Understanding the Open in Open Source (Activity)

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Title

Understanding the 'Open' in Open Source

Overview

The student will explore the meaning of 'openness' from a broad perspective and be introduced to the idea of a humanitarian free and open source project (HFOSS).

Prerequisites

None

Learning
Objectives
After successfully completing this activity, the learner should be able to:
  1. State the difference between open source and proprietary software.
  2. Identify how open source principles apply to other groups.
  3. Summarize the difference between FOSS and HFOSS projects.
Process Skills
Practiced


Background

This activity works nicely as a first introduction to openness and open source software. It is intended to be a homework assignment and will provide the necessary background for an in-class discussion on basic open source concepts.

Directions

Use the Web resources provided (and links from these pages) to answer the following questions. Your answers must be typed and can be in MS Word, pdf or rtf format. All answers should be formed using complete sentences and should be in your own words (do not copy and paste answers from the websites provided).

Go to http://opensource.com/resources/what-open-source to find answers the following questions:
  1. What is meant by the open source way?
  2. How do open source licenses differ from proprietary licenses?
  3. Open source software is important to everyone, even if you are not a programmer. Give two examples that show how open source software benefits someone other than a programmer.
  4. Give two examples that explain why programmers prefer using open source software.
  5. The ‘free’ in free and open source software doesn’t mean free of charge. This is only one of the misconceptions many have about free and open source software. Briefly describe the 6 misconceptions (click the common misconception link).
  6. How do open source software principles apply “beyond software”?
    Go to http://hechingerreport.org/content/computer-coding-can-increase-engagement-provide-purpose-learning_17457 to find answers to the following questions
  7. How do FOSS and HFOSS differ?
  8. Provide a response to the author’s stance that HFOSS “can increase engagement, provide a purpose for learning.” Do you agree or disagree? Please provide a compelling argument as to why you agree or disagree.

Deliverables

Notes for Instructors

Assessment

This activity is expected to be a homework assignment, which may or may not be graded. The document containing the answers to the questions.

Student learning can be measured via quiz/exam questions that elicit the students understanding of the specified objectives.

Additional Information

ACM BoK
Area & Unit(s)

Social Issues and Professional Practice - SP/Intellectual Property

ACM BoK
Topic(s)

Foundations of the Open Source Movement

Difficulty

easy

Estimated Time
to Complete

60 minutes

Environment /
Materials

Internet access

Author(s)

Darci Burdge

Source

Darci Burdge

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

CC license.png


Feedback

Feedback to the author(s) of the activity regarding usage or suggestions for enhancements can be included via the Discussion tab (upper left of the page).

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