Familiarity with Free Software through Online Services
Vladyslav Ye. Velychko
1 a
, Svitlana O. Omelchenko
1 b
, Elena G. Fedorenko
1 c
and
Hennadiy M. Kravtsov
2 d
1
Donbass State Pedagogical University, 19 Henerala Batiuka Str., Sloviansk, 84116, Ukraine
2
Kherson State University, 27 Universytetska Str., Kherson, 73003, Ukraine
Keywords:
Free Software, Online Service, Training of Information Technology Specialists, Online Resource.
Abstract:
The article considers the use of online services in the study of free software. Free software is based on the phi-
losophy of freedom and the right to intellectual creativity. To date, a significant number of software products
have been created and distributed through the repository, but they are not used in educational activities. The
study allowed to clarify the factors that promote and hinder the use of free software in educational activities.
Based on questionnaires, analysis of open data, the work of researchers on the use of free software provided an
opportunity to draw conclusions about the feasibility of using free software in educational activities. The arti-
cle gives examples of the use of free software in educational activities. To get acquainted with free software,
it was useful to use online resources, which is the purpose of our study.
1 INTRODUCTION
Modern teaching methods involve the use of infor-
mation and communication technologies (ICT) in the
educational process. The use of ICT has not only
changed the methods of traditional learning, redis-
tributed priorities between forms of learning, but new
forms of learning have emerged. For any method or
form of training that uses high information technol-
ogy, software is required, without which the technolo-
gies lose their meaning. From the interactive white-
board controller application to multimedia application
creation and distribution programs on the World Wide
Web.
Free software is a significant feature of the com-
puter industry. Launched as a philosophical concept,
free software has not only found its adherents, but also
has a large number of software tools used in various
directions in its arsenal. The pedagogical universi-
ties are use in educational activity: systems for the
organization of distance education Moodle, ILIAS,
ATutor, Sakai is not an exception; computer mathe-
matics systems Maxima, GNU Octave, GAP, Sage-
Math, Scilab, SPP; GIMP, Inkscape graphics pack-
a
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9752-0907
b
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7940-0853
c
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1897-874X
d
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3680-2286
ages; Apache OpenOffice, LibreOffice office pack-
ages. The question remains about the full and system-
atic use of free software in the educational activities
of professionals.
Common problems of free software, legal and
philosophical aspects of its existence and use are cov-
ered in (Raymond, 1999; Stallman, 2015; Tanenbaum
and Bos, 2015). In Ukraine the problems of using free
software in the education system are highlighted in
(Fedorenko et al., 2019; Habrusiev, 2003; Horoshko
et al., 2010; Khakhanovskyi and Tonevytskyi, 2005;
Panchenko, 2010; Teplytskyi and Semerikov, 2003;
Velychko et al., 2018; Zlobin, 2011). The current state
of the issue of the use of cloud technologies in educa-
tional activities is shown in (Glazunova et al., 2020;
Kholoshyn et al., 2020; Kolgatin et al., 2019; Korotun
et al., 2020; Lytvynova, 2018; Merzlykin et al., 2017;
Nosenko et al., 2019; Oleksiuk and Oleksiuk, 2020;
Popel and Shyshkina, 2019; Shyshkina and Marienko,
2020; Symonenko et al., 2020; Valko et al., 2020).
However, the problem of in-depth exploration of free
software capabilities and widespread use in educa-
tional activities remains. One possible solution to this
problem is to study free software using online ser-
vices.
Velychko, V., Omelchenko, S., Fedorenko, E. and Kravtsov, H.
Familiarity with Free Software through Online Services.
DOI: 10.5220/0010926500003364
In Proceedings of the 1st Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology (AET 2020) - Volume 1, pages 605-615
ISBN: 978-989-758-558-6
Copyright
c
2022 by SCITEPRESS Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
605
2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE AND
METHODS
Free software developers have a passive marketing
policy regarding the distribution of their product.
