The Cost of Free Software
There is an ever growing debate within DSA about moving towards Freeware rather than paid for software solutions but at what cost to the student?
There is no doubt that there are an increasing number of effective pieces of assistive technology software on the market which are available for free covering everything from screen magnifiers and readers to voice recognition. Of course, it is important that any assessor is aware of what adjustments are available to offer a student so that they can make the best recommendations whilst being sensitive to the fact that they are spending from the public purse.
Some of the free software is very good and there would seem no reason not to go the free route. The problem with anything that is ‘free’; however is that there is always some cost. In this case, the cost to the student is possibly lack of support and on-going personal development.
Software which is professionally developed for the market and sold via the industry has behind it, a multi-tiered layer of support for the student. This starts with the software house. They not only code but develop learning practices around their product which mean that the students can be taught best practice based on insightful research.
There is also support from the reseller who are contracted to ensure that the software is functioning correctly on the student’s computer and that they have the right specification of equipment to allow for trouble free learning. The student also receives support for their software from their assistive technology trainer.
Software developers of paid for solutions such as TextHelp, run accreditation programmes with trainers to ensure that training and support is provided by people that really know all aspects of the software and how it works with other software such as Microsoft Office . Free software generally imitates rather than innovates because the R&D has been paid for within the commercial sector. If we don’t support those who are pushing solutions forward we possibly risk a slow-down of new ideas.
At a time where corporations are picking up the inclusiveness banner and are beginning to embrace assistive solutions as productive for the majority not the minority, there is also the risk that by not providing students with the same tools that they will be using in business we are de-skilling the next generation of DSA students as they approach work.
Assessors should be aware of free software and where appropriate it should be recommended in order to reduce over spending within the sector and going forward a mix of freeware and paid for software solutions would seem like a good solution but maybe we need to be mindful of the true cost of anything ‘free’.