First of all, thanks for setting up/rebuilding digital media’s computers.
Before adding anything to the calendar, I want to make sure we have enough licenses and actual apps installed on the machines to teach a class.
I’m specifically interested in Microsoft Office, especially Word and PowerPoint, and probably Excel. When I set up the class, how many people can I add if I’m using one machine?
How does it work for free apps/open source?
One more thing: If I open the class to non-members, how will they access the apps if they don’t have DMS logins?
@yashsedai and @Edenblue, I would like to teach Word for formatting for publishing a book on Amazon Kindle, which I think most people would classify as maker-y.
The PowerPoint classes would be for making digital clip art and animations, which is also maker-y.
I plan to teach using Excel to budget projects and create task lists, which supports maker-y projects but is not itself maker-y.
I would also like to teach resume writing (Word), which is in general good for the community, as it will help people who are unemployed become employed and move from starving hacker to regular membership, which will generate additional revenue for the space.
What would it take to get licenses for the (I think) 12 computers in Digital Media to teach a class?
Thanks.
P.S. This is the “T” (Technology) in S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), which I understood was an initiative the board wanted to pursue.
If we were to buy Office, it looks like it would be either $1200 annually or $3000 for a one-time purchase (no updates) - for the count of 12 computers that you mentioned. Since we have a freeware set of products that is very similar to Office (LibreOffice, I think), that doesn’t seem like a good use of our money.
However, you can get Office Online for free. It apparently doesn’t include all the features, but heck - I’ll bet you won’t have the time to teach all the features anyway. The intro part of this article describes it.
If Infrastructure approves of that, then it looks like anyone who wants to use it will require their own (free) Microsoft account/ID - just like what is required to use the Adobe Creative Suite.
As Chris stated, we would need to have a significant need for the software to spend 3k on it, but if you can use the open source programs go for it. If you want to be doubly sure it passes through honorarium audit send an outline of the classes and I’d be happy to take a look.
Thanks, everyone, for finding alternatives. $1200/$3000 is a big chunk of change. Is that the nonprofit rate? Regardless, I’ll look into the free online version of Office and test it out. @John_Marlow, thanks for doing that research, and thanks, @MrsMoose for your suggestion. I’ll check it out.
Also, @Edenblue, thank you for offering your time to check the course outline. That’s very generous of you. If I do it for honorarium, I’ll definitely take you up on it.
I would also consider teaching this with Google Docs. I know there are a lot of folks who are wary of it, but it is free and it does most of the same things Office does. OpenOffice and Libre are a little too clunky for my attention span, but a lot of schools are running on the Google Drive apps, so it has proven itself as viable. I’ll just have to check to see if the formatting works the same way as Office, and if not, learn the new way.
Another thing about Google Office apps is that our members already have DMS Gmail accounts, correct? They just might need some help signing in for the first time. I will add that to the course outline or do an introductory video for them to practice signing in ahead of time.
As far as software we have a lot of the https://ninite.com open source installed.
Adobe & Autodesk software.
The software stack is listed on the tools page Tools - Dallas Makerspace
Dont waste the makerspace budget on ms word please. There is no demonstrable advantage. Google drive /documents for resume and cover letters have gotten me jobs for zero dollars.
I use a MSWord clone called LibreOffice. Never needed MSWord since and never looked back.
But to be perfectly truthful, I mainly use Wordperfect. It seems to have stuck around a bit longer in the legal industry, and its Reveal Codes feature can be a lifesaver.
It’s $400 for a perpetual licence for an entire computer lab. $39 per computer forever that doesn’t rely on an internet connection.
I offered to fundraise to pay for it.
It’s industry standard software that can help people make projects, and it’s a skill that employers want. I can show LinkedIn data which corraborates this.
Or should we cancel our Adobe licences at their high annual fees and switch to free apps for that, too? Because that’s the equivalent of what you’re asking.