High-quality and useful free software remains un-
known to a wide range of users. The purpose of
this article is to explore the factors by which free
software is chosen to train pre-service teachers and
the factors that do not. Moreover, we present the
possibilities of online acquaintance with free soft-
ware, which can be used by pre-service teachers to
include it in their own educational trajectory. This
module is offered as a section of the author’s course
Application of information and communication tech-
nologies in educational institutions” at Donbas State
Pedagogical University (https://ddpu.edu.ua/) for ed-
ucational programs Secondary Education (Mathemat-
ics) and Secondary Education (Physics) of the second
master’s level of education at the Faculty of Physics
and Mathematics. The vision of Donbas State Ped-
agogical University is that the university is “an ed-
ucational, scientific and cultural leader of Eastern
Ukraine, which implements state innovation policy
in education in accordance with market demands and
trends in the digital society of the XXI century, guided
by universal and national values, principles of democ-
racy and European integration, and creates conditions
for the formation of highly educated, competitive pro-
fessionals with an active civil position, patriots of
Ukraine!”.
Research methods are: analysis of publications
on the use of free software in educational activities;
analysis of concepts of application of information
and communication technologies in education; anal-
ysis of free software related to the training of pre-
service teachers; systematization and generalization
of research information.
3 RESULTS OF THE STUDY
A characteristic feature of our time is the transition
from a traditional to an integrated approach to learn-
ing. However, this is not a complete rejection of the
acquired pedagogical experience, but only a harmo-
nious combination of approaches, forms and meth-
ods of scientific work, research and implementation
of sound ideas, methods and techniques of forming a
system of higher pedagogical education.
Consider the general directions of use of informa-
tion and communication technologies, adapting them
to the use of free software in the training of pre-
service teachers of mathematics, physics and com-
puter science. Such areas include:
creation of new pedagogical technologies and
teaching aids. Information and communication
technologies based on the use of free software
are the technological basis for developing condi-
tions for effective use of ICT in the educational
process of pre-service teachers of mathematics,
physics and computer science, which will elimi-
nate a number of methodological difficulties at all
levels of education and training.
increasing the democratization of education. The
process of modern times, covering all aspects of
the life of educational institutions. It is based
on self-organization, cooperation, openness, di-
versity and the principle of equal opportunities
through the use of free software. This is a long but
long-awaited process. The purpose of this process
is to normalize relations between society and edu-
cational institutions, covering all levels of the in-
ternal structure of education and streamlining re-
lations between all parts of the educational pro-
cess.
self-education and lifelong learning. Informa-
tion and communication technologies of educa-
tion, built on free software, are one of the main
means of forming the ability to education and self-
education in the training of pre-service teachers of
mathematics, physics and computer science, es-
pecially given the rapid continuous process of in-
formatization of society. The use of ICT di-
rect feedback, computer visualization of educa-
tional information, archival storage of educational
and scientific information with the possibility of
its transmission and use, automation of computa-
tional and information retrieval activities with the
possibility of multi-act repetition – creating a pre-
requisite for intensification of the educational pro-
cess.
individualization of training. Maximum consider-
ation of individual needs and capabilities of the
individual, flexible adjustment to his needs and
interests. It is based on the use of specific ed-
ucational technologies, modern teaching meth-
ods, technical means and methods of information
transfer, information and communication tech-
nologies, electronic educational resources. In-
dividualization of training of pre-service teach-
ers of mathematics, physics and computer sci-
ence is achieved through such forms of e-learning
as distance learning, blended learning, mobile
learning, synchronous and asynchronous learning
tools, mass open online courses, use of free soft-
ware and more.
AET 2020 - Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology
606
increasing the level of electronic educational re-
sources. Due to the introduction of ICT in the
educational process it becomes possible to use ed-
ucational, scientific, informational, reference ma-
terials and tools developed in electronic form us-
ing free software, reproduced by electronic teach-
ing aids and necessary for effective organization
of the educational process of pre-service teachers
of mathematics, physics and computer science,
which contributes to the filling of the educational
process with quality teaching materials.
the creation of a favorable psychological climate
is achieved by taking into account the psycholog-
ical and physical capabilities of pre-service teach-
ers of mathematics, physics and computer sci-
ence, direct communication with teachers, free
schedule, self-determination of workload, avail-
ability of licensed software. ICT such as chats,
mass open online courses, distance learning,
blended learning, mobile learning, webinars, web
conferencing etc. can be used in this direction.
software and didactic support of self-educational
activities is to develop and implement in the edu-
cational process of pre-service teachers of math-
ematics, physics and computer science electronic
educational resources, the formation of skills in
using ICT in self-educational activities based on
free software, planning research, creating motiva-
tional basics, use of information and communica-
tion technologies for search, processing, storage,
transmission and processing of information.
development of creative abilities of students.
