Today if you do not have enough financial resources to acquire and run basic Office-like applications, you would still be able to do so in two ways. The first is to switch to Open Source Software (OSS) and the second is to rely on a the Net. OSSs, like Linux-based software are not only mostly free and legal but also easy to use. Computer users accustomed to working with graphical user interfaces will find that Linux-based software have a similar feel. With regards to applications on the Net, Google, for example, has headed in the direction of providing web users with Office-like applications for free. The thinking now is that the world is headed towards using web-based applications and moving away from individually installed software on PCs for both work and play. This is now seen as a strategy that is part of a new business model for technology companies like Google.

This shift is itself a lesson for educators and schools. This shift is, on the whole, a positive thing too for education.  The provision of free web-based applications means that costs for using ICT in schools all over the world would be reduced considerably as schools no longer would have to be too worried about the cost of software licensing. The high costs of software licensing has caused many schools especially in the Third World to use illegally installed software.

Schools that face problems with funding, can now turn to both OSS and also the Net. For these schools, it means that good internet connection becomes important. In some countries, for example, Indonesia, good internet connection is hard to come by. The government of Indonesia has plans for a nation-wide network for the Internet however this is likely to take some time before its completion. The alternative is to use commercially-owned internet service providers which can be more expensive than in developed countries where competition helps to drive down prices. However, with the savings made from not having to pay for software licenses, schools could seriously consider these commercial internet service providers as a viable alternative to gain access to teaching resources.

Furthermore with the advent of cheap, no frills laptops, schools would spend less than if they had to spend on more powerful desktops designed to run the bloated applications found installed on most desktops and laptops today. The cheap laptops are a good alternative to using desktops because of their mobility. This mobility would mean that the school can buy fewer computers as they can be moved around the classrooms as and when is needed. All the laptops need to do is to be able to connect to the internet and run OSS, which in general can run on less powerful and cheaper machines too.

Schools can obtain very good learning management systems (LMSs) for free. OSSs like Moodle and also content management systems like Joomla! are also free. One can design sophisticated online courses using Moodle that can rival (or even be better than) the more expensive well-known commercial ones. Schools can use Joomla! for almost any purpose to connect and communicate in anyway they want with their stakeholders. All they require is server space. Here again is more good news for educators. The price of servers have been tumbling so schools also have the option of just simply buying server space so they would not have to worry about the maintenance of servers. The cost of server space has never been cheaper. Many come with easily-installed software for schools to use.

Clearly the alternative route for schools intending to use ICT for education has never been clearer and cheaper. Schools must capitalise on these possibilities if they want to take advantage of great learning possibilities and for their students to acquire the new literacies of the 21st century.

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