Open Office vs MS Office in a Public School Setting

I have watched with great enthusiasm the debate that has raged for the last couple of years over whether to use the open source Open Office or the closed source Microsoft Office in a learning environment. The argument for Open Office is that it is free software, and that it promotes openness in technology. The argument for MS Office is that this is what is used in the “real world” and we need to train our students to be ready to succeed in that world. Well, here is my two cents on this convoluted topic.

I have personally and professionally used Open Office for many years. Since switching to Linux about 10 years ago, I feel that supporting open source software is essential in keeping with the spirit of open source. When I started teaching 8 years ago, I inherited classes that were learning MS Office, and a school system that was totally closed source in nature. One thing I have learned as a teacher is to do things simply. Since MS Office was the software of choice for my classes, as well as the productivity of the district, I decided to keep it.

I am not a firm believer in training high school students for the real world, but to help them learn in order to be an asset to the real world. To that end, I teach MS Office, but also teach Open Source alternatives. I expose my students to alternatives to everything they do, so that they can make informed decisions. If they choose MS Office, then great! If they choose Open Office, then great! My job is complete no matter which they choose.

The debate should not be one versus the other, but how one can supplement the other.

Thanks for reading!!