%0 Journal Article %A Amal S. Al-Badi and Ali H. Al-Badi %D 2014 %J International Journal of Educational and Pedagogical Sciences %B World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology %I Open Science Index 92, 2014 %T Open Source Software in Higher Education: Oman SQU Case Study %U https://publications.waset.org/pdf/9998990 %V 92 %X 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 companies/vendors. 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 two-stage research method was conducted. First a rigorous literature review of previously published material was performed (interpretive/descriptive 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. %P 2482 - 2486