IMakeFOSS @imakefoss@fosstodon.org

Hey Everyone! I’m excited to be here for a week. Big thanks to the @imakefoss team for the invite. I'm looking forward to sharing my open-source journey here as an @outreachy intern with @inkscape .

- Kavya Jaiswal

Please welcome Kavya Jaiswal, @kavya_jaiswal_
Engineering student at the Univ of Delhi
2021 outreachy intern with @inkscape

Mar 21 to 28 on @imakefoss

Interview: https://imakefoss.org/curators/kavyajaiswal/

@imakefoss is a Twitter and Mastodon (https://fosstodon.org/@imakefoss) rotation curation account.

I have enjoyed posting on the @imakefoss curated account last week. But due to some circumstances, I was unable to post in the 2nd half. Sorry about that.

Thanks to @josp0001 again for inviting me to curate.

You can follow me at @LGuruprasad and @artfulsodger on #Fosstodon. 👋

While forking is an integral part of #FOSS development, the upstream-first development model is very useful and benefits everyone.

So I hope that more #FOSS projects do this and create thriving communities and ecosystems.

L. Guruprasad (@LGuruprasad)

(11/11)

It also allows everyone to get the benefits of the work already done by someone in the community.

I have seen the @fedora project practise a similar "upstream-first" development approach. ❤️

L. Guruprasad (@LGuruprasad)

(10/n)

It allows all the improvements to be shared with the community and hence aligns with the #FOSS ethos. Sharing is caring and it benefits everyone.

By upstreaming all the changes and avoiding code drift, the maintenance burden is distributed within the community.

(9/n)

It involves making code changes/bugfixes, implementing new features in such a way that it can be contributed and merged upstream. This will also require constant communication with the upstream to ensure that the code quality is excellent.

How and why is this useful?

(8/n)

I would also like to talk about the "upstream first" development approach that I learnt @OpenCraft3. We were always encouraged to make any code change to the platform in an upstreamable way. What does that mean?

L. Guruprasad (@LGuruprasad)

(7/n)

Educators/institutions can #selfhost their own instance of #OpenedX and provide access to learning experiences to a larger number of people. Access to quality learning resources can be an enabler and often a life-changer for many.

(8/n)

Why are the #OpenedX project and the #XBlocks important? They enable creating excellent, online learning experiences on an open and extensive, #FOSS #MOOC platform, without any walled gardens or vendor lock-ins, in the times where online learning is becoming widespread.

(7/n)

It was developed by @edXOnline for the #OpenedX platform, which provides an #XBlock runtime that allows a wide variety of learning components, integrations etc. to be developed. https://openedx.org/the-platform/extensions-directory/ lists some of the popular XBlocks.

L. Guruprasad (@LGuruprasad)

(6/n)

Imho, one of the key features of the #OpenedX platform is the #XBlock support. XBlock is a component architecture designed to make it easier to create new online educational experiences.

L. Guruprasad (@LGuruprasad)

(5/n)

Most, if not all, of the components in the #OpenedX platform are licensed under the #AGPLv3 license #FOSS.

You can try out the platform locally using the #devstack (https://github.com/openedx/devstack) or #Tutor (https://docs.tutor.overhang.io/)

L. Guruprasad (@LGuruprasad)

(4/n)

Most of the applications in the #OpenedX platform are built using #Python and #Django. Some of the frontend applications are written as micro-frontends (MFE) using #React. The platform can be deployed using #Ansible, #Docker etc.

L. Guruprasad (@LGuruprasad)

(3/n)

The #OpenedX platform is a collection of many sub-projects like the Learning Management System (LMS), Studio (the course authoring application), Ecommerce etc. which integrate with one another and provide a unified learning experience.

L. Guruprasad (@LGuruprasad)

(3/n)

I was paid to work on it full-time when I worked at @OpenCraft3, an open-first company and a top (and the best, imho) service-provider in the #OpenedX ecosystem. It was a dream come true to be able to work full-time on #FOSS.

L. Guruprasad (@LGuruprasad)

(2/n)

Today I am going to talk about #OpenedX, which is a #FOSS project that I have contributed a lot to.

It is a massively, scalable, learning platform used on http://edx.org and by many other universities and companies. #MOOC

L. Guruprasad (@LGuruprasad)

(1/n)

I hope that this thread has been useful to those who read it. I would be happy if you learnt a new thing or two from it.

"I am a free person and I use #free software!". #FOSS

L. Guruprasad (@LGuruprasad)

(12/12)