Presentation on my experiences teaching open source principles and technologies to undergraduates; prepared for an assembly of teachers in Davao.

1. Open Source in Education
Experiences and Thoughts in Teaching Using
Open Source Technologies
Dominique Gerald M. Cimafranca
Ateneo de Davao University
Email: dominique.cimafranca@gmail.com This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike
Blog: http://villageidiotsavant.blogspot.com 3.0 Philippines License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://ubuntuliving.blogspot.com http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ph/ or send a letter to
Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco,
California, 94105, USA.

2. My Background
BS ECE from University of San Carlos (1991)
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University of Asia and the Pacific (1992-1994)
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Digital Equipment Corporation (1995-1997)
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IBM (1997-2004)
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International Open Source Network (2005-2008)
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3. Teaching Experience in AdDU
IT288 Information Security
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IT312 Business Applications
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Engl107 Feature Stories
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4. The Many Meanings of Open Source
Open source as license
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Open source as development methodology
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Open source as community
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Open source as business model
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Open source as technologies
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5. License
a legal document giving official
permission to do something

6. Software License
a legal instrument governing the usage or
redistribution of copyright protected software

7. Software License
a typical software license grants an end-user permission
●
to use one or more copies of software in ways where such
a use would otherwise constitute infringement of the
software publisher's exclusive rights under copyright law
the software license acts as a promise from the software
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publisher to not sue the end-user for engaging in activities
that would normally be considered exclusive rights
belonging to the software publisher

8. Proprietary Software Licenses
Software publisher grants a license to use one
●
or more copies of software; however
Ownership of those copies remains with the
●
software publisher
All rights are reserved by the software publisher
–
Only a limited set of rights are given to the user
–
User must accept the software license to use it
●

9. Open Source Licenses
Ownership of a particular copy of the software
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is transferred to the user
End-user is granted the same rights as the
–
copyright owner
Extra rights may also be given to the user
–
However, copyright ownership does not
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change; it remains with the publisher
Acceptance of open source license is optional
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in order to use it
However, exercising the additional rights
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requires acceptance of the license

10. Free Software Definition
The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.
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The freedom to study how the program works, and
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adapt it to your needs. Access to the source code is a
precondition for this.
The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help
●
your neighbor.
The freedom to improve the program, and release
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your improvements to the public, so that the whole
community benefits. Access to the source code is a
precondition for this.
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

11. Open Source Definition
Free redistribution Distribution of license
● ●
Source code License must not be specific
● ●
to a product
Derived works
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License must not restrict
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Integrity of the author's
●
other software
source code
License must be technology-
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No discrimination against
●
neutral
persons or groups
No discrimination against
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fields of endeavor
http://www.opensource.org

12. Open Source Development
Adoption and modification of
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existing projects
Rapid prototyping
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Short release cycles
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Version control
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Bug tracking
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Patch management
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Forks
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Community involvement
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Diagram by M. Abbing

13. Open Source Communities
“open source software tends to be developed by
loosely organized, ad-hoc communities consisting of
contributors from all over the world who have never met
face-to-face and yet who share a strong sense of
commitment”
“An Introduction to Open Source Communities”
Eugene Eric Kim, Blue Oxen Associates

14. Snapshot of an Open Source
Community
Donors
Vendors
and
and
Funders Testers
Consultants
End Users
Community
Moderators
Core Developers
Artwork
Documentors
Bug Fixers
Module
Patch Submitters
Developers

15. Open Source Business Models
Externally funded Revenue-Based
● ●
ventures “Best Knowledge Here”
–
without constraints
Public funding
–
“Best Knowledge Here”
–
“Needed Improvement”
–
with Constraints
Funding
“Special” Licenses
–
Indirect Funding
–
Unfunded developments
Internal Use ●
●
From “Free/Libre Open Source Software: A Guide for SMEs” (IOSN)
http://smeguide.conecta.it/smeguide-eu.pdf

