• TCB13@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    arrow-down
    9
    ·
    7 months ago

    Wouldnt you keep them computer illiterate when you teach them exclusively how to use Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office?

    As I said on another comment:

    Students can and should learn Linux / LibreOffice and can most likely do almost everything they need with it, however once they get into a job and the company uses MS Office they won’t be be able to pick the work right away and be as productive as their peers will be. Imagine one of those students tried to apply for a backoffice job at a bank, they’ll most likely test the person’s Office skills and the student may not be able to compete the assessment and have an inferior grade to another one who always had MS Office at his school.

    I’m all for FOSS but we must be very responsible when it comes to what we expose young people to and how that may impact their careers on the long run. They should have exposure to Linux, LibreOffice and have a basic understanding of them but they shouldn’t be robbed of valuable jobs skills that may make a difference just because.

    • macniel@feddit.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      7 months ago

      If you can only use a word processor because it looks like the one you have been trained on then you are computer illiterate. That’s not something a school should proliferate.

      • TCB13@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        4
        ·
        7 months ago

        You aren’t wrong, but that’s besides the point. The point is that even if you’re decently computer savvy and you can switch around between programs you’ll always be better and faster at advanced features on the one you used more hours. If you say this never happens to you then you’ve never been exposed to a program for enough time to actually learn it from top to bottom.

        • macniel@feddit.de
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          5
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          7 months ago

          Well that’s undeniable. But, coming back to this school, do you think that they could afford licenses for the latest MS Office and or MS Windows? No they would teach with one or more generations ago where things are laid out and function totally different.

          So you get the same issues you are complaining right now and nobody gained anything.

          • TCB13@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            7 months ago

            But, coming back to this school, do you think that they could afford licenses for the latest MS Office and or MS Windows?

            Microsoft typically offers licenses to education… and when it comes to Windows it doesn’t even matter as most retailers already sell machines with Windows licenses with very competitive prices. It’s usual to see bigger retailers selling computers with a Windows license at the same price a smaller retailer would do without license just because they’ve the volume and get good deals from both Microsoft and hardware vendors.

            I’m not complaining, just stating something that should be taken into consideration.

            • macniel@feddit.de
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              3
              ·
              7 months ago

              Microsoft typically offers licenses to education…

              Well apparently bit in this case as it’s too unimportant, as you said.

                  • TCB13@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    arrow-up
                    1
                    arrow-down
                    2
                    ·
                    7 months ago

                    That’s fair but I was extrapolating a bit there. After all unless their IT department and IT related teachers were really inept they would’ve know that Microsoft offers things to education and would’ve got them.

    • pivot_root@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      7 months ago

      Or, teach them both LibreOffice and Office 365. They’ll have more technical literacy by learning to adapt to new situations rather than relying on clicking this button here and that button there.