At USF, we’ve been using great open source software platforms like WordPress, Drupal, Joomla!, and phpBB in the classroom for some time. What’s really interesting about these open source platforms is that you can start using them with almost zero technology experience. They provide all the basic functions of a website, a starting point from which even non-technical students can add content, customize the look and feel, and add functionality.

The project website for our most recent Internet Applications course is now available at spring08.jpedia.org. Check out the projects, the course content, and the philosophy of technology immersion behind the course.

I believe that a lot of our technology teaching is done the way I had to learn a foreign language in school: years and years learning grammar, but never learning how to actually speak to someone. Instead of assuming that students build technology from a blank page, open source platforms allow students to start delivering functional sites ‘out of the box’. Soon, they’re hearing from their users, and their requests naturally motivate students to learn and do more with the technology.

We’ve had some success with this model over the past three years, so now we’re making an effort to spread the word to other schools and compare notes. We think that teaching with open source platforms can motivate students in ways traditional IT teaching might not. This is important, given recent studies suggesting that business students aren’t interested in IT not because of job concerns and outsourcing, but simply because they don’t find traditional IT topics interesting (Walstrom et al, Journal of Information Systems Education, Spring 2008).