Ravi Dwivedi ravi@anche.no writes:

I have started a pad here https://pad.disroot.org/p/educationfreesoftware .

Finally when done, please use a different name for the link on our blog.

freesoftwareforeducation or something like that instead of educationfreesoftware :-)

Ravi Dwivedi ravi@anche.no writes:

Pankaj, can you propose a title for the article?

The goal of the article is written in the pad.

The article must somehow provoke parents and schools to shift to free software options.

1. Schools can do better with "swatantra" software => swatantra spelling is disputed in north and south I know. :-)

2. Schools should be part of next freedom revolution ... freedom from corporate claws

my 2 paisa..:-)

What about the title 'Educational Institutes should use only free software'? I have a question-- Will they think reading the title that educational institutes should not pay for software?

In order to reach a first rough draft, I would like to propose a meeting. I request you to please propose a date for the meeting.

Thanks!

I find the last one suggested by Pravin the best so far:

‘Educational Institutes should use software that respects their/our freedom’."

This way the readers would not think that we are talking about money, and it also applies to all educational institutes: schools, colleges and universities.

Thanks and regards, SS

How about the title proposal- ‘Educational Institutes should use software that respects freedom’?

Looks just perfect! Let's finalize it if others also agree.

SS

Can we make it either 7 PM or 9:30 PM?

I prefer 9:30 PM IST.

Meeting link: https://vc.autistici.org/FSFIeducationarticle

In regard to suggesting alternatives, here is a thought: Since educational institutes use software in almost every category,it is not possible to suggest all the alternatives. Every field might have very specific type of software requirements to do the job.

Some fields of education require a lot of software, some do not depend on software at all. Theoretical mathematics require no software at all. Electronics, Computer Science etc. probably require a lot of software. I think we can only give basic level alternatives like for hosting lectures, uploading notes, videos, recording classes etc.

In addition, they should teach students the concept of free software as well.

Ravi Dwivedi ravi@anche.no writes:

I prefer 9:30 PM IST.

Meeting link: https://vc.autistici.org/FSFIeducationarticle

Thanks for sharing. I’ll also join.

We can probably add this article in our education article which says that the problems with adding invigilation software in student's computers for exams. The laptop that the student is using might be family's only laptop and installing an "anti-cheating" software can take away the control of the computer from the user long after the exam is finished. https://twtext.com/article/1252225044861693954

https://www.eff.org/wp/school-issued-devices-and-student-privacy is a good document detailing how education system exposes students to surveillance by technology companies and usually without a real choice to opt out. The case is for US but still relevant to a lot of institutes in India which use proprietary software.

The article also mentions a staff saying "Staff and student details—that is, full names and school email addresses—were passed to Google to create individual logins without consent from staff. I’m not sure about consent from parents."

This is relevant for our article.

We had a meeting today and below is the first rough draft:

---- Title: Educational Institutes should use exclusively freedom-respecting software

We urge educational institutes and webinars to stop requiring students to use proprietary software, and to adopt free software (free as in freedom), which is [readily available]https://www.gnu.org/software/free-software-for-education.html. [Remote education does not require giving up rights to freedom and privacy] https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/remote-education-does-not-require-giving-up-rights-to-freedom-and-privacy. A speech by Richard Stallman on why schools should use exclusively free software can be watched and downloaded from [here] https://audio-video.gnu.org/video/richard_stallman_speech-sina.com-2005-09.ogg.

What is free/swatantra software?

Free/Swatantra software means that you, as a user, have four essential freedoms: (0) to run the program as you wish, (1) to study and change the source code so it does what you wish, (2) to redistribute exact copies, and (3) to redistribute copies of your modified versions. (See the [free software definition]https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html.) With these freedoms, the users (both individually and collectively) control the program and what it does for them. When users don't control the program, we call it a “nonfree” or “proprietary” program. Proprietary software is an injustice to the user because it puts its developer or owner in a position of power over its users https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html. The developer then uses its power to spy on the users, restrict them, censor them, and abuse them https://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html. For example, Apple iPhone's proprietary operating system does [all of these] https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-call-it-the-swindle.html.

Why should educational institutes use free software?

Any computer user should use free software for their own freedom but educational institutes have [additional reasons to insist only on free software]https://www.gnu.org/education/edu-schools.html.

Some reasons are listed below:

-Software should be free https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/shouldbefree.html.

-Proprietary Software is a malware https://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html

-It is an injustice to require students to sacrifice their freedom to proprietary software in pursuit of an education. Educational Institutes have a moral responsibility to respect students' freedom.

-Educational institutes often expose students to privacy-invading technology without any real choice to opt out of it https://www.eff.org/wp/school-issued-devices-and-student-privacy. Educational institutes should respect students' privacy. Free Software is controlled by its users and therefore it can protect them from surveillance.

-Students cannot learn from proprietary software because it is a secret and it prohibits learning as well as sharing while free software encourages learning and sharing which align with the mission of the schools.

