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<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <script type="text/javascript"> <![CDATA[//><!]]> </script> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <meta name="Generator" content="Drupal 7 (http://drupal.org)" /> <link rel="canonical" href="/give-students-userfreedom" /> <link rel="shortlink" href="/node/36" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=0.6666; maximum-scale=1.0; minimum-scale=0.6666" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="https://my.fsf.org/sites/default/files/favicon_0.png" type="image/png" /> <title>Give Students #UserFreedom | Free Software Foundation</title> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://my.fsf.org/sites/default/files/css/css_xE-rWrJf-fncB6ztZfd2huxqgxu4WO-qwma6Xer30m4.css" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://my.fsf.org/sites/default/files/css/css_NdVgz6YKifxQUEsW5xls_zI7Pn2F7E5U5Wb29zcu3vo.css" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://my.fsf.org/sites/default/files/css/css__2R4ZMdtIi7Bf3GXLei_xjgDfi6QfPT85sZyuTk_LRo.css" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://static.fsf.org/nosvn/plone4/css/testing.css?r=lp7Di" media="all" /> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="https://my.fsf.org/sites/default/files/css/css_ka9UN6Em-DwJtiHYkvervNsKtjHjavpVDwmo5yroPr8.css" media="all" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://my.fsf.org/misc/jquery.js?v=1.4.4"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://my.fsf.org/misc/jquery-extend-3.4.0.js?v=1.4.4"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://my.fsf.org/misc/jquery-html-prefilter-3.5.0-backport.js?v=1.4.4"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://my.fsf.org/misc/jquery.once.js?v=1.2"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://my.fsf.org/misc/drupal.js?snjvwd"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://my.fsf.org/sites/all/themes/fsf_venture/js/global.js?snjvwd"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://my.fsf.org/sites/all/themes/fsf_venture/js/jquery.superfish.min.js?snjvwd"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://my.fsf.org/sites/all/themes/fsf_venture/js/jquery.sidr.min.js?snjvwd"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://my.fsf.org/sites/all/themes/fsf_venture/js/jquery.flexslider.min.js?snjvwd"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> <![CDATA[//><!]]> </script>  </head> <body class="html not-front not-logged-in no-sidebars page-node page-node- page-node-36 node-type-webform"> <div id="wrap"> <div id="header-wrap" class="clr fixed-header"> <header id="header" class="site-header clr container"> <div id="logo" class="clr"> <div id="site-logo"><a href="/" title="Home"> <img src="https://my.fsf.org/sites/default/files/fsf-logo_1.png" alt="Home" /> </a></div> </div> <div id="sidr-close"><a href="#sidr-close" class="toggle-sidr-close"></a></div> <div id="site-navigation-wrap"> <a href="#sidr-main" id="navigation-toggle"><span class="fa fa-bars"></span>Menu</a> <nav id="site-navigation" class="navigation main-navigation clr" > <div id="main-menu" class="menu-main-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div id="preface-wrap" class="site-preface clr"> <div id="preface" class="clr container"> <div class="span_1_of_1 col col-1"> <div class="region region-header"> <div id="block-block-9" class="block block-block"> <h2 ><span>Give Students #UserFreedom</span></h2> <div class="content"> <style type="text/css"> <![CDATA[/* ><!]]>*/ </style><p><strong>To access the petition form itself, you must view this page while <a href="https://cas.fsf.org/login?service=https%3A%2F%2Fmy.fsf.org%2Fcas%3Fdestination%3Dgive-students-userfreedom">logged in</a></strong>. Clicking the login link will reload this page if you're already logged in. If you don't have a my.fsf.org account, please <a href="https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create%3Fgid%3D336?destination=node/36">create one here</a>.</p> <p>Be sure to read the <a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/sign-this-petition-for-freedom-in-the-classroom">blog post announcing the petition</a> for more information.</p> <p><strong>Signers:</strong> </p> <iframe src="https://static.fsf.org/nosvn/minibars/edupetition/edupetition-stats.html" padding="" align="left"></iframe> <hr /><p>Overwhelmingly, students are being required to use tools in the classroom that they are forbidden to study, share, or modify. Not only do programs like <a href="https://www.eff.org/wp/school-issued-devices-and-student-privacy">Google Classroom</a>, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/1/21244058/google-meet-microsoft-teams-webex-personal-data-collection-privacy-policy-concerns">Microsoft Teams</a>, or <a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/better-than-zoom-try-these-free-software-tools-for-staying-in-touch">Zoom</a> invite a potentially malicious third-party into the educational environment, but more importantly, they increase society's dependence on <a href="https://www.gnu.org/proprietary/">proprietary software</a>, software that denies its users their freedom.</p> <p>By contrast, <a href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">free software</a> is software that respects the freedom of its users. In a perfect fit with the principles of good education and science, free software allows its users to:</p> <ul><li>Use the program for any purpose, not discriminating against specific fields</li> <li>Study the source code of the program to understand how it works, and change it to fit their needs</li> <li>Share the program in order to help others</li> <li>Distribute modified copies of the program with others, giving the whole community a chance to benefit</li> </ul><p><strong>We call on school administrators at all levels to drop requirements for students to use proprietary software to participate in a course, and to adopt a free software replacement for every nonfree program being used. As students, teachers, parents, and concerned citizens, we stand together for the following principles:</strong></p> <ul><li><strong>It is an injustice to require students to sacrifice their freedom to proprietary software in pursuit of an education.</strong></li> <li><strong>Using free software in the classroom communicates the importance of values key to a free society: sharing, social responsibility, and independence.</strong></li> <li><strong>With its focus on study and collaboration, free software is far more suited to the spirit of pedagogy than the dependence and abuse caused by proprietary software.</strong></li> <p> </p></ul><p>Please sign here to show your support. If you provide us with information about your educational institution, we'll contact them on your behalf and invite them into a discussion on how to educate the next generation of technologists, rather than serve as marketing and influence arms for proprietary software companies.</p> </div> </div>  </div>  </div> </div> </div> <div id="main" class="site-main container clr"> <div id="primary" class="content-area clr"> <section id="content" role="main" class="site-content clr"> <div class="messages warning"> <h2 class="element-invisible">Warning message</h2> You must <a href="/user/login?destination=node/36">login</a> or <a href="/associate/join/am_register_form1?destination=node/36">register</a> to view this form.</div> <div id="content-wrap"> <h1 class="page-title">Give Students #UserFreedom</h1> <div class="region region-content"> <div id="block-system-main" class="block block-system"> <div class="content"> <ul class="meta clearfix"> <li><strong>Posted on:</strong> 19 July 2020</li> <li><strong>By:</strong> <span class="username">gregf</span></li> </ul> <div class="content"> </div> <footer> </footer> </div> </div>  </div>  </div> </section> </div> </div> <div id="footer-wrap" class="site-footer clr"> <div id="footer" class="clr container"> <div class="span_1_of_1 col col-1"> <div class="region region-footer"> <div id="block-fsf-privacy-policy-fsf-privacy-policy" class="block block-fsf-privacy-policy"> <div class="content"> <p style="color: white">We prioritize your privacy and do not sell or distribute our contact lists. 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