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[SKL]

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Edited April 17 by SKL

[MEmama]

My kid is in CS so it might vary, but wouldn't they already have those skills just from getting through high school? 
 

I'm not sure programs like PowerPoint are still used, and can't imagine any young person not knowing how to use basics like Word. Are they expressing concern that they can't type fluently?

Maybe they should take a look at their syllabi for their fall courses to see what is expected before worrying about programs they might not need.

[EKS]

I honestly think that the best way to learn those things is by simply doing them.  I'm surprised they don't have some familiarity with Word, at a minimum.  Is it because their school has required them to use some online thing instead?

[SKL]

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Edited April 17 by SKL

[Clarita]

12 minutes ago, SKL said:

For "word processing," their school requires them to use some google thing on their school-issued Chromebooks.  It really isn't comparable to Word.

Did they self taught how to use that? If they did they will do just fine learning on their own how to use Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Adobe (All the things), etc. All those softwares are made to be user friendly and easy to use. Excel and Adobe can get complex but by that point you are doing very specific things (like job/career things) , there are a ton of you tube videos and stuff to teach you exactly how to do specific things. 

Basically self teaching how to use user friendly software is just to be comfortable with playing with it. If you are capable of learning how to use one you are capable of learning how to use them all. 

I would suggest rather finding a game or something to work on typing fast.  

[regentrude]

Agreeing with previous posters. Best is to learn by doing. It's not rocket science,  and using software to accomplish a specific task is the most efficient way to learn

Google docs functions very similar to Word, and many college students use that. 

They won't need complicated Excel operations in college,  beyond what they can easily figure out.

What do you want them to do with Adobe? Are you willing to pay for the software? It's unlikely the college will use that as standard software (ours doesn't have a campus license), unless InDesign is part of a layout class and then it'll be taught there.

I have no idea how many of our students can actually type and whether that really makes a difference. Mine all take notes by hand ( some on tablets, not paper). I doubt typing speed is a limiting factor for student essays ;)

 

[Dmmetler]

29 minutes ago, regentrude said:

Agreeing with previous posters. Best is to learn by doing. It's not rocket science,  and using software to accomplish a specific task is the most efficient way to learn

Google docs functions very similar to Word, and many college students use that. 

They won't need complicated Excel operations in college,  beyond what they can easily figure out.

What do you want them to do with Adobe? Are you willing to pay for the software? It's unlikely the college will use that as standard software (ours doesn't have a campus license), unless InDesign is part of a layout class and then it'll be taught there.

I have no idea how many of our students can actually type and whether that really makes a difference. Mine all take notes by hand ( some on tablets, not paper). I doubt typing speed is a limiting factor for student essays 😉

 

And for most classes where you might use Excel, you're more likely to be working with more specific programs. Mine's used R quite a bit. 

 

L types extremely quickly and does prefer to type notes for non-math classes, but part of that is hypermobility and pain reduction-it's uncommon enough to be written in as part of a 504 plan.

 

 

[Heartstrings]

I grew up with Word and find the Google Office suite very similar.  The Google Docs, sheets, slides, etc. are basically scaled down version of Word, Excel and Power Point.  I used Google Docs easily all through finishing my degree a few years ago, every teacher was able to accept a .pdf version as easily as a .doc.  Excel was needed for statistics and a couple of other statistics heavy classes, and it had to be Excel not Sheets, but it’s not hard to switch back and forth and Sheets works fine for basic tables or organizing information.  I do think a lot of kids now use Canva now instead of PowerPoint but it’s all essentially the same. 
 

Google products have 2 benefits over Microsoft.  1) they auto save every change, so there’s no “I forgot to save!” panics and 2) they are always available online so there’s no keeping up with thumb drives, or leaving the assignment at home.  
 

There are tons of classes online, through Coursera or through the library if someone needs helps with the transition from Google to Microsoft.  
 

Does anyone remember trying to use the Correl program that competed with Word for awhile?  

Edited April 17 by Heartstrings

[regentrude]

32 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

Does anyone remember trying to use the Correl program that competed with Word for awhile?  

Do you mean WordPerfect? Yes, I used that for my dissertation and for many years while teaching, because it's equation editor was far superior to the one Word had at that time.

[maize]

One of my kids who doesn't pick up tech stuff easily did Testout's Office Pro course and found it worthwhile.

https://w3.testout.com/courseware/office-pro

[maize]

35 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

 

Google products have 2 benefits over Microsoft.  1) they auto save every change, so there’s no “I forgot to save!” panics and 2) they are always available online so there’s no keeping up with thumb drives, or leaving the assignment at home.  
 

Microsoft 365 is what most universities provide student accounts for now--it's in the cloud just like the Google suite and has these same benefits. 

[catz]

I don't know what the OP was  but my kids both seamlessly went and continue to go back and forth from microsoft tools to google suite without much effort.  Google Docs and Sheets are actually formatted very similarly to the Microsoft line and I have gone back and forth too.  I mostly use google now because we stopped paying for Microsoft.  Between both of of my kids there were 5 different educational settings involved.  It really isn't rocket science. 

If you had a kid anxious about something like this before starting college, I'd recommend digging around for a cheap self guided course on udemy.  You can typically find something on sale or a discount code, I don't think we've ever paid for more than like $30 for one of their courses.  If you login, it shows much cheaper pricing.  ETA - there is intro adobe classes too, but I'd be pretty surprised if campuses really expected kids to be fluent in those tools out of the gate.  That may come up later for major related stuff.

 

Edited April 17 by catz

[EKS]

1 hour ago, regentrude said:

Do you mean WordPerfect?

My father continues to use WordPerfect.

[Heartstrings]

2 hours ago, regentrude said:

Do you mean WordPerfect? Yes, I used that for my dissertation and for many years while teaching, because it's equation editor was far superior to the one Word had at that time.

Yes!  That’s what it was.