Using FOSS for real-life learning

Red Hat Magazine is running an article by Jeff Elkner where he describes his 10-year career using free and open source software (FOSS). He’s got a big dream:

I am motivated by a desire to live in a world in which democracy and social justice are the birthrights of all people, and convinced that the best way to bring this about is for people to have direct control over the economic and social forces that effect them. Since the world around us is increasingly dominated by information technology and the software that runs it, democracy and software freedom go hand in hand.

I got to know Jeff a few years ago when I was teaching Python as a computer science teacher at Henry Sibley High School. We were both using the same textbook, the freely available Python version of How To Think Like a Computer Scientist, and shared some student project ideas. He’s always done a masterful job of creating opportunities for his students to do real programming, not just the dreadfully boring assignments typical of most introductory programming classes.

This article shows how using open source software creates opportunities for students to explore and develop their skills. Jeff’s work illustrates one of my own long-held beliefs: students excel when they are given a chance to work on projects that expand their perspective beyond themselves.