Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15516/cje.v26i3.5932
Free and Open-Source Software in Higher Education
Predrag Oreški
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Teacher Education
Dragutin Kermek
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Organization and Informatics
Valentina Kirinić
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Organization and Informatics
Abstract
This paper explores the usage and awareness of free and open-source software(FOSS) among university students attending several study programs at the Facultyof Organization and Informatics (FOI) of the University of Zagreb and the Facultyof Teacher Education (FTE) of the University of Zagreb. Using the data collectedvia an online questionnaire on the sample of 777 students and the descriptiveand inferential statistics, an analysis was carried out to determine whether therespondents are familiar with the key features of FOSS, whether they use someFOSS, whether they are aware of the advantages of FOSS, which features of FOSSare the most important to them, and how they evaluate the quality of FOSS. Thedata were analysed using the statistics FOSS GNU PSPP and R. The research resultsshow that 92.66 % of the respondents use some kind of FOSS, 28.99 % are awarethat they are using FOSS with all its features, and the most important FOSS featurefor the respondents is that it is often cost-free. There are significant differencesin the respondents’ familiarity with FOSS and the number of FOSS operatingsystems users in terms of their faculty and gender. On a scale from 1 (insufficient)to 5 (excellent), the respondents’ rating of FOSS reliability was 3.74, completeness3.68, and overall quality 3.74. The research results indicate the need for additionaleducation of students about FOSS, and its advantages and disadvantages.
Keywords
FOSS adoption; FOSS awareness; FOSS quality
Hrčak ID:
322424
URI
Publication date:
25.9.2024.
Visits: 86 *