Student Software Engineering Learning via Participation in Humanitarian FOSS Projects
Heidi J. C. Ellis, Gregory W. Hislop, Josephine Rodriguez, Ralph A. Morelli · 2020
Abstract Student Learning via Participation in Humanitarian FOSS Projects Heidi J. C. Ellis Gregory W. Hislop Dept. of CS & IT College of Information Science and Western New England University Technology Springfield, MA 01119 Drexel University [email protected] Philadelphia, PA [email protected] AbstractFree and Open Source Software (FOSS) projects offer a rich learning environment for softwareengineering students. Student participation in such projects is in alignment with the CC 2005guidelines [1] which suggest that students gain both technical knowledge and professional skillsvia participation in a real-world project. Humanitarian FOSS (HFOSS) projects have been shownto attract students due to their altruistic goals and the possibility for the project to benefit thehuman condition [2,3].This paper presents results of a study of student perceptions of learning related to softwareengineering knowledge and skills while involved in an HFOSS project. The study involved tendifferent courses offered at four different academic institutions between summer 2008 and fallterm 2010. The courses ranged from software engineering and software development coursesaimed at juniors and seniors as well as an introductory computing course. In these courses,students participated in a range of HFOSS projects ranging from disaster managementapplications to applications to aid disabled computer users.A post-course survey that used a 5 point Likert scale ranging "strongly disagree" to "stronglyagree" was used to obtain student opinion of software engineering learning. The survey itemsaddressed both understanding of software engineering tools and approaches, as well asprofessional skills gained. In addition to reporting on learning, the paper will also discuss theimpact of gender on software engineering learning as well as comparing results from high versuslow programming experience on software engineering learning.[1] Computing Curricula 2005: Computer Science. The Overview Report. IEEE CS and ACM 2005.[2] Morelli, R.A., Tucker, A.L., Danner, N., de Lanerolle, T.R., Ellis, H.J.C., Izmirli, O., Krizanc, D., and Parker, G. 2009. Revitalizing Computing Education by Building Free and Open Source Software for Humanity, Communications of the ACM , 52, 8, (August 2009), pp. 67-75.[3] Hislop, G.W., Ellis, H.J.C., and Morelli, R.A. 2009. Evaluating Student Experiences in Developing Software for Humanity, In Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual ITiCSE, Paris, Jul. 2009.