What are the best open source collaborative tools for educational institutions?

As mentioned in one of our previous articles, open source software have many advantages for educational institutions. Indeed, free software, in which all or part of is accessible, modifiable and usable by a contributor. They offer more flexibility, sovereignty and improve collaboration within educational institutions.

Do not hesitate to discover or read again our article:  Why choose open source for your educational institution?

Also check out our article: Why choose sovereign software for your educational institution?

You will now be able to discover a selection of open source collaborative solutions for your educational institution, whatever its size or specialization.

The tools listed will help with collaboration within your institution’s administration and/or between students and teachers.

Discover which collaborative tools are best for your educational institution in 2023.

XiVO - collaborative tool for IP telephony, sovereign and open source

In 2005, XiVO launched its first version of the software in Paris, and chose to make it accessible, sovereign and open source.

Le logiciel XiVO est une solution de téléphonie VoIP avec laquelle il est possible de construire des architectures sur mesure pour répondre aux besoins de tout types d’établissements (université, école de commerce, collège, lycée, etc.), comptant de 200 à plus de 5000 utilisateurs.

XiVO offers many features such as softphony, video conferencing and voice mail. In addition to being an open source solution, XiVO is a sovereign solution, which guarantees the protection of sensitive data of educational institutions.

With clients such as the University of Avignon, the University of Grenoble Alpes, Paris Panthéon Sorbonne, Université de Lyon and the Collège de France, XiVO has become a major player in IP telephony.

XiVO has a documentation , a community which is very active and it is possible to download the solution in free access. It is therefore an open source tool that checks all the boxes of this name.

Nextcloud - the free hosting system and collaborative tool

Created in 2016 and derived from ownCloud software, Nextcloud is an open source collaborative software to store and share the data of an educational institution safely. Indeed, Nextcloud allows the “encryption of server files”.

Nextcloud offers in its range Nextcloud 26 a whole range of features around data sharing, synchronization and storage. In addition to data storage, Nextcloud offers the possibility to integrate applications around collaboration by making for example integrations like Libre Office and/or Only Office for text editing, which makes it a plausible alternative to Google products.

Given the sensitivity of the data presented in educational institutions' databases, Nextcloud appears to be an adequate solution to protect this data.

GLPI – the open source IT services management tool

GLPI, created in 2003, is a professional tool designed to simplify the tasks of CIOs. It offers an ITSM (IT Services Management System) as well as a helpdesk, financial management and project management features.

GLPI will mainly be useful for educational institutions to manage computer equipment and equipment. With GLPI, institutions can maximize the utility of their equipment while reducing costs and technical problems.

GLPI also offers contact management and licensing features.

The solution can be downloaded directly from the GLPI website.

OnlyOffice – The open source alternative to the Microsoft Windows products

Formerly called Teamlab and created in 2009 by Ascensio System SIA, Only Office is a set of office tools Collaboration to create documents such as text documents, slides and spreadsheets. You can also create forms to fill out online.

For educational institutions, Only Office is a sovereign open source alternative to Google and Microsoft. A tool therefore indispensable for the collaboration of teams and students/students. Moreover, Only Office allows to transform "textbooks in e-books”.

BlueMind – The French and open source alternative to Outlook

BlueMind is a sovereign French open source messaging solution.

BlueMind offers a range of messaging solutions, a collaborative calendar and contact lists. The software also includes an open source software suite and is intended to encourage collaboration within teams.

For educational institutions, BlueMind allows to bypass all the complications related to digital sovereignty and the legislation on the use of tools such as Gmail or Outlook.

Rocket.chat –The open source alternative to Slack for a better collaboration

Rocket.chat is an open source and collaborative chat solution created in 2015. Rocket.chat offers a real-time chat solution like other solutions such as Slack, WhatsApp or Mattermost. Just like Mattermost, but unlike the other competitors mentioned above, Rocket.chat is an open source solution.

The solution allows you to chat in real time, but also to share audio, video, tag participants or share emojis and gifs.

VLC – the universal open source media made in France

VLC, created in 2001, is a multimedia player, French, free and open source, developed by VideoLAN. It has been designed to offer maximum freedom to users. In the early 2000s, this solution gained great popularity and continues to be an attractive alternative to native Microsoft or Apple media players.

This software makes for playback and listening to video and audio files of all types, such as MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, MKV, WebM, WMV, MP3, etc. In addition to playback, VLC also allows conversion and live streaming.

So it’s a sovereign tool, open source and French. A very useful tool for educational institutions.

Available on more than twenty different platforms, including macOS, Android, Linux and Windows, this software can be downloaded for free from the VideoLAN website directly.

 XWiki – Open Source Wiki for better knowledge sharing and collaboration

Created in 2004 by Ludovic Dubost, XWiki is a knowledge sharing software and therefore a very useful collaborative tool for streamlining information.

This collaborative software is particularly suited to the world of education where terminology is very important. With XWiki, it is possible to collaborate on projects, centralize teaching resources and promote communication and student participation.

XWiki is an open source and sovereign tool committed to the values of knowledge sharing specific to open source.

Their website states, “We believe that knowledge sharing is a key element of the operational success of projects and is becoming essential to all business lines.”

Moodle – The open source e-learning platform

Moodle is a major player in education with 316 million users to date and 41 million courses in 42 different languages.

Depuis sa première version en 2002, Moodle facilite l’accès aux cours à distance et l’accès à l’éducation. « Moodle » est l’acronyme de “Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment”. Moodle offre une plateforme d’apprentissage en ligne qui facilite la création de cours dynamiques, le partage de ressources pédagogiques pertinentes et l’interaction directe entre les enseignants et les élèves.

The company makes a point of promoting open source and information sharing. It states that “Moodle is a B-certified society and a member of Open Education Global and UNESCO’s World Coalition for Education.”

Being open source, the solution offers many advantages over other solutions that are not. Feel free to also read our article on this subject: Why choose open source for your educational institution?

You now have all the information you need to build an open source ecosystem by preferably using open source tools.

Investing in open source solutions also means investing in a way of thinking, a philosophy that promotes the sharing of information and a certain very precise vision of the company.

Do not hesitate any more and exchange today with our experts to deepen your analysis of the market.