Software has become a strategic societal resource in the last few decades. The emergence of Free Software, which has entered in major sectors of the software market, is drastically changing the economics of software development and usage.

In contrast to most proprietary software, Free Software – sometimes also referred to as “Libre Software” or “Open Source Software” –  can be used, copied, studied, modified and redistributed freely. Therefore Free Software offers the freedom to learn, the freedom to teach, the freedom of competition and the freedom of speech. ‘Free,’ however, does not mean cost-free. Indeed, Free Software systems can equally be commercial applications which either have to be paid for to purchase initially or require the payment of fees for added-value services such as enhancements and support. In this regard, Free Software brings many new opportunities for local development based on specialist services.

In education, Free Software provides vendor-neutral solutions and the teaching of concepts. It brings back the joy of playing and creation with technology and stimulates the sharing of knowledge among students and teachers through global communities. Equally important, the use of Free Software helps to bridge the digital divide. As many schools, teachers and students cannot afford proprietary software, Free Software offers them the opportunity to participate in the digital era. Ultimately, by giving free access to the Information Society, Free Software helps to promote social inclusion around the world.

Despite its developments and social relevance, the use of Free Software is still limited. A group of specialist headed by Manuel Castells has pointed out four factors that hold back its massive adoption. In short, these are:

1. the general lack of awareness on the advantages of the use of Free Software;
2. the perceived lack of technical support on Free Software applications; 
3. the lack of qualified teachers; and 4) the lack of educational and training materials.

The real and long term technological change from proprietary to Free Software can thus only come by investing in education and training. This is precisely what the SELF Platform does: to create awareness on the advantages of the use of Free Software by providing educational and training materials to learn how to use Free Software.