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Productivity Software Comparison
* based on results from a single evaluator Add Your Vote! WHAT THEY SAID"I like Microsoft Office because of its wide range of uses," Fred Holmes told Education World. "You get Word, which can also be used as a publisher; Excel, for grade books and other record keeping; and PowerPoint, which can handle pictures, sound, and video. The downside to Office is the price -- almost $300 for the standard edition and $500 for the Professional Edition (unless you can find a catalog with special prices for educators). I don't like Access, the database program that comes with the Professional Edition, however. It's a difficult program to learn and use. The Microsoft Works database is easier to use to create what you want."Jennifer Wagner agrees. "Office teaches my students so many skills that they can use in the real world," Wagner said. "I can take any of the programs and use them in an everyday class setting. I can create name plates using Word Art; create graphs or maintain a database with Excel; create newsletters, cards, calendars, and certificates with Publisher; and create Web pages with Front Page! As a bonus, I can use MS Paint and manipulate graphics to my heart's content. I won't even begin to try to explain the wonderfulness of PowerPoint."
Karen Kelly has a slightly different view. "We use AppleWorks for word processing," Kelly told Education World, "and I don't really have a strong opinion about it. I would rather see students using PCs in school, however. It doesn't make sense to me that, for 12 years, we teach students to use Macintosh computers, only to send them out into a PC world. Why do we do that?" Mary Kreul is also an AppleWorks user. "AppleWorks," she noted, "is a good choice for a computer tools program, providing kids with the ability to create word-processed documents, spreadsheets, and databases and to draw and paint documents. They can even switch back and forth between different types of documents and combine them into more detailed projects. "KidWorks Deluxe," Kreul added, is a great program for elementary students working on their writing skills. Pluses include the ability to use a story-starter template or write from scratch; the ability to write and draw pages that students can change according to their purposes; the ability to choose between clip art and paint pictures or original artwork; and the read-back feature. Students take pride in their professional-looking writings and enjoy printing their KidWorks stories and sharing them with classmates and families." "For K-1 students, I like to use KidWorks," agreed Libby Adams. "Students can word-process on a screen similar to standard writing paper, and they have the added bonus of listening to what they've written. It's amazing how students are able to correct misspelled words when they hear what they have typed." GRAPHICS PROGRAMS"I have two favorite tools," Madeline Decker told Education World, ACDSee and Photoshop."ACDSee, available in both registered and unregistered (free) versions, is a must for any Webmaster who deals with digital photographs, graphics, and images," according to Decker. "With this program, you can literally scroll through a group of pictures, whether they are on your hard drive or saved on a disk. Gone are the days of opening each image separately! The registered version also will convert graphic type, rotate an image, and make a great slide show. "For creating graphics, nothing compares to Photoshop," Decker added. "We are very fortunate in our district; each Webmaster gets a licensed copy of Photoshop and training in how to use it. I love creating my own graphics too!" Russ Stamp agreed. "As far as graphics programs are concerned, there is only one -- Adobe Photoshop. You could spend every minute of every day working in Photoshop and never fully utilize all its features. Photoshop is fairly reasonably priced for educators, but if cost is an option, Photoshop Elements is a wonderful alternative." According to Kreul, "Print Shop is another wonderful, easy-to-learn program for teachers and students who want to create cards, stationery, banners, postcards, business cards, and posters. The program includes many different font and graphic design options, as well as templates to help design various projects. Students can also use original artwork, clip art from other sources, or photos to personalize their projects." SOFTWARE SPECIFICSName: ACDSeeManufacturer: ACD Systems Approximate Price: $34.95 Grade Level: 9-12, adults
Name: AppleWorks
Name: Creative Writer 2*
Name: KidWorks Deluxe
Name: Microsoft Office
Name: Microsoft Word
Name: Photoshop
Name: Print Shop
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Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2001 Education World
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The Gold Star rating was determined by considering each program's total score along with the number of recommendations submitted for the program and the tenor of reviewers' comments about it.
