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Open Source Computer-Mediated Collaborative Community Learning

The concept of Open Source dates back to early 1970s when IBM pioneered by releasing parts of its operating systems to the public. Since then, the Open Source (FLOSS) paradigm has and continues to significantly influence the software industry and the broader economic ecosystem. It has been diffused across numerous other sectors that adhere its philosophy, its open and collaborative model of design as well as its development and distribution model. In this paper we examine the OSS diffusion and impact in the educational context while we discuss the benefits emanated from its adoption that lead to the derivation of new dimensions of educational interactions, namely the community. We investigate how open source software contributes into bringing the learner closer to the community, which has evolved into a key actor in the online learning network. Anchored in this notion, we propose a holistic typology of learning interactions in distance education, which includes four key entities of knowledge manipulation: (a) student/learner, (b) instructor, (c) knowledge/content, and (d) community. We examine the notion of the community in the context of computer-mediated collaborative learning along one specific educational context, namely computer science education and in relation to one distinct type of learning application: collaborative development environments. Our analysis identifies the need for a community-centered, collaborative, knowledge management e-learning platform, aligned with the knowledge-management life-cycle model [13] and the needs of a knowledge management system. Aiming to fill this gap, we propose an open source, community-centered, collaborative knowledge management, e-learning platform that addresses the need for a knowledge sharing environment that supports advanced capabilities in distributed, collaborative engineering and management of software systems among students. Keywords-collaborative e-learning; community learning; open source e-learning platforms; knowledge-management platform