[Fsfe-ie] Free software in schools

[Michele Neylon :: Blacknight Solutions]

John

You should contact Seaghan Moriarty in Digilogue -
http://www.digilogue.net - feel free to mention my name.
He works a lot with the education sector and would be able to put you in
contact with the 'right' people

M

Mr. Michele Neylon
Blacknight Internet Solutions Ltd
http://www.blacknightsolutions.ie/
http://www.search.ie/
Tel. + 353 (0)59 9137101
Lowest price domains in Ireland

> -----Original Message-----
> From: fsfe-ie-bounces at fsfeurope.org
> [mailto:fsfe-ie-bounces at fsfeurope.org]On Behalf Of John Evans
> Sent: 11 December 2003 16:12
> To: fsfe-ie at fsfeurope.org
> Subject: [Fsfe-ie] Free software in schools
>
>
> Hi
>
> I have some contacts on the IT committees of the various
> post-primary school
> principals' associations. I had the idea of approaching these
> committees to
> see if they were open to receiving a short presentation on the benefits to
> schools of using free software.
>
> In my letter I mention gnu/linux and StarOffice, and go on to outline some
> putative benefits to schools. These benefits are my version of
> the benefits
> listed by Stallman's article at
>
> http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/schools.html
>
>
> He argues for the *exclusive* use of free software in schools, a feature I
> do not mention in my letter, as I do not think it is the most important
> issue at this time.
>
> <BENEFITS>
>
> Free software can save the schools money. Free software gives
> schools, like
> other users, the freedom to copy and redistribute the software, so the
> school system can make copies for all the computers in all the schools.
>
> School should teach students ways of life that will benefit society as a
> whole. They should promote the use of free software just as they promote
> recycling. If schools teach students free software, then the students will
> use free software after they leave.
>
> Free software permits students to learn how software works. When students
> reach their teens, some of them want to learn everything there is to know
> about their computer system and its software. That is the age when people
> who will be good programmers should learn it. To learn to write software
> well, students need to read lots of software and write lots of software.
>
> One of the most fundamental mission of schools is to teach people
> to be good
> citizens and good neighbours--to cooperate with others who need
> their help.
> In the area of computers, this means teaching them to share software. The
> free software installed by the school could be available for students to
> copy, take home, and redistribute further.
>
> Teaching the students to use free software, and to participate in the free
> software community, is a hands-on civics lesson. It also teaches students
> the role model of public service. </BENEFITS>
>
> I think there may be a positive response to such an approach.
>
> This leads me to suggest that the working group (or whatever) that is
> putting the IFSO together might put forward a panel or panels of
> individuals
> who would be prepared to take part in presentations to such bodies as I
> mention here, or to take part in meetings with MEPs etc, such as the
> possible meeting with PdeRossa that I mentioned in an earlier mailing on
> Dec5th.
>
> (I was a bit surprised that nobody seemed interested in replying to my
> question: how do want to do this? Maybe I didn't make it clear
> enough that I
> wouldn't see myself as being capable of making any kind of authoritative
> statements on EUCD!).
>
> Best Wishes
>
> John Evans
>
>
>
>
>
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