Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore the integration of free and open source software (FOSS) with the daily teaching and curriculum development in order to improve teaching effectiveness. The methods of questionnaire survey, semi-structured interview and focus group discussion were used in this project. A total of 35 participants, including teaching faculty, research staff, teachers and students, from the general education programme in Chu Hai College of Higher Education were selected and actively involved in this project. The project started in September 2018 and a number of free and open source education software promotion activities and training workshops were provided. Both quantitative and qualitative data through questionnaire survey and interview were collected. The quantitative data were analyzed by using SPSS version 22, while qualitative data were used as supplement. It was found from this study that the majority of learners were positive about FOSS and agreed that FOSS was easy to learn, convenient to use and conducive to learn. It is hoped that the research results could bring some insights and inspiration to the implementation and application of FOSS in Chu Hai College of Higher Education.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Anderson, R. E., & Dexter, S. (2005). School technology leadership: An empirical investigation of prevalence and effect. Educational Administration Quarterly, 41(1), 49–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X04269517.
Ajila, S., & Wu, D. (2007). Empirical study of the effects of open source adoption on software development economics. The Journal of Systems & Software, 80(9), 1517–1529.
AlMarzouq, M., Zheng, L., Rong, G., & Grover, V. (2005). Open source: Concepts, benefits, and challenges. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 16(1), 37.
Feller, J., Fitzgerald, B., Hissam, S. A., & Lakhani, K. (Eds.). (2007). Perspectives on free and open source software. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Free Software Foundation (FSF). (2020). GNU Operating System. Retrieved March 20, 2020, from https://www.gnu.org/home.en.html#mission-statement.
Gangadharan, G. R., Dandrea, V., & Weiss, M. (2007). Free/Open Services: Conceptualization, Classification, and Commercialization. Open source systems.
Ghosh, R. A. (2007). Understanding free software developers. In J. Feller, B. Fitzgerald, S. A. Hissam, & K. Lakhani (Eds.), Perspectives on free and open source software. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Gupta, D., & Surbhi (2018). Adopting Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in Education. Journal on Educational Technology, 14(4).
Hoe, N. S. (2006). Breaking barriers: The potential of free and open source software for sustainable human development—A compilation of case studies from across the world. Bangkok: NUDP PDIP, Elsevier. Retrieved from https://www.unapcict.org/ecohub/resources/breaking-barriers.
Hon, M., Russell, G., & Welch, M. (2010). Open source software considerations for law enforcement. IT Professional, 12(6), 18–23.
Haselden, D. M. (2001). Patenting software under the European patent convention, keith beresford, sweet and maxwell, London, March 2000, World Patent Information, 23(1), 101–102.
Miller, K., Voas, J., & Costello, T. (2010). Free and open source software. IT Professional, 12(6), 14–16.
Pelavin Research Institute. (1997). Investing in school technology: Strategies to meet the funding challenge. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Educational Technology.
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations. New York: The Free Press.
Scheuermann, F., & Pedró, F. (Eds.). (2010). Assessing the effects of ICT in education indicators, criteria and benchmarks for international comparisons. Ispra (VA): Joint Research Centre- European Commission. Retrieved from https://libproxy.cbu.ca:2048/login?url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264079786-en.
Thankachan, B., & Moore, D. R. (2017). Challenges of Implementing Free and Open Source Software (FOSS): Evidence from the Indian Educational Setting. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(6), 186–199.
Wang, H. J., Blue, J., & Plourde, M. (2010). Community source software in higher education. IEEE Computer Society, 10(6), 31–37.
UNESCO. (2020). Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Retrieved March 20, 2020, from https://en.unesco.org/freeandopensourcesoftware.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Quality Enhancement Support Scheme from Education Bureau, Hong Kong SAR Government [grant number: 01/QESS/2018]. The authors are immensely grateful to Professor Zhang Weiyuan of Beijing Normal University for his comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Also, thanks to Mr. Lee Koon Lam, Research Assistant of this Project, for assistance in conducting the semi-structure focus group discussions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Duan, C., Lee, K.F. (2020). The Adoption of Free and Open Source Software in Teaching and Learning: An Empirical Study of General Education in Chu Hai College of Higher Education. In: Ma, W.W., Tong, Kw., Tso, W.B.A. (eds) Learning Environment and Design. Educational Communications and Technology Yearbook. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8167-0_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8167-0_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-15-8166-3
Online ISBN: 978-981-15-8167-0
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)