We are at the beginning of a remarkable period in human history. We are entering a web 2.0 world - a world where networked communities inform decisions on both the individual and societal level. These networked communities involve a significant amount of discussion. This posting is made in that spirit. The purpose is not to provide answers but to raise questions. And thus, each paragraph is a series of questions. I have opened each paragraph with a framing …

I want to welcome Joel Thierstein and thank him for agreeing to contribute to the Impact of Open Source Software and Open Educational Resources on Education series on Terra Incognita. Joel will be sharing some of his experiences and writing on the topic of “The Role Of University Faculty In The OER World,” which will provide the opportunity to open a conversation on the critical role of faculty in the ecosystem that supports the creation, distribution, use, and reuse …

“The Business of Open Source,” the twenty first installment of the Impact of Open Source Software Series, was posted on April 11, 2008, by Stuart Sim. Stuart serves as the Chief Technology Officers and Chief Architect of Moodlerooms, which provides comprehensive technical support services to the Moodle course management system open source software. Thanks, Stuart, for a great posting!

In his posting, Stuart raises some of the challenges of building a business model for wrapping services around intellectual property …

I just got back from the annual meeting of that American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC). Don’t let their web site fool you, it is an organization with a lot going on in some very relevant areas. I am not going to give a run down of the whole meeting now, although I might a bit later. I do want to mention two of the interesting activities presented at the meeting.

On the first evening, we were joined …

First off let me state the obvious and say that building a business that depends on open source is not an easy thing to do. If it was, there would a great deal more success stories out there.

Offering services around Intellectual Property (IP) you own, manage and control that no one else can replicate - or not easily any way, is a well understood model if not always executed in the best way. Grabbing hold of ‘free’ software and …

SUNY Delhi is hosting the 2-3-98 Conference, which promises to be a VERY exciting event that couples the topic of Open Source Software in Higher Education with a MoodleMoot. The meeting will take place on June 19th and 20th and address the often-repeated questions of Total Cost of Ownership, Support and Quality as they apply generally to software acquisition, and specifically to open source software. These themes will carry through to the MoodleMoot on June 20th.

There …