Knowledge and skills stimulate those who want
to learn to search for creative activity. One of
the mechanisms to stimulate creative activity and
in accordance with the development of creative
abilities of pre-service teachers of mathematics,
physics and computer science is to provide a new,
more convenient and powerful tool in the form
of information and communication technologies
based on free software. Free software can not only
make it much easier to achieve a goal or solve a
problem, but also a powerful way to put forward,
validate, and refute new creative ideas.
community expansion. Search for the necessary
educational information on the resources of the
Internet; communication with like-minded people
and professionals who study at their own request;
participation in communities of free software de-
velopers creates the preconditions for expanding
the community of like-minded people. The In-
ternet is the most powerful tool for “networking
between members of the open electronic commu-
nity, providing them with virtual cooperation, an
environment that provides information resources
and services to all users without exception for an
unlimited range of applications” (Bykov, 2011)
and is a powerful practical experience of commu-
nication, search , information exchange and appli-
cation of free software for pre-service teachers of
mathematics, physics and computer science.
raising the cultural and educational level. The
cultural level of the individual is manifested only
in the activity, therefore, to consider informa-
tion culture as a quality is appropriate from the
standpoint of the ability to work with informa-
tion coming from different sources, has a different
meaning and different forms of presentation. In-
creasing the role of search, transmission, storage
and processing of information encourages the for-
mation of information competence in pre-service
teachers of mathematics, physics and computer
science through the widespread use of free soft-
ware.
continuous professional development. Thanks
to such forms of learning as distance, blended
and mobile, mass open online courses, etc., pre-
service teachers of mathematics, physics and
computer science get the opportunity to contin-
uously improve their skills and level of self-
awareness in certain fields. The study of infor-
mation processing technologies based on the use
of free software stimulates both to maintain their
own knowledge and skills in use, and to the de-
velopment of free software. The basis of such
training is to adjust the learning process to the
needs and capabilities of those who are taught and
who do not have the opportunity to attend classes
organized in the traditional form (lectures, sem-
inars, laboratory and practical work, colloquia,
etc.), and study at a convenient time, a convenient
place, a convenient pace, which provides great ad-
vantages also for those wishing to continue their
education without separation from production, to
study in a certain educational institution, with a
certain teacher, etc.
exchange of experience and creation of conditions
for creative activity. Virtual educational commu-
nities are a common and popular phenomenon
today. They are not limited to a single educa-
tional institution, but have a wider range of ac-
tivities, covering different levels, target groups
and structures of the educational system. Vir-
tual educational communities are aimed at gain-
ing new knowledge; training and improvement of
ICT skills; exchange of experience; discussion of
professional activity; joint development and im-
Familiarity with Free Software through Online Services
607
provement of teaching methods, teaching aids,
etc. and will become a powerful practical assistant
for pre-service teachers of mathematics, physics
and computer science in their professional activi-
ties.
It should be noted that the content of virtual space
in general, and educational in particular, is changing
very rapidly; exchange of creative ideas and their im-
plementation allow not only to widely reveal the di-
dactic potential of ICT in the training of pre-service
teachers of mathematics, physics and computer sci-
ence, but also stimulate creative action. Of particular
importance is the use of ICT in the educational pro-
cess of pre-service teachers of mathematics, physics
and computer science takes into account and the de-
velopment of informal, creative components of think-
ing: the implementation of problem situations or
problem setting; self-determination of criteria for se-
lection of the necessary operations that contribute to
the solution of situations or tasks; generation of as-
sumptions and hypotheses in the process of finding
the main idea of the solution; material interpretation
of a formal solution, etc.
Open Education Ideas provide free access to e-
learning resources for everyone to learn. Such access
is provided by ICT based on free software.
Our research has allowed us to identify the fac-
tors that hinder and facilitate the use of free soft-
ware. One of the stages of the study was to con-
duct an anonymous survey of higher education teach-
ers regarding the use of free software in their profes-
sional activities. The developed questionnaire as a
form was made freely available (https://goo.gl/forms/
F0BVkSnvwpHTo6H82) using Google Forms, a link
to which was circulated via the “Kryvyi Rih con-
ferences and workshops” (https://groups.google.com/
group/cc seminar) and “Scientific journal Physical
and Mathematical education” (https://groups.google.
com/group/fmo-journal).
The data collected to date have allowed us to de-
termine the following results. 93% of respondents
teach science and mathematics. Young teachers, who
already have experience in teaching, predominate by
age (figure 1). 92% use free software in their pro-
fessional activities. 95% recommend free software to
their students for extracurricular activities.
