[Yr7-10it] OpenOffice for Kids

[Roland Gesthuizen]

There is a version of Open Office for kids called OOo4Kids.
     http://www.ooo4kids.org
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJkyPcP-TeU

It has even been ported to the OLPC XO-1 computers (it is free to download
and cross platform)
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmwNx7u6Eg8

I have been testing this slimmed down version with my primary aged kids at
home and it has all the functions they need minus the eye candy,
distractions and super functions that they don't need to use. Like Google
Apps, users can concentrate on creating content instead of fluffing about
with menus, formatting, functions etc. It can be very easily co-installed
with MS Office or Open Office and cleanly removed, documents created can be
readily opened with other applications.

Whilst it is still beta with version 0.9.5 and under development, I reckon
it looks polished enough to start using for classroom trials. For now, I'll
create a package to add this to our computer image. Am keen to deploy it to
our English language center, year 7 and LOTE classes. As with most open
source software projects, by feeding bug reports and feedback you can become
a valued part of a larger community of developers. :-)

Regards Roland

-- 
Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead