Open source software

ABSTRACT Open source software is making a large impact on many aspects of society including the business community, the computing industry, the entertainment industry and higher education. The computer science education community has been quiet about issues of open source versus closed source and the role of open source code in the advancement of information technology. A survey of recent issues of SIGCSE Bulletin and SIGCSE conference proceedings shows little attention to the role open source software should play in computer science education. We are here to raise the question: "What are the social and ethical responsibilities of computer science faculty regarding open source software?"One set of issues concerns the use of open source software in teaching and the use of open source development models in the teaching of software development. Some basic questions that arise include "Should analysis of open source (and possible contributions to it) be the subject of class assignments?" and "Should open source software development models be taught?"A second set of issues concerns the use of open source software in support of teaching (e.g., using Linux as your standard platform). Some basic questions that arise include "Should we use open source software to support teaching?" and "Are these faculty ethically obligated to make contributions to the open source software base?"In this panel we will identify many of the parties involved in the ethical and social issues surrounding the use of open source in teaching and in the support of teaching, and we will identify the rights and responsibilities we, as faculty, have to the various parties. This panel will initiate a discussion that will identify additional parties and our further professional obligations.