Italy: Promoting the use of free software in public education

Italian free software advocates like PDP Free Software User Group (PDP FSUG) are disseminating ‘DossierScuola – Free to Learn’, a document on the use of free software in public education (available in Italian only).

DossierScuola consists of a compendium of information ranging from the advantages of free software, to adoption suggestions, best practice and success stories in public education. A list of contact entities is provided for the schools willing to follow suit or get in touch with those having already opted for free software solutions. Likewise, free software enthusiasts can exploit the Dossier’s material to raise awareness among schools.

Thanks to the Linux Italian Society funding, 10 000 copies have been printed since the end of February 2011, and the paper version of the document is currently being distributed to schools over the national territory. The copies will be sent to all local free software user groups willing to take part, so that they can hand the document to all of the country’s public education institutions.

The DossierScuola project is promoted by the Italian Linux Society. It is the result of many contributions by free software community volunteers, including members of the PDP FSUG and the BeFair project, and it has been built in a collaborative way via wiki – one can check the work done and download the document in PDF format at http://www.dossierscuola.it/PaginaIniziale.

Due to space limitations, the paper version only contains a subset of software, experiences and projects. The online version available on the wiki page, on the contrary, is complete and it is meant to be regularly updated. All interested stakeholders can contribute (enthusiasts, teachers and students) with their own comments and experience.

Moreover, a new website has been recently launched at http://www.dossierscuola.it/ in order to provide a blog for announcing project updates and registration forms to stay informed and be involved.

Source: EDRI-gram „IT: DossierScuola – Promoting the use of free software in public education” May 13, 2011