-Proprietary software makes the institute dependent on the owner of the software, while free software makes them independent.

Remote education

In the pandemic time, we saw educational institutes switching to online mode for teaching. Unfortunately, a lot of them have chosen proprietary software to do the job. Many instructors [require students to install proprietary proctoring software in their own devices]https://www.thehindu.com/education/ground-zero-gre-and-the-network-of-aspirants-ghostwriters-and-coaching-institutes/article33532981.ece which is a very unjust practice in itself. Such invigilation software, by design, runs even when the owner of the computer tries to stop it from running long after the exam is finished and takes full control of the computer which subjects users to abuse https://twtext.com/article/1252225044861693954. Also, the use of [malicious non-free videoconferencing software]https://fsf.org.in/article/better-than-zoom/ such as Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams has also increased .We urge teachers to help their students in [resisting against proprietary videoconferencing platforms] https://www.gnu.org/education/teachers-help-students-resist-zoom.html.

Free Software Recommendations

Here are some free software replacements which are usually used in education:

Operating system: GNU/Linux distros

Online Classes- Jitsi, BigBlueButton https://fsf.org.in/article/better-than-zoom/

Instant Messenger- Element, Quicksy or Conversations https://fsf.org.in/article/better-than-whatsapp/

Uploading videos- PeerTube, GNU MediaGoblin

E-learning platforms: Moodle https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Moodle

Recording- OBS https://obsproject.com/

Cloud storage - Nextcloud https://nextcloud.com/

Digital writing pad- Xournal https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Xournal

Email- Self-hosted server

The GNU website lists free software that can be used in schools and educational institutions of all levels https://www.gnu.org/software/free-software-for-education.html. The Free Software Foundation keeps a comprehensive database of educational software at the Free Software Directory https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Category/Education.

Freeduc-USB https://usb.freeduc.org/index-en.html is a bootable USB stick that contains useful applications for the classroom.

When an educational institute provides laptops to students, they should choose laptops which can run fully free software https://ryf.fsf.org/products?category=1&vendor=All&sort_by=created&sort_order=DESC and https://libretech.shop/. For other hardware which can run fully free software, check https://h-node.org/.

Educational resources should be 'free' as in freedom

In today's age, free sharing of scientific knowledge has become the [worst conceivable crime] https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/how-did-the-free-sharing-of-scientific-knowledge-and-culture-become-the-worst-crime-our-justice-systems-could-think-of/ one can think of. Scientific journals like Elsevier lock up academic research behind paywalls and prohibit sharing with others. Since, the academic research is funded by public money, it should be available free or cost as well as free in freedom. For arguments on how the principles of software freedom apply to academic papers, please check [this essay]https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/push-copyright-aside.html. Educational resources-- like videos, recorded lectures, academic papers [should be released under free/swatantra licenses only]https://www.stallman.org/articles/online-education.html. Two such free licenses are CC-BY and CC-BY-SA. The GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) https://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.html can also be used for educational works. If you release your academic papers under a free license, it will give everyone an opportunity to learn from you. Some Free Learning Resources are mentioned [here] https://www.gnu.org/education/edu-free-learning-resources.html

Free Software adoption in Indian education

IT syllabus of class XI in Maharashtra now includes free software https://fsf.org.in/news/mh-schools-floss/. The state of Kerala migrated more than 2,600 public schools to free software https://www.itschool.gov.in/. In fact, Kerala is the only state in the world where IT education is imparted over a Free software operating system https://www.academia.edu/10236947/IT_at_SCHOOL_PROJECT_OF_KERALA_A_LANDMARK_IN_ICT_INITIATIVE_IN_GENERAL_EDUCATION .

A free software named Tux Paint http://directory.fsf.org/wiki/TuxPaint was used at VHSS Irimpanam school, Kerala where 11 and 12 years old students exercised the freedom to learn how the program works and modify the program, which demonstrates that even non programmers or children, can actually influence and improve information technology when software freedom is granted https://www.gnu.org/education/edu-software-tuxpaint.html. School-age children were able to effectively and quickly exercise software freedom with Tux Paint in the PC-in-the-Village Experiment, Goa http://www.digitalequalizer.org/kids.htm

Some of the educational institutions in India who are using exclusively Free Software:

Ambedkar Community Computing Center (AC3) https://www.gnu.org/education/edu-cases-india-ambedkar.html

Vocational Higher Secondary School Irimpanam (VHSS Irimpanam) https://www.gnu.org/education/edu-cases-india-irimpanam.html

Department of Scientific Computing, Modeling, and Simulation, Savitribai Phule Pune University --- To add the department's head statement on their use of free software.

If you know of other institutes which use free software, please let us know, we would like to add them in this list. If you need help in switching your institute to free software, feel free to contact us, we would be very glad to help you.

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Last date to comment: 8-March-2021