Learning and best practices for learning in open-source software communities

This research is about participants who use open-source software (OSS) discussion forums for learning. Learning in online communities of education as well as non-education-related online communities has been studied under the lens of social learning theory and situated learning for a long time. In this research, we draw parallels among these two types of communities and explore what can be learned from open-source software communities about online learning. Thematic network analysis was used to code the qualitative data from the open-ended questions in the survey and the interviews. The results indicate that learning in online open-source software communities encompasses much more than just learning about the software being discussed. 283 Open-source forum participants were surveyed, and 21 were interviewed to develop an understanding of the challenges to learning in these communities as well as to identify the practices that promote learning. Identifying these practices helps to understand online learning and enables the integration of best practices into online education.

► This research is about open-source software discussion forums and learning.
► 283 Surveys and 21 interviews formed the data set to understand social learning.
► Best practices that promote learning open-source software communities are presented.
► Recommendations to integrate these best practices in online education are presented.