Humanitarian Free and Open-Source Software Project, (The): Engaging Students in Service-Learning through Building Software

Begun in 2006, the Humanitarian Free and Open-Source Software Project (HFOSS Project) is an educational initiative whose goal is to engage undergraduates in computer science by building free and open-source software (FOSS) that benefits humanity, both locally and globally. During its short lifetime, the Project has inspired increasing numbers of students and instructors to make significant contributions to several humanitarian open-source software development projects. Contributions to the HFOSS Project come from professionals in academia, IT organizations, and nonprofit organizations who together engage undergraduate students in courses, research projects, and summer internship experiences. Its curriculum is accessible to a wide range of undergraduates, since it includes courses for nonmajors as well as computer science and engineering majors. This chapter will discuss the origin, goals, curricular and cocurricular activities, accomplishments, and future challenges of the HFOSS Project. The authors emphasize the HFOSS Project's service-learning components, its pedagogical organization, its impacts, and its potential as a catalyst for initiating similar activities across a broad range of undergraduate programs in the information sciences.