Evaluating student experiences in developing software for humanity

Abstract

Student involvement in Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software (HFOSS) projects holds the potential to provide a rich education experience to undergraduates. This paper discusses educational use of HFOSS including identification of the potential for HFOSS to impact curricula, an overview of an implementation of HFOSS in education and a description of an evaluation framework that includes measures of success of such a program. The paper also presents results from initial surveys of students involved in HFOSS development in several U.S. academic institutions. The paper concludes with a discussion of work in progress.