We in the HFOSS project are also teaching about free software. In summer 2008 Richard gave a lecture here in Hartford that our students are still talking about (links: http://www.archive.org/details/RichardStallmanTalkAtTrinityCollege2008 and http://blog.hfoss.org/?p=48).
In my sophomore level software development course this semester ( http://www.cs.trincoll.edu/~ram/cpsc225/schedule.html), we started the semester with Stallman's recent CACM article on "Why 'open source' misses the point of free software" and then also read Free Software/Free Society. We also read the Cathedral and the Bazaar as well as Karl Fogel's book. We also read Perens' "It's time to talk about free software again" letter ( http://slashdot.org/articles/99/02/18/0927202.shtml). In my freshman level course ( http://turing.cs.trincoll.edu/~ram/cpsc110/schedule.html) we read the Fogel piece on "What is free software" as well as the "GNU Manifesto" and spend a considerable amount of our discussions talking about the free software principles. This year I'm also teaching a one-time-only first year seminar on "Freedom and Openness Everywhere" ( http://www.cs.trincoll.edu/~ram/fysm183/schedule.html) that focuses broader societal and culture implications of the FOSS movement. In that class we also read parts of "Free Software/Free Society," as well as the Fogel article. I find that students seem initially drawn to the more practical focus of the open source viewpoint, but my sense is that, as the semester has progressed, they start to appreciate more the importance of Stallman's argument. What really helped things this semester is we held a free campus-wide showing of "Revolution OS" and we had a very nice public lecture by Leslie Hawthorn as part of our recent Software Freedom Week (http://sfw.trincoll.edu/). Both the film and the lecture helped students appreciate the importance of the free software principles -- I know this because they all wrote essays on the reactions to the movie and the lectures. In any case, we are strongly committed to the free software principles. And I think Stallman's right about the importance of emphasizing software freedom among our students and other new members of the "open source community." If the success of FOSS depends strictly on its high quality and its practical benefits, I worry that it will be more easily undermined and co-opted in the long run by cheap (or free) proprietary software. Best, -- ralph morelli Professor of Computer Science Trinity College, Hartford (http://www.hfoss.org) On Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 1:20 PM, Stephen Jacobs <itprofjac...@gmail.com>wrote: > So, enter the RIT Prof :-) > > Free Software and Open Source are taught first as part of an historical and > conceptual thread that includes... > > Copyright, trademark, patent, fair use, public domain, selective > enforcement of copyright (grateful dead, Phish, etc allowing free > distribution of concert tapes and Clinton's efforts detailed in "wired's > "Hey Man, Smell My Sample) > > and then historical alternatives including Morton and Sandin's > "Copy-It-Right" and "Distribution Religion," Copy-Left, GNU and the GPL, > FSF, the Open Source License, Creative Commons, and the Pirate Party. > > They read the recent Communication of the ACM viewpoints by Richard > Stallman on why "Open Source" Misses the Point of Free Software" and the > Wired piece by Kevin Kelly on "The New Socialism." > > All that said, the course's main focus is on supporting Sugar Labs' Math4 > Team efforts. It teaches high level , introductory concepts on IP, Open > Source process and tools, child development, how to write a lesson plan, > User Testing, Technology in the developing world and Globalization, among > others. > > I see the OLPC, Sugar and this course as "a Trojan Horse to Open Source," > something that introduces the students to Free Software concepts and > OSS/FOSS/FLOSS process while providing them with a service learning > opportunity to get them involved in Humanitarian work, rather than a "Course > on Free Software or a Course on Open Source" specifically. This continues > my own bent to having students use their skills and homework to benefit > others. > > Some of the course topics above have been tweaked from the fall's draft > syllabus at http://teachingopensource.org/index.php/RIT/Honors_Seminar > > I intend to release the full set of revised materials, lecture slides > (which I'll have to move from ppt to odp first) sometime in April or May > when I'm teaching one course, instead of the three I taught last quarter and > this quarter ;-) > > Hope that all helps. > > > > Stephen Jacobs > Associate Professor > Interactive Games and Media > Rochester Institute of Technology > 102 Lomb Memorial Drive > Bldg 70 > Rochester, NY 14618 > s...@mail.rit.edu > 585-475-7803 > > > _______________________________________________ > tos mailing list > tos@teachingopensource.org > http://teachingopensource.org/mailman/listinfo/tos >
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