Legal Aspects of the Information Society. - Free Technology Academy
Legal Aspects of the Information Society. - Free Technology Academy
Legal Aspects of the Information Society. - Free Technology Academy
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Preface<br />
S<strong>of</strong>tware has become a strategic societal resource in <strong>the</strong> last few decades.<br />
e emergence <strong>of</strong> <strong>Free</strong> S<strong>of</strong>tware, which has entered in major sectors <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> ICT market, is drastically changing <strong>the</strong> economics <strong>of</strong> s<strong>of</strong>tware<br />
development and usage. <strong>Free</strong> S<strong>of</strong>tware – sometimes also referred to as<br />
“Open Source” or “Libre S<strong>of</strong>tware” – can be used, studied, copied,<br />
modified and distributed freely. It <strong>of</strong>fers <strong>the</strong> freedom to learn and to<br />
teach without engaging in dependencies on any single technology<br />
provider. ese freedoms are considered a fundamental precondition for<br />
sustainable development and an inclusive information society.<br />
Although <strong>the</strong>re is a growing interest in free technologies (<strong>Free</strong> S<strong>of</strong>tware<br />
and Open Standards), still a limited number <strong>of</strong> people have sufficient<br />
knowledge and expertise in <strong>the</strong>se fields. e FTA attempts to respond to<br />
this demand.<br />
Introduction to <strong>the</strong> FTA<br />
e <strong>Free</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> <strong>Academy</strong> (FTA) is a joint initiative from several<br />
educational institutes in various countries. It aims to contribute to a<br />
society that permits all users to study, participate and build upon existing<br />
knowledge without restrictions.<br />
What does <strong>the</strong> FTA <strong>of</strong>fer<br />
e <strong>Academy</strong> <strong>of</strong>fers an online master level programme with course<br />
modules about <strong>Free</strong> Technologies. Learners can choose to enrol in an<br />
individual course or register for <strong>the</strong> whole programme. Tuition takes<br />
place online in <strong>the</strong> FTA virtual campus and is performed by teaching<br />
staff from <strong>the</strong> partner universities. Credits obtained in <strong>the</strong> FTA<br />
programme are recognised by <strong>the</strong>se universities.<br />
Who is behind <strong>the</strong> FTA<br />
e FTA was initiated in 2008 supported by <strong>the</strong> Life Long Learning<br />
Programme (LLP) <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> European Commission, under <strong>the</strong> coordination<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Free</strong> Knowledge Institute and in partnership with three european<br />
universities: Open Universiteit Nederland (e Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands), Universitat<br />
Oberta de Catalunya (Spain) and University <strong>of</strong> Agder (Norway).<br />
For who is <strong>the</strong> FTA<br />
e <strong>Free</strong> <strong>Technology</strong> <strong>Academy</strong> is specially oriented to IT pr<strong>of</strong>essionals,<br />
educators, students and decision makers.<br />
What about <strong>the</strong> licensing<br />
All learning materials used in and developed by <strong>the</strong> FTA are Open<br />
Educational Resources, published under copyleft free licenses that allow<br />
<strong>the</strong>m to be freely used, modified and redistributed. Similarly, <strong>the</strong><br />
s<strong>of</strong>tware used in <strong>the</strong> FTA virtual campus is <strong>Free</strong> S<strong>of</strong>tware and is built<br />
upon an Open Standards framework.