[ILUG] Typical - Schools / vendor lockin.

[Ciaran O'Riordan]

"Conor Wynne" <mariconor at gmail.com> writes:
> My mother in law (also a principal) has zero interest in linux. As a result,
> no linux is their respective schools.

FWIW, when I spoke to a group of secondary school computer teachers, the
thing they liked most about free software was that it was a way for them to
become legal.

I guess a lot of schools are using unauthorised copies of MS stuff.

For the ethical arguments, here's a bit from one of RMS's talks about free
software in schools:
http://fsfeurope.org/documents/rms-fs-2006-03-09.en.html#free-software-and-schools

  "It's vital for schools to use Free Software exclusively. The reason is:
   schools have a mission to teach society to be capable, to educate people
   to be parts of a capable, free society. Teaching students to use
   proprietary software is teaching dependence. It's training them to be
   dependent on specific powerful companies. Giving those companies more
   power over society. Whereas, teaching them to use Free Software, is
   directing society onto the path towards freedom and strength. So schools
   must stop teaching proprietary software.

   But there's an even stronger reason for this. And even deeper reason. And
   that is, for moral education. Schools have to teach children the spirit
   of good will, the spirit of helping other people around them in
   society. So every class should have a rule: children, if you bring
   software to class, you can't keep it for yourself, you must share it with
   the other kids, and if you won't share it, you can't bring it here
   because the way we do things is we help each other.

   The school, in order to teach this properly, has to follow its own
   rule. It has to set a good example. This means the school must bring only
   Free Software to class."


And RMS on why universities should exclusively use free software:
http://fsfe.org/en/fellows/ciaran/ciaran_s_free_software_notes/transcript_richard_stallman_honorary_degree_speech_pavia_2007

And another bit:
http://fsfe.org/en/fellows/ciaran/ciaran_s_free_software_notes/transcript_of_rms_at_wsis_on_is_free_open_source_software_the_answer#wsis--schools-and-proprietary-software

-- 
Ciarán O'Riordan (+32 477 36 44 19) \ Support Free Software and GNU/Linux
http://ciaran.compsoc.com/ _________ \     Join FSFE's Fellowship:
http://fsfe.org/fellows/ciaran/weblog \      http://www.fsfe.org