FSF Europe welcomes the TUX&GNU@school column
January, 7th 2003
Hamburg/Essen/Valais
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Europe officially welcomes Mario
Fux' TUX&GNU@school column whose future editions will be published
under the umbrella of the FSF Europe.
Each edition of the column contains a presentation of a Free educational
software program, valuable tips to web sites that deal with Free Software
and education, user testimonies as well as suggestions for new small
programs for pupils and teachers. All editions will be published in
German and English first.
The FSF Europe provides infrastructure and an organizational framework,
such as web space and mailing lists for lectors and translators. With
this support, Mario Fux continues to write his column. The column is
free documentation and the GNU Free Documentation License (GNU
FDL) and will be developed in an open manner. In consequence, any
interested person can work on the project as a lector or translator.
TUX&GNU@school is a logical step to extend the promotion of Free Software
in the educational sector. Mario Fux emphasizes: "GNU/Linux and Free
Software in schools have become at least as viable as proprietary
software in the meantime" and continues: "I'm again and again surprised
how big the choice of Free educational programs is", contradicting
critics of Free Software who often claim a lack of applications for
the GNU platform.
Also the didactic and social aspects of the use of Free Software in
schools are of special importance:
"In the past, computer science education has concentrated too much
teaching products instead of comprehension", says Georg C.F. Greve,
President of the FSF Europe. Greve continues: "Free Software enables
the interactive understanding of outer and inner workings of a computer
and furthermore ensures an equality of chances for all pupils".
The FSF Europe thanks Mario Fux for his hitherto efforts and looks
forward
to his future editions, which are available at
http://www.fsfeurope.org/education/tgs/ .
About the Free Software Foundation Europe
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSF Europe) is a charitable
non-governmental organization dedicated to all aspects of Free
Software in Europe. Access to software determines who may participate
in a digital society. Therefore the freedoms to use, copy, modify and
redistribute software - as described in the Free Software definition -
allow equal participation in the information age. Creating awareness
for these issues, securing Free Software politically and legally, and
giving people freedom by supporting development of Free Software are
central issues of the FSF Europe, which was founded in 2001 as the
European sister organization of the Free Software Foundation in the
United States.
http://www.fsfeurope.org
Contact
FSF Europe:
Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)fsfeurope.org>
phone: +49-40-23809080
fax: +49-40-23809081
TUX&GNU@school column:
Mario Fux <foxman(a)lugo.ch>