Considering the benefits of using free software,
the following were highlighted for conducting the
questionnaire:
legal (licensed purity, non-discrimination, etc.);
technical (open standards, increased security, ven-
dor independence);
training (providing the necessary functionality,
Figure 1: Distribution of respondents by age.
open source);
social (trend, modern gadgets).
Respondents identified the following factors as fa-
cilitating the use of free software (figure 2): legal
preference was given the highest importance (82,4%).
This result is predictable. According to estimates
of the Software Alliance (bsa.org, BSA GLOBAL
SOFTWARE SURVEY 2018), 80% of the software
used in Ukraine is not licensed purity.
Figure 2: Factors promoting the use of free software.
78% of the respondents chose among the advan-
tages of free software its educational attractiveness.
This result indicates that sufficient free software is
available for educational activities. Also important is
the availability and openness of software source code.
The analysis of the survey answers indicates that
there are technical advantages of using free software
in the process of training future professionals. This
is noted by 68% of respondents. Open storage stan-
dards are an important factor in the software selection
process. This gives you confidence in the continued
use of your own work. User gains independence from
software developers.
The low percentage (33,5%) belongs to social
preferences. The reason is marketing policy. When
AET 2020 - Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology
608
Figure 3: Factors interferenting the use of free software.
promoting new high-tech devices, it does not empha-
size that their work is based on free software because
of its low social popularity.
The survey revealed a number of shortcomings in
the use of free software in educational activities (fig-
ure 3). We identified the shortcomings in the follow-
ing groups:
financial (funds for migration, training, etc.);
technical (changing the format of existing data,
support for peripherals);
software (lack of specialized software);
methodical (lack of methodological support for
application).
The lowest percentage (21,5%) belongs to finan-
cial expenses. This low level of concern about finan-
cial issues is due to the lack of responsibility for the
use of unlicensed software.
40,6% of respondents are not aware of the ex-
istence and localization of specialized free soft-
ware. At the same time on the resources
GitHub.com (more than 100 million projects),
SourceForge.net (502,000 projects), openhub.net
(498,000 projects), bitbucket.org (170,000 projects),
launchpad.net (44,000 projects), Savannah.gnu.org
(4,000 projects) posted a large number of software
products under free licenses.
The downside of free software is technical issues.
These include the transition to new file formats (open
file formats) and software for working with peripher-
als. This concern was expressed by 52,3% of respon-
dents. Open file formats are currently well developed.
Proprietary and closed form owners are taking steps
to legalize their openness due to the development of
open file format standards. User-generated data can
be stored and used for a long time. Users need to
have confidence that they can be used for a consider-
able period of time. Own data must be created using
open file formats.
Currently, free and open file formats are available
in proprietary software as both input and output data
streams. Moreover, standards for open file formats
are being actively developed by proprietary software
owners. This policy allows you to extend the life of
your own documents and not be tied to a particular
software developer.
A technical problem is the variety of peripherals
and the lack of peripheral software. Peripheral devel-
opers are trying to keep the technology developed se-
cret. The necessary technical information is not pro-
vided for public use. This fact makes it impossible to
create free software for peripherals.
The biggest drawback is the lack of methodologi-
cal support for the use of free software in educational
activities. It was identified by 60,3% of respondents.
The lack of free software at the beginning of the
informatization led to the installation of proprietary
system software as the base. Therefore, proprietary
application software has also become widespread.
Methodological support for the use of software ex-
ists in most proprietary software. Today, the situa-
tion with the use of free system software has not im-
proved. According to the StatCounter resource (http:
//gs.statcounter.com), only 1,84% of desktop comput-
ers in the world have the Linux operating system in-
stalled.
The situation is similar in Ukraine. Only 2,66% of
desktop systems are running Linux. However, the sit-
uation is beginning to change. The results of scientific
and methodological research on the use of free soft-
ware in education are presented at the annual FOSS
Lviv conference (http://conference.linux.lviv.ua/) and
more (Velychko, 2014, 2015). Thus, at the Luhansk
Taras Shevchenko National University, pre-service
teachers of Mathematics, Physics and Computer sci-
ence study the Linux operating system, the Max-
ima computer mathematics system and the Lazarus,
Geany programming environment. At Pavlo Ty-
chyna Uman State Pedagogical University, the course
“Computer Network Administration” is taught on the
Linux operating system. Nizhyn Mykola Gogol State
University uses the OpenOffice.org software, Hot
Potatoes, to study the subject of Electronic Informa-
tion Processing. The basic discipline of “PC operat-
ing systems” is taught using the Linux operating sys-
tem as a complete alternative to the proprietary Win-
dows system. The courses “Using Information Tech-
nology in Education and Science”, “School Computer
Science and Teaching Methods” demonstrate the pos-
sibilities of using OpenOffice.org and Scribus as an
alternative to Microsoft Office, GIMP as an alterna-
tive to Adobe Photoshop, Inkscape as an alternative
to CorelDraw and more.
