Johannesburg, 06 Oct 2000
Free office productivity software is set to assist computer literacy in South African schools. The first project uses Sun MicrosystemsStarOffice in the Dominican Convent School and is currently being rolled out.
"Schools are the starting place for teaching and if children are taught correctly how to make full use of a software package then they enjoy the long term benefits of computer literacy," explains Adrian Grewar, owner of the Komena Development Group, the driver behind the project to introduce this software to as many schools as possible.
Grewar believes that software like word processing and spreadsheets will help students to learn skills such as typing, calculations, formula sheets, graphics and presentations, all of which are vital in the modern working world.
Grewar says; "StarOffice is one of the best office packages I have seen on the market due to its stability, reliability and cost-effectiveness."
Sun Microsystems supports the vision of freely available software and purchased the software development company, StarDivision in August last year (1999). Now Sun is able to provide people with a complete suite of office software that is completely free of charge.
To date more than 3.3 million copies of StarOffice have been downloaded and distributed worldwide. Locally Sun Microsystems SA has distributed 5 000 copies of StarOffice 5.2 since May of this year.
Due to Sun's policy, schools are now able to keep up with office technology without major expenses. Many schools are suffering from financial issues and with StarOffice they obtain software legally and are able to offer office training to their students.
"StarOffice 5.2 builds upon Sun's vision to deliver high quality, no-cost office productivity software to users of the Solaris operating environment, Linux and Windows operating systems," explains Tertius Bezuidenhout, national systems engineer manager at Sun Microsystems SA.
"It's impressive to see a company like Sun Microsystems offer something back to the public," says Grewar.
The Dominican Convent School, the first school to receive the StarOffice software from Komena Development, is in the process of implementing 30 copies of the software. The next school to receive the StarOffice software will be Eastgate Primary.
"We are very excited about StarOffice and its implementation in our school. We are looking forward to seeing how well our students relate to the software and how it will benefit our role as teachers," says Sister Natalie Kuhn, headmistress of the Dominican Convent school.
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