Objective

The objective of Frog & Owl is to nurture the development of ever-better open source tools and open content for education, and help parents, educators, and students learn about and use these resources.

Most educational programs, tools, and content are released under restrictive proprietary licenses that restrict rights. In the case of software, this means that you probably don't have the right to use it on any number of computers, the right to share it with other teachers and friends who need to use it, and it might even mean you don't have the right to share materials you create with the software. With regards to content, you don't have the right to share it with anyone, you don't have the right to make unlimited copies and give them away, and you might be prevented from sharing it with more than one class of students at a time. These restrictions not only limit what you can do, but they put up roadblocks to improving materials or education in general.

In contrast, open software gives you the right to use it where you need to use it, and to do what you want with the materials you create. Open content gives you the right to modify or improve the materials, to print as many copies as you want, and to share them with anyone.

Another benefit of open software and content is that it reduces costs for educators and parents. A good education is essential to life, yet the cost of educational programs and materials often forces parents and educators to do without the best tools. Frog & Owl steps in by establishing a center for open source educational programs and tools, as well as a center for open educational content, from textbooks to worksheet collections. These materials are free for you to print yourself, or you can pay a low cost for the convenience of having us print and ship them to you.

In addition to sharing our own tools and materials, we want to provide a one-stop place to discover and compare those already out there. With submissions from users like you, the pool of tools and materials can grow in size and quality.