Any high school or college student can tell you about his or her “Introduction to Computers” class, which is generally a required class for every student. In the majority of cases, this referring to this class as “Introduction to Microsoft Office” would be more accurate.

I do acknowledge the value of MS Office and knowing how to use it. There are a lot of companies that use this software suite and many jobs that require the applicant know how to use it. My issue with the curriculum is not that they teach MS Office, but that it is the only thing they teach.

Many students graduate thinking that using Microsoft Office is the only way to write a paper, create a slide show presentation, work a spreadsheet, etc. There is another viable option that works just as well that is known as OpenOffice. The features and functions of the products in the OpenOffice suite are very similar to Microsoft’s offering, and it’s free.

I’m not saying we should replace MS Office in the curriculum with OpenOffice. The effect would be the same, we would be teaching students how to use a specific program. For a general education requirement, the curriculum should not be that specific. An introduction to computers class should teach the students how to use a computer, not a specific program. In a class such as this, both the Windows and Linux operating systems should be used and different programs within each for different periods of time.

From a class design such as this, students would begin to see similarities and differences in different systems and programs and have a better understanding of how settings are set and where different options would likely be located in a new program. With a well rounded knowledge from an introduction to computers class, a student should be able to open up a program they have never used before, and with very little direction, be able to use it.

The current curriculum in most schools focuses solely on MS Office and doesn’t teach the students how to use that. The text books that are usually used do not require the students to learn what they are doing or why they are doing it. The instructions walk the students through the process click by click. They even include multiple screen shots so that there is no mistake. With text books such as these, the students do not learn how to do those tasks.