Rochester, N.Y. (PRWEB) March 07, 2014  
    Responding to student interest and a growing industry demand    for workers with such skills, Rochester Institute of Technology    is launching the nations first interdisciplinary minor in    free and open source    software and free culture.  
    Starting in Fall 2014, RITs School of    Interactive Games and Media will offer the minor in free    and open source software (FOSS) and free culture for students    who want to develop a deep understanding of the processes,    practices, technologies, and financial, legal and societal    impacts of the FOSS and free culture movements.  
    As students progress through the minor, they acquire domain    knowledge, hands-on experience and community interaction    skills, said Stephen Jacobs, professor of interactive games    and media and associate director of RITs Center for Media, Arts,    Games, Interaction and Creativity (MAGIC). Students can    use their new skills to become leaders, as well as    contributors.  
    While propriety softwaresuch as Microsoft Officeis developed,    controlled and restricted by organizations, free open source    softwaresuch as Libre Officegives users the right and ability    to freely use, modify and share the software itself. The free    culture movement, exemplified by Creative Commons, allows for    the same type of flexible use rights for creative works, such    as music or graphics. When companies want to take advantage of    the opportunities to modify and/or redistribute FOSS software,    which is often more reliable, secure and less expensive, they    turn to experts in FOSS culture, process and licenses.  
    Jacobs designed RITs first FOSS course around student-created    games for the One Laptop per Child program in 2008. As their    software ran on the laptops, Red Hat Inc.,    a leading provider of open source software solutions, donated    25 XO laptops for student use in the class. Red Hat has    continued to collaborate with FOSS programs at RIT, including    sponsoring the humanitarian program in Jacobs FOSSBox Lab.  
    RIT has long been a strong proponent of open source, not just    in technology but also in the free sharing of ideas and    knowledge, both of which are key factors in Red Hats    involvement with RIT, said Tom Callaway, in charge of    University Outreach at Red Hat.  
    RITs FOSS minor, driven by Professor Jacobs, helps address    the role that free and open source software plays in todays    world. Nearly every form of technology innovation, from gaming    consoles to cloud computing, relies on open source code as a    fundamental building block. Open source is helping define the    way forward for digital society at large, Callaway said.  
    RITs 15-credit-hour minor, open to undergraduates across the    university, includes three core courses from the B. Thomas    Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences and the    College of Liberal Arts. Students also select two elective    courses that can be chosen from a list of computing and liberal    arts courses. Electives from additional disciplines will likely    be added over time.  
    Someone who doesnt know how to code can go all the way    through this minor, said Jacobs. In required technical    classes, students with different skills will work in teams to    build a common project.  
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RIT launches nations first minor in free and open source software and free culture