16. IT312 Open Source Technologies
Two one-hour lecture sessions per week
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Initial lectures on Open Source
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Similar to the first part of this presentation
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Assigned reports on specific open source
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projects
Emphasis on origin, community, funding, and
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licensing models

17. IT312 Original Syllabus

18. IT312 Open Source Technologies
Three-hour laboratory session per week
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Installation of Ubuntu via Wubi
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Option 1: Structured Laboratory Path
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Desktop and graphics applications
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LAMP applications: content management systems
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PHP development
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Option 2: Freestyle Study-What-You-Like
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Set up a WordPress server where they
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uploaded their results

19. Unexpected Freestyle Output
Ruby on Rails Wine
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CodeIgniter DOSBOX
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CakePHP OpenBravo
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Facebook application GIMP effects and
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development plugins
Gambas
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20. IT288 Information Security
Nmap / Zenmap ClamAV
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Nessus Apache + SSL
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Wireshark GNU Privacy Guard
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Snort OpenSSH
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Firestarter SpamAssassin
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ufw Rootkit Hunter
● ●

21. Recommended Lab Infrastructure
Ubuntu via WUBI
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Install Ubuntu as a Windows application
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Results in dual-boot system
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VirtualBox or VMWare
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Virtualization software allows OS-within-OS
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Memory > 2GB
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Apt-Cacher
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Efficient distribution of Ubuntu packages
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(Please enable NTP ports through firewall!)
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22. Linux Survey Among My Students
18 -- half the class -- had used Linux to some
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degree in the past
17 have installed Linux since the class started
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7 students who had never before used Linux
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installed it on some system outside of class

23. Linux Survey Among My Students
the most common Linux distribution was
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Ubuntu (9), followed by Red Hat (6)
other distributions mentioned: Sabayon,
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Debian, CentOS, Kubuntu, and OpenSUSE

24. Linux Survey Among My Students
security from viruses (16)
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free (cost) (13)
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easy to install and manage the OS (10)
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easy to install software (7)
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minimal hardware requirements (5)
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complete software on installation: (3)
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other mentioned factors: speed (2), flexibility
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(2), good interface (2), fun to use (1),
community (1), stability (1)

25. Linux Survey Among My Students
not used to it (13)
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limited applications or difficult to install software
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(12)
no popular native games (5)
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incompatible drivers (3)
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command line difficulties (3)
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26. Random Thoughts
Initial resistance, but plenty of interest in later stages
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of the class (esp. MVC frameworks and ERP apps)
Benefits of introducing open source early
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More options for development tools
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Awareness of licensing and business models
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Collaborative work for thesis projects
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Things I would have wanted to introduce
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Eclipse collaborative environment
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MVC and test-oriented development
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Version control systems
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27. Random Thoughts
Things I could have handled better
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More structured exercises, esp. command line
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Introduced ERP and business applications earlier
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More leeway for those interested in graphics/multimedia
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Segmented the students by aptitude earlier
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The case for smaller lab class sizes
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IT288 (13 students) achieves better depth in the topics
–
than IT312 (36 students)
Difficult to balance differing aptitudes and skill levels
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Perhaps I should have split the class in two?
–

28. References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_licenses
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http://www.iosn.net/licensing/foss-licensing-primer/foss-licensing-final.pdf
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_software_development
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http://www.blueoxen.com/paper/open-source-communities/
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http://smeguide.conecta.it/smeguide-eu.pdf
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29. Questions?

30. Open Source in Education
Experiences and Thoughts in Teaching Using
Open Source Technologies
Dominique Gerald M. Cimafranca
Ateneo de Davao University
Email: dominique.cimafranca@gmail.com This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike
Blog: http://villageidiotsavant.blogspot.com 3.0 Philippines License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://ubuntuliving.blogspot.com http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ph/ or send a letter to
Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco,
California, 94105, USA.