Feb 17 2008
Does it really make it simple?
Just over 12 months ago we purchased 28 Laptops, on 2x 14 capacity trolleys for use in our Junior School. These have been met with great enthusiasm by our JS Teachers who are using them as much as they can.
When we set up these Laptops we purchased a product that sits on top of Microsoft Office and provides a user friendly interface aimed and the younger students. In the meantime we had upgraded the rest of the College to Office 2007.
There were 3 main problems that showed up.
- Quite often the overlay wouldn’t open properly and you were left with Word (or whichever Office App was used) open showing every possible toolbar and leaving only 1 or 2 lines of page visible to edit (this has not been solved by their Tech Support).
- These computers couldn’t open files saved by other staff using Office 2007. Even with the “Compatibility Pack” installed, things weren’t happening as they should.
- The promised Office 2007 version of the product was not forthcoming
So this week we met with the Head of JS and some of his staff and have decided that usefulness is better than simplified functionality. We would rather our Teachers have a product that they can use, rather than trying to make it more user friendly for the younger Children.
This may mean a refresher for the staff in using Office 2007 so that they can pass this on. Let’s see how we go.
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The laptops on the pods in JS now run on 2007 and the kids are coping really well.
They don’t need mice as I thought they might.
A bit more faith in their abilities on my part and they will shine.