Why we need free software in education

27th June 2017

The absolute core of education is the sharing of knowledge. This can be facts and methods through to materials and tests. The essential idea is that everything is done in the open so that the students can see and learn as much as possible so they can be good citizens to each other and themselves. And yet when it comes to computer technology the vast majority of it has few or none of these properties. This is not a question of technology but of the ethics and politics that govern how computer technology is used.

When it comes to cost most schools are given free (gratis) proprietary software so that the students are indoctrinated into favouring it over other software. This is one of the major reasons that things like Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop are considered industry standards. Not because they are the considered the best software but because this is what the students are trained in. Eventually the student becomes the teacher and thus the cycle continues on to the next generation. This is a common marketing tactic used to limit potential options to the users by specifying a strict selection of software, users will naturally shy away from exploring alternatives.

Apple products like the iPad are even worse and they do not allow the user to install what thye wish, only what Apple allows them via their ‘App store’.

Even though a lot of this non-free software has no cost, a lot also do cost the students heavily. This can mean that students who cannot afford to purchase a copy for themselves are either limited to using the schools copies according to the open hours of the institution and the availability or having to pay large sums of money simply to continue doing their learning at home. Ones ability to learn should never be an issue of money simply to have the key tools available – especially when there is no necessity for it. The schools are locked into the software vendors wishes and they are selling out their students to do this, to break away from this power chain is to gain independence at every level.

The Freedom to share free software is a major component that can aid in education. Any free software that is used can also be given to students free of charge by their teachers and other students, this should including the source code which allows students to see how it works if they so wish. Not only does this limit the issue of money but it encourages others to share between each other. Sharing is a natural part of human society and in the foundation on which progress is formed. Proprietary software actively works against this so that the users are locked into the software vendors desires and not the users. It puts the company ahead of those that use the output.

With software that is free to study the students have the ability to see exactly how the computer system works. This is entirely off limits in proprietary software as it is treated as a black box that is illegal for people to even try and study and modify the workings. Some one who wants to learn how the software works has everything in the open allowing them to learn and tinker with the code to see what it is doing. If a student makes a change that is desired then they should be encouraged to share this with other students and thus instil further growth of each others sense of community. An analogy would be if Isaac Newtons theory of gravity was kept a secret and that the students where never able to see the equations to see how the theory works – it simply would not be accepted and yet this is what many do with software. It is the opposite of education, it is indoctrination.

To make matters worse, with proprietary software we do not have an idea of what the software is actually doing. Something that may look like a potentially innocent program could be doing some nasty things behind the scenes. There are very few ways that the community can confirm the real function of a proprietary program or if there are some nasty back doors that all others to access the machine via the internet and potentially be used to harm someone. An image viewing program could be uploading these to servers elsewhere on the internet, document programs could be doing the same thing and it can get worse to the point of even taking pictures via the web cam without the users knowledge.

To make matters worse, for the sake of convenience a lot of schools now are using Software as a Service (Saas), this is where the programs and all your information is stored on someone else’s computer. A good example of this would be Google Docs. These are programs that not only do the users not have any control over the software but also of the information that they put into it. This is a horrible situation as it means that the companies have all the control and the users have very minimal at best. The programs can be changed or removed at any time without the user having any say in the issue, the same of the information they have put into the system. These should be avoided at all costs. The use of these platforms while convenient encourage a very bad behaviour of giving up personal freedoms for ease of use.

Free software should be a major part of computer, not just the use of it but teaching the students the values of their freedoms and independence and how the software they use can restrict or reflect these values. With computers becoming a near requirement of the daily lives of most people it is important that we encourage others to not only look after themselves but for those they help and/or rely on. If the education system guides people to help each other with it comes of computers it will be yet another stone in a strong foundation of society and it must be taught before it is too late.