After successful completion of the course, students are able to...
… remember the most essential historical milestones of free and open technologies
… value the importance of free and open technologies in today's tech world
… understand the technical infrastructures, benefits, and social processes at the core of free and open technologies
… apply principles of free and open technologies across different contexts and projects
… work with free and open technologies without violating licenses or ethics
… contribute to existing free and open technology projects
Today, free and open technologies are ubiquitous. The aim of this course is to acquire a fundamental understanding of their scope, impact, and importance in various settings, such as science, industry, and education. Students should be able to apply these principles in different contexts and projects.
This course deals with the foundations of free and open technologies and discusses concrete examples thereof. The main topics covered are:
FLOSS (Free/libre and open-source software): How “free and open” was started.
Open Hardware: Free and open applied to atoms.
Open Science/Open Research: Free and open principles in scientific processes.
Open Access: Free and open access to scientific publications.
Open Content/Open Educational Resources: Wikipedia and other open content.
Open Data: Accessing publicly funded data from the City of Vienna to The World Bank.
This semester, the course focusses on smart home/smart speaker technologies.
The lecture part is designed in an open, participatory format where the students actively contribute to the preparation and conveyance of the basics.
In the practical part a project in the area of smart home / smart speakers is implemented using free & open technologies.
Assessment is based on the extent and quality of participation as well as the reflection on one's own progress and work results.
