Celebrating Xerte

Have you ever paused to appreciate just how remarkable Xerte is, not only for what it does, but for the fact that it’s open‑source? And have you ever wondered why that really matters?

Open-source in education

A recent article from the Digisprong Knowledge Centre shines a spotlight on the importance of open‑source software in education. It’s written in Dutch, and your browser’s built‑in ‘Translate to English’ option (or any other language you prefer) will get you there instantly. 

We often talk about the obvious advantages of open‑source tools:

• They save institutions from hefty licence fees.
• They’re shaped, supported, and improved by a community of real users.

All of that is true and incredibly valuable. 

But the real power of open‑source lies in something deeper: it can be adapted, customised, and continually improved through collaboration.

This flexibility is becoming increasingly important. In recent times we also see that educational institutions have become more dependent on large multi-national technology companies, think Google and Microsoft, and there is now a growing call for greater use of open-source software to strengthen digital autonomy and protect individual sovereignty.

If you’ve been using Xerte for a long time, you’ve seen this evolution first-hand. Over the years, its active, supportive community has transformed it into a richer, more capable platform than ever before. Recently, Xerte introduced an AI Assistant, and later this autumn we’ll see a refreshed user interface update both driven by developers who generously contribute their time and expertise to software that remains freely available to everyone.

Xerte is a brilliant example of what the open‑source model makes possible: innovation, community, and continuous improvement. 

Preview of new user interface for Xerte. Available later this year!