GeoGebra Institute operates at the Department of
Informatics at H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Ped-
Familiarity with Free Software through Online Services
609
agogical University. The National Technical Univer-
sity of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Uni-
versity” operates the “Linux Professional Institute”
(LPI). At the Bogdan Khmelnytsky Melitopol State
Pedagogical University, there are such disciplines as
“UNIX-like operating systems” and “Programming
for open systems” in the bachelor’s curriculum.
At the Poltava V. G. Korolenko National Pedagog-
ical University is widely used by GIMP when teach-
ing Computer Graphics and Design, and geometry is
supported by Maxima Computer Mathematics. The
Maxima computer mathematics system is also widely
used in the teaching of students of Physics and Math-
ematics at Ivan Franko Drohobych Ivan Franko State
Pedagogical University.
At Sumy State Pedagogical University named af-
ter A. S. Makarenko uses software products such as
GeoGebra, Dr Geo, C.A.R., Kig and KSEG to train
future math, physics and computer science teachers.
At the National Pedagogical Dragomanov Univer-
sity systems of computer mathematics Maxima, Sage,
Scilab, Scidavis and many others are used in the study
of the disciplines of mathematical and informative cy-
cles. Teachers of Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical Uni-
versity base their teaching on the Maxima computer
mathematics system for basic mathematical training
of pre-service teachers of mathematics, physics and
computer science. All of the above software products
are free software products.
The expediency of using free software in the edu-
cational process of future professionals is quite high.
Free software gives freedom to its users to choose to
use and study both the free software products them-
selves and their applications. It is a direct factor in
stimulating the desire for learning and self-education.
The use of free software in the training of future pro-
fessionals will increase the level of information cul-
ture, will teach themselves to choose forms and meth-
ods of education, will form skills for the use of free
software in further professional activity, will be able
to be competitive in the labor market and meet the re-
quirements of social ordering information society in
the modern specialist.
To get acquainted with the free software, it is not
necessary to download it to your own personal de-
vice. You do not have to visit the computer sys-
tems labs where the appropriate software is installed.
Cloud technologies make it possible to use the soft-
ware as a network service. OffiDocs Cloud (https:
//www.offidocs.com/) is a flexible and powerful plat-
form. It allows you to browse the web with applica-
tions using only a web browser. OffiDocs provides
users with Internet applications for any device (desk-
top, tablet, mobile, etc.) such as LibreOffice, GIMP,
Dia, AudaCity, OpenShot and many more through a
web browser.
A prerequisite for using a cloud service is logging
in with an ID. It is available from any cloud applica-
tion. Cloud applications are categorized as produc-
tivity, images & graphics, video & audio, messaging,
education, games, utilities, programming.
Each of these sections of the cloud application is
noteworthy. Just as interesting are mobile apps, ex-
tensions, resources and templates. Let’s take a closer
look at the cloud-based LibreOffice suite of services
included with the file manager. It is worth noting that
there are two options the first (figure 4) is adapted
for use in browsers, and the second, launching ap-
plications with Gnome interface with image transla-
tion in the frame of a hypertext document. Cloud
service integration includes integration with Google
Drive and Dropbox cloud file repositories.
With the ability of a cloud-based environment
to study free software, it becomes available to per-
form standard operations to create electronic educa-
tional resources. There is a possibility to use var-
ious ways of registration of the textual information
(styles, fonts, font sizes, etc.). Text documents and
presentations can be supplemented with illustrations
(you can use the resource http://editor.pho.to/en/edit/
to process the illustrations). Once created, documents
can be downloaded to your own device in ODT, PDF,
and more. With http://odfviewer.nsspot.net/ you can
view downloaded documents in ODT format. Use
the https://smallpdf.com/edit-pdf service to view and
compare PDFs visually.
Image creation, video editing and audio editing
programs are just as functional. The typical task of
using this cloud application is to create an online ed-
ucational resource for one of the training topics using
the learned applications.
