A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources/Appendix 4

Open source is the concept and practice of enabling access by both users and developers, to the programme source code, enabling both developers and users to be able to modify or add features to the source code and redistribute it. In this regard, collaboration and circulation are central tenets to the open source movement. Open source software offers an alternative to proprietary courseware, in education. Open source software is cost effective as it does not entail licence fees, has open standards that facilitate integration with other systems and can be easily customised. Aberdour has highlighted that the low cost of open source Learning Management Systems (LMSs) allows institutions to dedicate funds they would otherwise have spent on licensing, to the development of the open source LMSs or on professional development for efficient use of the LMSs. Further, open source LMSs open up spaces for participation in communities of practice that support each other in the development of the software.

Aberdour specifies that there are over 50 open source LMSs to choose from, but only a few of these are recommended as they


 * Have an open source initiative approved licence;
 * Have an active development community
 * Have released stable versions
 * Are SCORM compliant
 * Have published details about previous adopters
 * Have a stable organization supporting ongoing development
 * Have had third party reviews published.

Examples of some commonly used Open Source Educational Software and their compatibility and usage are specified in the following table.

The criteria by which software can be licensed as open source are set by the Open Source Initiative as follows:


 * 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 it 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 programme extend to all who receive the programme, 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.