SchoolForgeUK

George Brereton

SchoolForgeUK’s web site:

http://www.schoolforge.org.uk/index.php/Main_Page

Home site for all chapters of the SchoolForge association:

http://www.schoolforge.net/

The project’s main purpose

The main purpose of SchoolForgeUK is to provide schools and colleges in the UK with more free and open resources.

SchoolForgeUK’s software content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike licence, which allows all content to be copied, modified, and redistributed so long as the new version grants the same freedoms to others and acknowledges the authors of the SchoolForgeUK materials used.

It is a voluntary community and so it gets its resources from its members and their organisations.

It has no competitors as it works in companionship with all other chapters of the SchoolForge association trying to achieve the same aims.

History of the projectSchoolForgeUK was set up in 2003. The current chair members are Richard Rothwell and Jo Harris. As it is a UK-based porject, its members are situated in the UK. Rothwell’s main job is running the M6-IT Community Interest Company, a provider of Free Software solutions to community, education and voluntary services. He used to be the Head of Computing at Handsworth Grammar School where he introduced the open source solution LTSP to the department. He has been involved in SchoolForgeUK since it was first formed. Harris’ main job is the Network Manager at Dover Grammar School for Boys. She co-created the Karoshi server setup for schools and has set up Linux servers for many schools.

Contribution to the projectSchoolForgeUK’s website boasts that it is easy to contribute to the project. All that is required to become an official member is to make an account on their website. If you have an organisation that supports SchoolForgeUK’s aims you can form an affiliation by adding a link to your organisation’s site on the “Organisations and Businesses” page of the web site. Members can join the mailing list and find out about and take part in meetings and events organised by SchoolForgeUK. The projects thrives on volunteer contribution and is enthusiastically welcoming to newcomers.

My opinion of the projectI think that the project has a good and worthwhile purpose and seems reasonably successful. It could be improved by doing more to get the government to appeal to its aims.