The Emergence of Free and Open-Source Software on Campuses in Taiwan

Free and open-source software (FOSS) is a technological artifact with strong social appeal. The semi-official FOSS initiatives were undertaken in 2003 when the Taiwanese government set up OSSACC (Open Source Software Application Consulting Centre) to promote FOSS on campuses. In these 10 years, FOSS on campuses has begun to find its local meanings and grasp teachers' and students' attention. The purpose of this paper is to investigate FOSS on campuses in Taiwan in terms of its development, its local significances and the difficulties encountered in promotion, in the hope of providing an understanding and interpretation of FOSS in the context of education. The results indicate that the majority of teachers and students do not recognize or identify with the cultural values embedded in FOSS but use it as a tool to solve educational problems. In order to promote the use of FOSS on campuses, efforts are needed to address the difficulties in the use of FOSS as well as cultural difficulties related to it.