Hidden Costs of an Open Source LMS

With more and more schools beginning to investigate online courses, administrators must choose a learning management system (LMS) to provide the framework for e-learning classes.  Many educators evaluating offering among the different LMS systems may be tempted by open source software, that is, an LMS whose computer code is freely available.  Savvy educators should be wary, however, and look for hidden costs.  Educators who sign up for IQity's online demonstration find that a close comparison reveals an LMS like the IQity Learning Management Suite, which is also free to school districts, to be a better deal.

Open Source Means Re-Coding Costs

The allure of an open source LMS is that the source code for the software is available to users.  Open source software is a sort of cult among some internet programmers, a culture to which they are devoted because every individual user can see the code and change it.  The viral nature of the internet can mean that open source programs are continually evolving, changing, and in many cases improving.

The question is whether that is what administrators choosing an LMS for their school districts want.  Yes, each teacher can adapt the program for his or her particular needs or tastes.  Is that what you are paying them to do, rewrite program code?   Wouldn't it be better to use an LMS that's flexible enough to be used in different ways without requiring teachers to learn a programming language to customize it?

Another possibility is that you will want to modify the open source LMS on a district-wide basis.  To do that, you will either have to pay your existing IT staff to modify the code, hire new programmers to do it, or pay programmers on a contract basis.  All of those choices are expensive.  Average salaries for programmers start at over $50,000, much more in some markets and at a premium for experienced personnel.  If you're paying on a contract basis, you can expect to pay at least $150 an hour, again depending on where you are and on how much experience the programmer has.

Hosting Costs

Once you have your open source LMS, with or without modification, you need a place to host it.  You can use your own server either at the district level or in each individual school.  Just operating a data center for servers is an expensive proposition.  Although servers today are more energy-efficient, they still generate a lot of heat. Data centers need to be cool to keep equipment from overheating, so it requires a lot of air-conditioning to offset the heat produced by the servers.  A study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that servers accounted for 60% to 80% of the energy use in data centers.  According to a study by Advanced Micro Devices, "Today, high-density [server] racks producing up to 500W per square foot can cost as much as US $5,000 per square foot for the necessary air conditioning, power supply, power conditioning, and other equipment." 

No Down Time

Another major cost involved in hosting your open source LMS is that your own IT staff must administer and maintain it.  When you are offering classes online, your open source LMS must be available around the clock.  Just like an online banking service, an online LMS has to be available when its users want to log in, and for high school students in particular, that may well be outside of normal school hours or even outside of the hours that most adults are awake!  So you need 24/7 IT support, which means you will probably have to add one or two more shifts of IT personnel.   If you are hosting your open source LMS at each individual school, multiply that cost for each one.

Why IQity is a Smarter Choice for an LMS

Compared to the costs of an open source LMS, the IQity Learning Management Suite (LMS) is free to school districts. the LMS is hosted for your school, so schools do not need to pay IT staff to maintain it.

IQity comes with content is aligned with state standards; a web-casting tool for live lectures; and preparation tools for state graduation tests.  Yet IQity can also be customized by teachers, without the need to alter the programming language.  Teachers can upload their own teaching materials or use content from REACTOR, the learning object repository that allows teachers to search for standards-aligned content in different formats and media, rivaling any open source provider. 

For an economical LMS that meets your school district's needs, request an IQity online demonstration conducted by an IQity education expert. They will introduce you to the system and be available to answer your unique questions.