Another cloud service that allows you to get ac-
quainted with free software is the service https://
www.rollapp.com/ (figure 5). In this dream, ed-
ucational applications, utilities, office applications,
games, graphics applications, development programs
are available to users. Free software is available for
use in this cloud after user registration. In addition,
there is a rating system for evaluating the available
software by users.
There are a sufficient number of distance learning
support systems Moodle, ILIAS, aTutor, Claroline,
Dokeos, Fedena, Sakai and many others. Moodle is
created as a platform for technical support of distance
learning, respectively, it provides mechanisms to ad-
dress issues that traditionally arise before teachers and
students in a distance learning situation: communi-
cation between teacher and students, communication
AET 2020 - Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology
610
Figure 4: An example of how a file manager works in LibreOffice.
between students, access to teaching materials, im-
plementation tests, planning and organization of the
teacher and students.
Within the system, all learning materials and user
activities are grouped into so-called “courses” – basic
units that may or may not correspond to the concept of
“course” or “discipline” within the traditional learn-
ing process (for example, to teach students of differ-
ent specialties and the same discipline will most likely
need to create several courses). The course has the
following properties:
information content, broken down by topic or
week,
a set of participants, among whom one or more are
usually endowed with additional rights (teachers),
statement of the results of control measures,
calendar of events.
From a visual point of view, the course can have
its own style of page design (theme) and its own in-
terface language (among those languages installed on
the server).
The basic types of materials and activities that
may consist of the course include the following:
static materials (text and web pages, documents of
various formats, audio and video materials, other
files);
interactive elements (forums, chats, tests, tasks,
lectures, wiki, blogs, databases, polls, other com-
ponents).
The capabilities of the system can be expanded
and supplemented by installing additional modules.
Get acquainted with the capabilities of the Moodle
system using the test system http://qa.moodle.net as a
teacher. To do this, use the “teacher” login and “test”
password. In the Activity examples section, add a new
topic to the forum. See examples of objects such as
lessons, tests, tasks, and resources. Keep in mind that
your presence on the site is limited (figure 6).
ILIAS (short for Integriertes Lern-, Informations-
und Arbeitskooperations-System, www.ilias.de) is an
open source distance learning system distributed un-
der the GNU GPL license. The system appeared in
1998 and has been developing quite actively since
then.
ILIAS has a very wide range of functionality, has
a large number of tools for communication: forums,
chats, blogs, podcasts, as well as an internal messag-
ing system. In addition, ILIAS can be very success-
ful in collaborating with features such as grouping
users, sharing files, including sharing any files, and
wiki tools.
Of course, at a high level and the capabilities of
the system in terms of e-courses and tests. Courses
can be formed in the simplest form in html format
or taught in the form of specific files. But in addi-
tion, basic international standards such as SCORM
1.2, SCORM 2004, AICC are supported. The sys-
Familiarity with Free Software through Online Services
611
Figure 5: RollApp cloud service.
tem has a test designer that supports different types of
questions. It is also possible to import into the system
of external tests or export them in IMS QTI format.
Course and test management capabilities, including
course review and reports, are also quite extensive.
In addition, the system can use tools such as: Per-
sonal workspace, News, E-portfolio, Calendar, Per-
sonal notebook and more. To install ILIAS, you need
an Apache server with PHP support and a MySQL
database. ILIAS has been translated into many lan-
guages, including Ukrainian. Get acquainted with the
capabilities of the ILIAS system using the test system
http://demo.ilias.de using “gwyneth” login and “ilias-
demo” password (figure 7).
ATutor is a Web-based Learning Content Manage-
ment System (LCMS). Its use allows teachers to eas-
ily organize various training courses. Students receive
an adaptive and simple learning environment. The
new system will not give the administrator any special
worries either. Appearance can be changed in just a
couple of mouse clicks, the availability of source code
and open tools used to build a course server, allow you
to make more serious changes in case of emergency.
For everything you need to create and manage courses
and the learning process, it includes messaging tools.
Particular attention is paid to security. With the help
of additional modules you can increase the function-
ality. The choice of the latter is wide, from payment,
to work with photos, exchange of information with
other educational systems, conferences and others.
