Below are the comments by Richard Stallman on our rough draft.
-------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: [FSF-WG] Re: Update on the article about using free software in education Date: Mon, 01 Mar 2021 00:18:53 -0500 From: Richard Stallman rms@gnu.org Reply-To: rms@gnu.org, Private discussion list for Working Group of FSF India fsf-wg@mm.gnu.org.in To: Private discussion list for Working Group of FSF India fsf-wg@mm.gnu.org.in
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censor them, and abuse them >
https://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html. The name we use nowadays is https://gnu.org/malware/.
-Proprietary Software is a malware >
https://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html
Likewise. Also, there should never be an indefinite article before "malware". It is uncountable.
For example, Apple > iPhone's proprietary operating system does
[all of these] > https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-call-it-the-swindle.html.
Nowadays all the major proprietary operating systems for the general public spy on the users. It's in https://gnu.org/malware/.
-It is an injustice to require students to sacrifice their freedom
to > proprietary software in pursuit of an education. Educational Institutes > have a moral responsibility to respect students' freedom.
I would delete the first sentence -- it is weak. The item is stronger without it. Can you see what I mean?
Furthermore, I would add "and teach students to appreciate it -- for their own future and their country's future."
-Educational institutes often expose students to privacy-invading technology without any real choice to opt out of it
"Opt out" implies it is a minor choice, a matter of convenience. Some people prefer garlic on their naan and some opt out of the garlic.
Surveillance is an injustice. I suggest the right word to use here is "avoid", or perhaps "escape".
https://www.eff.org/wp/school-issued-devices-and-student-privacy. Educational institutes should respect students' privacy.
A more powerful point, they must never help a company snoop on students.
-Proprietary software makes the institute dependent on the owner of
the > software, while free software makes them independent.
The student is "it", not "them".
Many instructors [require students to install > proprietary
proctoring software in their own > devices]
This is a sudden shift of topic from "teaching" to "proctoring". Both topics should be covered. I suggest making them separate items.
Instead of "proctoring", why not say "monitoring"?
Cloud storage - Nextcloud https://nextcloud.com/
"Cloud" is an incoherent term -- can you describe more clearly what job you're proposing a method to do?
[should be released under free/swatantra licenses >
only]https://www.stallman.org/articles/online-education.html. Two such
free licenses are CC-BY and CC-BY-SA. The GNU Free Documentation
License > (GFDL) https://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.html can also be used for > educational works.
Would you please list the GNU FDL first?
A free software named Tux Paint
http://directory.fsf.org/wiki/TuxPaint > was used at VHSS Irimpanam school, Kerala where 11 and 12 years old You need a second comma after "Kerala". That is a fundamental rule of English punctuation: an explanatory phrase requires a pause before and after.
Readers will note the word "was". Did it stop using Tux Paint? If so, why?