I have here a list of some of the most valuable free/open-source educational software applications for kids. I hope this will in some way serve as a guide to those who want to teach their child at home without the need for spending some extra money.

Developing countries are using open source technology to build educational initiatives that are impressive when compared to socially-devastating education policies in the United States, which is much richer and could easily afford to replicate these outstanding programs in countries like Brazil.

A Chinese educational device vendor announced it will use Trolltech's Qt for Embedded Linux application framework in its Linux-based educational devices. Noah Education Holdings currently offers over a dozen handheld "digital-learning devices" (DLDs), three of which run embedded Linux.

We are on the cusp of a global revolution in teaching and learning. Educators worldwide are developing a vast pool of educational resources on the Internet, open and free for all to use.

A switch to free open source software can minimize cost and allow funding to be diverted to equipment and other programs. For instance, the OpenOffice suite is an alternative to expensive basic application programs offered by major vendors. Many such programs on the market offer features seldom used in education but for which educators must pay.

Businesses, educational institutions, governmental agencies and other organizations around the world are converting their computer operating systems from Microsoft Windows to Linux at an increasing pace. They are likewise converting their application programs from commercial software to free software (also referred to as open source software).

Last weekend the members of the KDE-Edu team met in Paris for a meeting about the Education project. The meeting took place at the Mandriva office, where the members got to know each other and started vivid discussions about their free and open source educational applications, life in general, as well as the future and vision of the Edu module. Read on for the report.

Ivan sees the OLPC as an educational tool while RMS views it as a vehicle to lead millions of kids away from a world of non-free software, besides being an educational tool. If porting Sugar to Windows on OLPC XO has the effect of strengthening MS, it should be avoided at all costs.

As schools analyze alternatives to hefty licensing fees, LUGs and Linux-in-education organizations are pointing out that Open Source solutions are better suited to the educational environment, and are only a fraction of the cost.