Neutral or Not: the Culture of Educational Software for Developing Nations: Promoting and Protecting Languages and Cultures Through the Use of Open Source Technologies and Community Based Development

Donating Western educational software to developing nations is a great and noble act, however we must ensure the proper localization of these technologies for schools and protect the local languages, learning methodologies and cultures receiving these tools. This research addresses some of the realities that people are faced with when dealing with educational technology and the impact that this force has on culture and learning. Developing nations often live with economic constraints making it important to ensure that the implementation of new educational technologies are viable and sustainably developed with the community of practice. I propose the use of Linux and Edubuntu's open source approach to technology for developing nations to offset the tremendous cost of operation and implementation of proprietary software and hardward in schools. Edubuntu can run on any machine and offers up the community the opportunities to localize software to reflect local needs and purposes. Education is an important tool for empowerment, coming from a developing nation should not hinder that opportunity.