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Open Source Software in Education

Educational institutions have rushed to put their academic resources and services online, bringing the global community onto a common platform and awakening the interest of investors. Despite continuing technical challenges, online education shows great promise. Open source software offers one approach to addressing the technical problems in providing optimal delivery of online learning.
Open source refers to both the concept and practice of making program source code openly available. Users and developers have access to the core designing functionalities that enable them to modify or add features to the source code and redistribute it. Extensive collaboration and circulation are central to the open source movement.
Many features distinguish open source software from closed or proprietary software. The Open Source Initiative (OSI) has set a standard—the "open source definition"—by which software qualifies for an open source license.¹ The software must meet the following criteria:

• Unrestricted distribution. Users can distribute or sell the software without paying royalties.
• Source code distribution. The source code of the entire open source product must be easily modifiable. In the absence of the source code, the product must cite a low-cost resource where users can obtain it.
• Modifications. The license allows modifications, and its terms remain unchanged for distribution of improved versions.
• Author's source code integrity. If the license allows patch file distribution along with the original source code, a user cannot modify the code and distribute it² except by giving the new version a new name.
• No personal discrimination. No person or group shall be discriminated against during open source product distribution.
• No restriction on application. Open source software can be used in any field and for any purpose.
• License distribution. The privileges attached to the original program extend to all who receive the program, so recipients do not need to apply for a separate license.
• License must not be product-specific. The rights associated with a license extend to products extracted from a larger software aggregate.
• No restriction on other software. No restrictions are allowed on distribution of open source products bundled with products developed on other software platforms.
• Technology neutrality. Licenses should not be issued on the basis of the specific technology involved.

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