedom to change. Open source solutions also tend to use open standards for communication and data storage, making it more interoperable and interchangeable. This allows students to easily make the switch later to a solution of their choice.
- Fundamental knowledge - The fundamentals of computing are applicable to all operating systems and software, once a student has learned these fundamentals, they will have an intuition for all software, commercial or otherwise. We are confident that this intuition is much better achieved through experience with open source software than commercial software.
- AI & Ads - It's the elephant in the room, and it's a factor in our decision making. It's no secret that the big tech companies are forcefully taking your private data through AI applications, and pushing advertising into every aspect of your computing experience. If we chose commercial software, we would be sacrificing your child’s privacy, eliminating their right to choose, before they have even learned what it means. If we chose commercial software, we would be allowing any unvetted individual or organisation to advertise directly to your child, these can include product advertisements and political opinions. Aside from being morally wrong, it’s a major unnecessary distraction from education.
Why we chose Linux as our base operating system:
Aside from being open source, it’s well established and popular. Linux is the most popular operating system kernel in the world by a very large margin.
Although market share is hard to measure, some estimates for 2025 are as follows:
| Super computers: | |
|---|---|
| Linux | 100% |
| Mobile devices: | |
| Android (Linux) | 72% |
| Apple iOS | 28% |
| Servers: | |
| Linux | 63%-80% |
| Windows | 20% |
| Desktop computers: | |
| Windows | 71% |
| Apple MacOS | 16% |
| Linux | 5% |
| ChromeOS (Linux) | 1% |
Linux’s market share on Mobile devices is 72%, but is known as "Android" to the consumer, so they do not make the association.
Linux is ubiquitous on TV’s(usually via Android), security cameras, IP phones and home appliances but again hidden behind another brand.
But Linux’s market share on Desktop computers is currently very small, at 6% (including Linux based Chromebooks/boxes). This adds to the perception of a small overall market share. But the numbers are growing fast due to a huge exodus from Microsoft Windows, and huge development effort from Valve adding Linux support for games.
Who else is adopting these Open Source ideals?
- Switzerland - 2023
- The EMBAG law stipulates that all public bodies must disclose the source code of software developed by or for them, unless precluded by third-party rights or security concerns. (source)
- Tuwunel(Matrix) - An open source and secure chat and video conferencing system sponsored by Switzerland. With similar features to Microsoft Teams and Discord, only it’s secure. (source) - Germany - 2025
- Ditching Microsoft everywhere in state administration in favour of open source alternatives. (source) - Denmark - 2025
- Ministry of Digital Affairs moving from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice, also Copenhagen and Aarhus municipalities. (source)
- This is a smart initial move, as one of the primary issues with transitioning to Linux, is that Microsoft Office, one of the most widley adopted office tools, does not run on Linux. - France - 2025
- France Becomes First Government To Endorse UN Open Source Principles. (source) - United States Govt - 2026
- US General Services Administration open-by-default posture for code where appropriate. - Italy - 2017
- The catalogue for Open Source Software for Public Administration. (source)
The UN Open Source Principles
An eight-guideline framework developed by the UN Chief Executive Board's Digital Technology Network to guide the development, use, and sharing of open source software across international organisations.- Open by default: Making Open Source the standard approach for projects.
- Contribute back: Encouraging active participation in the Open Source ecosystem.
- Secure by design: Making security a priority in all software projects.
- Foster inclusive participation and community building: Enabling and facilitating diverse and inclusive contributions.
- Design for reusability: Designing projects to be interoperable across various platforms and ecosystems.
- Provide documentation: Providing thorough documentation for end-users, integrators and developers.
- RISE (recognize, incentivize, support and empower): Empowering individuals and communities to actively participate.
- Sustain and scale: Supporting the development of solutions that meet the evolving needs of the UN system and beyond.