Amal S. Al-Badi and Ali H. Al-Badi
Open Source Software in Higher Education Oman SQU Case Study
2482 - 2486
2014
8
8
International Journal of Educational and Pedagogical Sciences
https://publications.waset.org/pdf/9998990
https://publications.waset.org/vol/92
World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology
Many organizations are opting to adopt Open Source Software (OSS) as it is the current trend to rely on each other rather than on companies (Software vendors). It is a clear shift from organizations to individuals, the concept being to rely on collective participation rather than companiesvendors.
The main objectives of this research are 1) to identify the current level of OSS usage in Sultan Qaboos University; 2) to identify the potential benefits of using OSS in educational institutes; 3) to identify the OSS applications that are most likely to be used within an educational institute; 4) to identify the existing and potential barriers to the successful adoption of OSS in education.
To achieve these objectives a twostage research method was conducted. First a rigorous literature review of previously published material was performed (interpretivedescriptive approach), and then a set of interviews were conducted with the IT professionals at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman in order to explore the extent and nature of their usage of OSS.
Open Science Index 92, 2014