People normally associate free licensed and open source software (FOSS) with Linux. But it should be noted that FOSS goes beyond the mere use of Linux.
It is an advocacy to make the development of technology solutions to be an openly and freely supported “project” by a global community of developers and users. It encourages free distribution of software products along with their corresponding documentations so that the codes can be freely studied and modified for feature enhancement and localization, and for immediate no-lock-in implementation of ICT service.
FOSS covers ICT projects on operating systems, network services, databases, programming tools, office productivity, communication and collaboration, multimedia tools, educational system, business solutions, project management tools, and user’s manuals.
The open source projects listed in this presentation runs both in Microsoft Windows and Linux operating platforms.
Microsoft Windows is a commercial product copyrighted to Microsoft Corporation. And Linux is an open source project attributed to Linus Trovaldis. Linux has many variants, namely Fedora, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, etc... and the trademark are owned by the supporting companies.
Most of the stable projects have become part of the enterprise ICT infrastructure to implement web-based business applications, integrated data systems, content management, and enterprise collaboration.
The mainstream free and open source software developments are managed by the best and respected innovators in the software development world who have greatly contributed to the evolution of best practices and standards in the ICT sector.
In essence, FOSS provides the licensing framework to freely use, share, and modify the software and documentations – something that the education sector needs to exploit in its instructional strategy.
This open content presentation offers a strategic framework for the education, government, business and other sector to invest on free and open source solutions to enhance curriculum, to support instructional delivery, to enable e-governance, to realize business automation, and to build the corresponding information and communications technology (ICT) service infrastructure.
It calls for education, government and small and medium business sectors to seriously consider and incorporate free and open source solutions among its ICT services portfolio that are aligned to the instructional, service, and business ends.
It describes the free and open source projects that offer the “no lock-in” environment necessary to build the generic ICT competencies and to promote productivity among ICT practitioners in education, government, and small and medium business.
It likewise articulates the significance of open source licensing and project collaboration in the education sector to propel it to contribute globally and locally in the maturation and implementation of “open standards” and “technology solutions for all”.
