A Report on the Experience of Offering Open and Free Software Development Subject for the Computer Science and Information System Courses

• Paulo Afonso Parreira Júnior Federal University of Lavras http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8877-2931
• Júlio César Alves Federal University of Lavras
• André Pimenta Freire Federal University of Lavras https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7894-9740
• Heitor Augustus Xavier Costa Federal University of Lavras http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9903-7414
• Igor Scaliante Wiese Federal University of Technology – Paraná

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/educomp.2023.228199

Abstract

Furthermore, participating in open and free software projects not only provides an excellent learning opportunity, but it can also serve as a differential in one's professional career. Many companies highly value this type of experience when reviewing job applicants' resumes. It is therefore crucial for computing students to be exposed to the world of open and free software in order to understand its potential and challenges, as well as to work on real problems that are commonly encountered in the software industry. One approach to accomplish this is by offering courses on this subject. This report aims to present the experience of offering the Open and Free Software Development course for Computer Science and Information Systems students. Key highlights of the report include: (i) no students dropped out during the semester; (ii) 100% approval rate; (iii) 95% of the 20 students who responded to a questionnaire stated that they would strongly recommend the course to others, and 80% felt more confident and prepared to contribute to open and free software projects after taking the course; (iv) there have been reports of students who have been able to solve problems at their workplace after taking the course, among others.

Keywords: Education in Computing, Open and Free Software, Experience Report

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