The Biotope model: an open-source cyberlearning model and its impact on social evolution

In the current information society, open-source software products such as Linux have attracted considerable attention due to their widespread public and private use. Information Technology-oriented firms tend to employ open-source software as a part of their business strategy, and as a result conventional business behaviors and customs have begun to break down. Such software has hitherto been discussed mainly in relation to software development, politics, economics, and sociology, but it can and should also be investigated from educational aspects as a means for solving some of the problems affecting society. In this paper, therefore, we explore the potential of open-source learning from the point of view of cyberworlds. We propose here an open-source learning model named the Biotope model on the basis of legitimate peripheral participation and scale-free networks as a potential contribution to the improvement and evolution of our society