What is the significance of Open Source Software for the education and training community?

There is growing interest in the education community in the development and use of Open Source Software. This paper explains the ideas behind OSS and how what its significance is for education. It examines regional and national initiatives to promote the use of OSS. The paper considers the advantages of OSS and potential problems. It goes on to look at the idea of open content and the sharing of learning content, and provides short case studies. The paper concludes that the major significance of OSS and open content is in the new social relations engendered and in fostering innovation in e-learning, both in application development and new pedagogies.