Does an open source strategy matter?: Lessons learned from the iLabs project

Abstract

This chapter describes one particular type of open source innovation—middleware called iLabs (supported largely by the Microsoft-MIT iCampus Alliance) that enables users to run experiments remotely over the Web. First, we will briefly describe the development of remote labs at MIT and the development of the iLabs middleware. Then we will discuss some of the factors that have hindered the spread of this potent use of the Web, and draw a few tentative conclusions about how these issues affect the dissemination of educational innovation based on open source software