ICT (information and communication technology) sector has offered so many ways of learning to all teachers and learners through educational resources via a variety of free software. FOSS technology has renovated the outlook of using paid software. In an era of online learning MOOCs (massive open online course) is used by trainer for transacting curriculum-based material.
Now let us understand what FOSS is?
FOSS is an acronym used for free and open-source software which consists of operating systems such as Linux, FreeBSD, and LibreOffice. These manage office documents created by Microsoft’s Excel, Power-point, and Word, Firefox (a web browser), or GIMP (an image editing program).
Free software licenses such as the GPL and the BSD allow users the ability to freely utilize and developers the ability to develop software.
A free and open source software solution is good for the programmer as well as for user’s benefits. It is a better and more efficient software solution widely used. Also, it forms the mainstay of the Internet which would not exist without FOSS.
Another important thing to acknowledge about FOSS technology is not just free in the sense of freedom in every box of cereal. This has made it possible for community efforts to develop world-class products in a way that products never could be.
Those who use Foss technology actively contributing. It is a community effort, having importance to the community.
How FOSS can be safe for NDEAR (National digital education Architecture)?
It is easy to understand and common thing that we think free think cannot be as good as something which you can pay for.
Why you should trust free software?
When a site offers the user a free download option then it’s only free in the sense that you don’t require any credit card for the same. But the only thing associated with it is one cannot get the source code due to “free” downloading.
By using FOSS technology, you will not only get a free download but also you are being given the freedom to openly review as well as edit the code of the software itself.
A free coupon program does track all of your activity on the internet secretly and put up associated ads on web pages to make money which a FOSS technology solution really cannot do like that.
Benefits of FOSS for NDEAR:
The world runs on proprietary software and it’s easy to look around your office where you can see computers running Microsoft Windows. But that might be a mistake. Open source is often more used behind, and it drives the force which enhances the economy.
BDS is another significant FOSS operating system that runs applications like Linux. Foss enabled video rendering applications are also used to make some impressive movies, and advertisements for products of major companies such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and many more.
If you have used Mozilla Firefox browser and Google chrome browser, then you have used FOSS personally as they are based on the open-source chromium browser.
There are ample growth opportunities with complete knowledge of open source technology solutions.
