The role of Internet in the development of future software projects

Purpose – The Internet has evolved, prompted in part by new Web 2.0 technologies, to become a more widespread platform for interaction, communication, and activism. Virtual communities, or groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise, synthesise this Internet evolution and theWeb 2.0 technology. Users increasingly want to engage online with one another and with organisations of all kinds. These novel Internet-based technologies dominate the new business models of the digital economy giving companies radical new ways to harvest the talents of innovators working outside corporate boundaries. One of the most illustrative examples of this new trend is the Open Source Software (OSS) projects development. This paper aims to analyse the structure and topology of the virtual community supporting one of the most successfully OSS projects, Linux. The objective is to provide conclusions for being successful in the development of future virtual communities. As companies learn to manage these virtual communities, they will develop smarter and faster ways to create value through them. Design/methodology/approach – The interactions of the virtual community members of an ARM-embedded Linux project website is analysed through social network analysis techniques. The participants’ activity is studied and some conclusions about the participation features are obtained using the Gini coefficient. In particular, a participation inequality behaviour or a concentration on a small number of developers is clearly observed. Findings – The paper deals with the guidelines that virtual communities should follow to be successful. Results about the structure of a successful virtual community and its time evolution are provided to determine the mentioned guidelines. Research limitations/implications – The research is limited to a particular virtual community engaged with the development of the ARM-embedded Linux OSS. Other successful virtual communities can be analysed, and the conclusions could be compared. Anyway, the proposed analysis methodology can be extended to other virtual communities. Originality/value – The paper fulfils the development and features of Internet virtual communities to be successful. Results have important implications over the development of new software business models based on virtual communities and open source software. Contributions about the best organisation of virtual communities leading to a successful development of the underlying project are presented.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia DPI2007- 60128Junta de Andalucía. Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa P07-TIC-0262

The Development of the Model of Use of Simulation Games to Develop Professional Competencies of Future Software Engineers

Запропоновано авторську модель використання ігрових симуляторів для формування професійних компетентностей майбутніх інженерів-програмістів. Представлено педагогічні підходи та принципи навчання, традиційні та нетрадиційні форми організації навчання, запропоновано методи навчання та окреслено необхідні засоби навчання. Виділено критерії, відповідні показники та рівні сформованості професійних компетентностей.The development of professional soft competencies of future software engineers plays an important role in the curricula of software development education, especially in the context of practical exercises, educational projects and professional practice. The author’s model that describes the use of simulation games to develop professional competencies of future software engineers is proposed. The following pedagogical approaches are presented: competence-based, activity-based, personality-oriented, systematic and situational. Such principles of teaching are considered: the connection of learning with life, the systematic and consistent training, principles of consciousness and activity, visibility, the individual approach, principles of emotionality, accessibility, the principle of relevant knowledge and professional skills. The following traditional and non-traditional forms of the organization of teaching are presented: laboratory works, practical lessons, independent work, mentoring, consultations, trainings, lecture-conversation, lecture-discussion, problem-based lecture, tests, modular assessments, exams. The following teaching methods are considered: project based learning, adaptive learning, simulation-based learning, situation-based learning, assessment based learning. The use of such teaching aids is defined: computers, smart phones, tablets with access to the Internet, simulation games and educational materials. The following criteria for the development of professional competencies and key indicators for each one of them are defined: professional and activity-based, motivational, functional, communicative. The following levels of professional competencies of future software engineers are defined: professional, sufficient, functional, and unproductive. The outcome of the model is the developed professional soft competencies of future software engineers. The advantages of the proposed model are the focus of the educational process on providing students with the experience of participating in real software development processes in an academic environment and the orientation on matching the developed professional soft competencies of future software engineers with the demands of the labor market

Development of pre-service mathematics teachers’ professional knowledge and identity in working with information and communication technology

This paper describes the work undertaken in a course in communication and information technology in a pre-service program for secondary school mathematics teachers. This course aimed to help pre-service teachers develop a positive attitude regarding ICT and use it confidently. It focused on the exploration of educational software and of the Internet’s potential as a means of research and production of web sites. We discuss how the pre-service mathematics teachers evaluate their work concerning their commitment, difficulties they found, learning they identified, and personal relationship. We also analyse the effects of the course on the development of their professional knowledge and identity

Analyse the risks of ad hoc programming in web development and develop a metrics of appropriate tools

Today the World Wide Web has become one of the most powerful tools for business promotion and social networking. As the use of websites and web applications to promote the businesses has increased drastically over the past few years, the complexity of managing them and protecting them from security threats has become a complicated task for the organizations. On the other hand, most of the web projects are at risk and less secure due to lack of quality programming. Although there are plenty of frameworks available for free in the market to improve the quality of programming, most of the programmers use ad hoc programming rather than using frameworks which could save their time and repeated work. The research identifies the different frameworks in PHP and .NET programming, and evaluates their benefits and drawbacks in the web application development. The research aims to help web development companies to minimize the risks involved in developing large web projects and develop a metrics of appropriate frameworks to be used for the specific projects. The study examined the way web applications were developed in different software companies and the advantages of using frameworks while developing them. The findings of the results show that it was not only the experience of developers that motivated them to use frameworks. The major conclusions and recommendations drawn from this research were that the main reasons behind web developers avoiding frameworks are that they are difficult to learn and implement. Also, the motivations factors for programmers towards using frameworks were self-efficiency, habit of learning new things and awareness about the benefits of frameworks. The research recommended companies to use appropriate frameworks to protect their projects against security threats like SQL injection and RSS injectio

Information technologies and the development of professional knowledge and identity in teacher education

This paper addresses the preparation in ICT of preservice mathematics teachers. We describe the aims, assumptions, and work carried out in a course offered at the University of Lisbon and briefly discuss the processes involved in the development of professional knowledge and the formation of professional identities. Using a qualitative methodology, based on the administration of free-response questionnaires to the student teachers enrolled in the course in 1999-2000, we analyze their general perspectives about ICT, the implications of the use of ICT in their view of teaching methodologies, and their development of a professional identity. This work provides suggestions for teacher education practice and for further research