R685, Week 7 Reflection

Week 7 (Oct 8th) Free and Open Source Software

This week was interesting; we conducted a panel of key players in the open source movement. Each person in class had 1 or multiple roles to play. The person acted as if they were the person they were assigned from the information gleaned from the articles and bios retrieved.

I had 4 assignments this week. The first was a debate between Eric Raymond and N. Bezroukov about the Eric Raymond’s The Cathedral and the Bazaar. The basic premise is that software built in a cathedral style with a core team and built from the bottom up is no match for the bazaar style where it is lateral and people pick and choose as they shop for projects of interest. Nicolai thinks it is a bit idyllic, and it I, but it was intended to be that way. Open source has its issues but there are never problems in the “theory.”

The second session I was the mediator and the topic was Open Source Software in North America and China. The main idea is that open source has no government oversight here but in China it is the gov’t producing and distributing the software and the code, mainly Red Flag Linux.

The 4th session I was David Wiley from Utah State stating that everyone needs to embrace open source and not be afraid of it. The best quote was when he states; “if teachers are not as good as the materials they use they should be replaced by them.” He also goes on to say we should not be afraid of information or if it is going to replace their job and equates it to the library. The library is full of information and nobody is afraid of the information in the library why should the information on the web be different?

Finally, I was asked to role play Phillip Dodds who has recently passed. He was the gentleman on “First Encounters or the Third Kind” that worked the keyboard in the communication scene and said “What are we saying to each other?” He worked for ADL and was instrumental in developing and advancing SCORM.

Articles:

Raymond, E. S. (2000). The cathedral and the bazaar. Retrieved March 10, 2007, from http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/cathedral-bazaar/.

Bezroukov, N. (2005a). Open source software development as a special type of academic research (Crique of Vulgar Raymond). First Monday. Retrieved December 22, 2005, from http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue4_10/bezroukov/index.html

Bezroukov, N. (2005b). A second look at the cathedral and the Bazaar. First Monday. Retrieved December 23, 2005, from http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue4_12?besroukov/

Pan and Bonk Open Source Articles (3 choices):

Pan, G., & Bonk, C. J. (2007, March). The Emergence of Open-Source Software, Part II: China. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. 8(1). See http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/331/762; special issue on the “Changing Faces of Open and Distance Learning in Asia” is found at http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/

Pan, G., & Bonk, C. J. (2007, September). The Emergence of Open-Source Software, Part I: North America. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. 8(3). See http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/issue/view/26

Pan, G., & Bonk, C. J. (2007). A socio-cultural perspective on free and open source software. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning. See http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Apr_07/article01.htm

3. Wiley, D. (2006). Open Source, Openness, and Higher Education. Innovate, Volume 3, Issue 1. Retreived October 18, 2007 from http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=354

Tidbits:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Dodds http://web.archive.org/web/20030321033727/www.rhassociates.com/background.htm http://aicc.org/blog/2007/10/passing-of-phillip-vw-dodds.html