Free software usage in subjects of the industrial design and product development engineering degree

Abstract

In recent years, the availability of funding for acquiring licenses for the different computer tools used by students, that are so common in scientific and technical careers, has been reduced. Learning in the use of technological tools of information and communication by students is considered essential for its application in daily life and in their work. These facts, together with the current rise of free software, is generating a migration towards free tools, both in teaching and in the industrial world. The increase in its use entails the reduction in expenses by institutions, as well as it encourages the scientific curiosity of the student outside the classroom. In detecting this need, free substitutes to the commercial software previously used in the subjects of Artistic Expression II and Graphic Design Applied to Product of the Industrial Design and Product Development Engineering Degree have been introduced. It was done in order to, on the one hand facilitate the access of students to the programs, and on the other hand, share the philosophy of using free media, working with the communities where the source code of the program is developed in response to the problems of the users. This experience has served to verify the benefits of teaching with free software versus commercial.