Background I: The Free Software Movement
This section discusses the history and aims of the free software and open source movements to illustrate how the software that has come from these movements is qualified to bolster the aims of digital literacy pedagogy. While the free and open source software movements are often lumped together for the purposes of discussion, both were formed at different times and have different aims. The founding of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in 1985 is widely considered the start of the free software movement. The Free Software Foundation (Jul 2009) explains that the ideas underpinning the FSF date back as far as September 1983, when one of the movement's founders, Richard M. Stallman, announced his plan to develop an operating system called GNU that would run similarly to the UNIX operating system and would use free software. Stallman envisioned an operating system that would be free of the boundaries set by proprietary software. The recursive acronym GNU, which stands for "GNU is Not UNIX," demonstrates Stallman's desire for free software to have similar functionality to proprietary software while allowing users the freedom to expand it how they wish.
According to the FSF, free software is the foundation of a learning society—where the tools we all use are free to share, study, and modify.
Free Software, as defined by Free Software Foundation (Jun 2009) includes the caveat that 'Free software' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of 'free' as in 'free speech,' not as in 'free beer'
. The definition consists of four criteria:
the freedom to run the program, for any purpose, known as freedom 0; the freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish, known as freedom 1; the freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor, known as freedom 2; and the freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements (and modified versions in general) to the public, so that the whole community benefits, known as freedom 3.
The idea of free software, then, carries responsibilities not only to individual users, but to the greater community. Copyleft
is a term commonly used by the FSF to describe the pay it forward
nature of the free software license, although it is important to note that not all free software can be referred to as copyleft. According to Free Software Foundation (Jan 2009), as opposed to copyright, which strictly limits the rights users have in regards to a specific piece of intellectual property, copyleft mandates that all modifications or extensions of the particular intellectual property also be free. Rather than stripping the user of individuals rights under copyright, copyleft extends these rights and guarantees that they shall be further extended. Although the Free Software Foundation remains the primary organization devoted to the discussion and dissemination of free software, many other organizations have helped improve and promote F/OSS. I will discuss these organizations further in my Resources section.
The Creative Commons license is another license that governs the use of intellectual property. Under the Creative Commons license, a holder of intellectual property may declare his or her property to be available for limited use by any user as long as that user upholds the restrictions set by the license. Creative Commons licenses can range from generous to rigid, allowing authors freedom to set what is comfortable for them.
The Web has changed the face of composition. The availability of blogs, social networking sites, and affordable Web hosting options means that students have multiple options at their disposal to display work they have created. Knowing about the licenses under which they can post work will empower students to make sound decisions about creations they post on the Web.
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