In addition, from the very beginning, the de-
velopers have taken a course to support the prod-
uct of various standards, which would allow in
the future to easily integrate third-party develop-
ments. So ATutor’s first LCMS is fully com-
pliant with the W3CWCAG accessibility specifica-
tion (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, http://
www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG1AA-Conformance) in ac-
cordance with these recommendations, the resource
should be available, including for users with vari-
ous disabilities health. Also, compliance with W3C
XHTML 1.0 specifications ensures that ATutor will
work or integrate with any other applications that sup-
port the standards as needed. Some such applications
are available on the project website and about them
below. To be able to use courses written for other
e-learning learning systems, the system supports
the IMS (InstructionalManagement Standards, www.
imsproject.org) and SCORM (SharableContentObject
ReferenceModel, www.adlnet.org) specifications.
Learn about the capabilities of the ATutor system
using the test system. In the ATutor Demo Course.
Use this course to review available materials, edit ex-
isting text files, and post on the forum. There is a
public demo installation of ATutor which is shared
with others and resets itself hourly. You can ac-
cess it by visiting the following link https://s1.demo.
opensourcecms.com/s/95 login “opensourcecms” and
password “opensourcecms” (figure 8).
Global biological threats pose to pre-service
teachers not only the need to have distance learning
systems but also the means to create e-learning re-
sources. Among the free software, there are vari-
ous tools for creating electronic educational resources
from programming languages to specialized software
for this activity. Such systems include Xerte Online
Toolkits and eLearning XHTML editor.
Xerte Online Toolkits or XOT (https://www.xerte.
org.uk/index.php/en/) is software developed in the
academic environment of the University of Notting-
ham and distributed under the Apache License. The
main purpose of a full-featured XOT development
AET 2020 - Symposium on Advances in Educational Technology
612
Figure 6: Moodle QA Testing Site.
Figure 7: ILIAS Testing Site.
environment is to create interactive learning objects.
The current version of XOT 3.9 provides the oppor-
tunity to create modern training courses with a rather
complex structure and a variety of, including interac-
tive, learning objects, the development of which does
not require in-depth knowledge in the field of pro-
gramming. To develop such a course, the author only
needs to use a browser, and all operations to create
training courses are performed using intuitive actions.
In addition, demonstration examples are offered to get
acquainted with the capabilities of the system and its
testing.
eLearning XHTML editor or eXe (https://
exelearning.net/en/) is a web-tool for designing, de-
veloping and publishing web-oriented teaching mate-
rials. The eXe system was developed in the academic
environment of the University of Auckland and the
Auckland University of Technology. Development is
now supported by government agencies and compa-
nies in Spain and other countries. It can generate
interactive learning material in XHTML or HTML5
format and provides the ability to create learning re-
sources that contain text, images, interactive compo-
nents, image galleries, or multimedia clips. Such files
can be exported to various digital formats to be used
independently on the instructor’s website. They can
also be integrated into a learning management sys-
tem (LMS). The current version of eXe 2.5.1 sup-
ports such formats as IMS Content Package, SCORM
1.2, SCORM 2004, IMS Common Cartridge formats,
Familiarity with Free Software through Online Services
613
Figure 8: ATutor Testing Site.
ePub3 or web-resource in HTML5 format.
Since the purpose of our study was to get ac-
quainted with free software, we provide at the end of
the resource, which contains links to available free re-
sources and free programs in the section “Best Free
Online Applications” – https://www.techsupportalert.
com/.
4 CONCLUSIONS AND
PROSPECTS OF FUTURE
RESEARCH
Research on the application of information and com-
munication technologies is always modern and multi-
faceted. Software developers create and upgrade ex-
isting computer programs on a daily basis. Forms and
methods of application of information and commu-
nication technologies in educational activity change.
The given directions of application of the free soft-
ware in educational activity and the carried-out re-
searches outline the directions of the further re-
searches on this question.
The results of many years of use of the OffiDocs
cloud service at the Faculty of Physics and Mathe-
matics of Donbas State Pedagogical University testify
to its wide opportunities to get acquainted with free
software and its application in the educational activ-
ities of pre-service teachers of mathematics, physics
and computer science. Having an alternative to cloud
applications from Google and Microsoft allows you
to study information processing technologies, rather
than certain software. You do not need to study
the software interfaces, because they are intuitive.
The latter provides an opportunity to fundamentalize
training in information and communication technolo-
gies and prepare future professionals for further pro-
fessional activity.
The opportunity to get acquainted with free soft-
ware with the help of online services not only expands
our understanding of existing applications, but also
provides an opportunity to initially evaluate its func-
tionality.
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