Educational use of free and open source software (FOSS): international development and its implications for higher education

Educational use of free and open source software (FOSS): international development and its implications for higher education

• Duan, Chenggui South China Normal University
• Lee, Tracy K. Chu Hai College of Higher Education

Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 19(1), 39-57, 2022

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

2022

• F Learning & Teaching
  • FD Application of Communicative Media, IT in Learning & Teaching

Tools E-learning Web-based Learning FOSS Cluster Analysis Development Trend Information Visualization

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Post-Secondary Education

Purpose : Free and open-source software (FOSS) has been used worldwide because of the advantages of user control, cost-saving, flexibility, openness, freedom, more security and better stability. The purpose of this study is to explore the status quo of educational application of FOSS and the trends from international perspectives and its implications for higher education in Hong Kong.Design/methodology/approach: The method of cluster analysis was used in this study. The Web of Science database was used as the data source and all relevant literature for the year 2010–2020 on the theme of “FOSS” was collected for analysis. The information visualization software CiteSpace was used for citation visualization analysis, revealing the research results of FOSS worldwide, including hot spots and development trends.Findings: This paper found that FOSS has become an important research area and is playing an important role in the reform and development of education. Meanwhile, the development and application of FOSS have regional imbalances and strong differentiation, including the educational sector. The paper also found that although FOSS has entered the stage of interdisciplinary development, the research and development of FOSS in the field of education is insufficient, which poses a huge challenge to decision-makers, teachers and students.Originality/value: Implications for higher education in Hong Kong including: attach importance to and vigorously promote FOSS research and practice to benefit more teachers and students; teachers and students need to be trained for acquiring the awareness and skills of FOSS applications and formulate different strategies; the government should provide greater support to formulate and implement a short and middle-term development plan to facilitate the application of FOSS; and Hong Kong higher education institutions may strengthen exchanges and cooperation with counterparts around the world to jointly promote the development of FOSS. It is hoped that the findings will provide a reference for the study and application of FOSS in higher education in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2022 Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

• English

Journal Articles

• 17415659

• 10.1108/ITSE-11-2020-0223

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/b644997b

2023-04-11