Web-based Application Tool for Recommendation of Open Source Software for Higher Learning Institution in Tanzania

This research article published by Modern Education and Computer Science Press, 2019Open Source Software (OSS) provide a number of advantages to Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs) in developing countries, such as Tanzania. This is because they are freely available, free to make copies and free to distribute. Through literature reviewed, it has been observed that OSS usage in HLIs in Tanzania is low due to lack of awareness of OSS designed for academic purposes. This paper presents a study on how to implement a reliable and effective web-based application tool for recommendation of OSS for enhancing awareness of HLIs on existing OSS designed for academic purposes. There are three recommendation algorithms that were employed for filtering the OSS in this study: the content-based, collaborative, and demographic filtering. We used various web technologies for the implementation of application functionalities. The result is the reliable and effective web-based application tool that recommends OSS to individuals in HLIs for enhancing their awareness of OSS designed for academic purposes

A Web-based application for recommendation of open source software for higher learning institutions in Tanzania

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master’s Degree in Information and Communication Science and Engineering of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyHigher Learning Institutions (HLIs) perform a vital role in developing students to professionals, and in contributing to social and industrial development through research outputs and delivering professional support to different organizations. The growth of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has led to the high use of software tools for supporting the roles of HLIs to deliver high-quality research and education. However, most of the Proprietary Software (PS) tools are expensive, hence hindering HLIs in Tanzania from using them for their core activities. Open Source Software (OSS) provide advantages for HLIs because they remove the cost of acquiring licenses and prevent software illegality issues. However, in Tanzania, most of HLIs do not use OSS due to lack of awareness. This study aimed at improving the adoption of OSS in Tanzanian HLIs through enhancement of individual awareness on the existing OSS designed for academic purposes using a recommender application. The application uses three recommendation approaches: content-based, demographic and collaborative filtering. Questionnaires were used for identifying currently used software in different academic areas of specializations and gathering requirements for development of a web-based application. Further, it explored useful OSS designed for academic purposes from online platforms and categorized them according to their academic area of use. The list of categorized OSS were uploaded to the application’s database and used as a foundation for recommendations. The developed application passed a test against users’ requirements as it was able to: recommend OSS, send notification through user’s email, allow view and download, and accept users’ feedbacks