McNealy touts open-source education site

Meadow Free Press 4/17/07

By Jordan Robertson, AP

San Jose, Calif. - Since Sun Microsystems Inc. co-founder Scott McNealy stepped down as chief executive to focus on his chairmanship full-time, he‘s been spearheading a side project to transform education the way digital music upended the recording industry.

In the case of Curriki, parents, teachers and students can post and download free lesson plans, sample tests, book chapters and other materials. McNealy said the site has strict copyright protections, requiring intellectual property releases for all the original material it publishes.

McNealy said he is particularly concerned about developing countries where network infrastructure is sparse, and he is encouraging local governments to boost network spending and adopt Curriki‘s open-source education model.

The site currently has some 3,000 posted items and some 35,000 members.

McNealy came up with the idea three years ago while helping one of his sons with a third-grade science project. McNealy struggled to find basic information online about how electricity works, and thought free academic resources would help children and teachers find information while saving schools money.

Some textbook publishers are wary, arguing the materials offered by a site like Curriki are not as comprehensive.

"It‘s like turning the Titanic — it‘s very understandable why the notion of stopping and adapting would be much more difficult," she said.

Charles Reed, the CSU chancellor, said a site like Curriki will help bridge the technology gap between teachers and students. However, the site faces a big challenge in cataloging the information to match the material to ever-evolving state standards.