Microsoft Office - Resistance is futile...

When I think about Microsoft Office, no positive connotations come to mind. Powerpoint is always linked to feelings of nervousness, before a presentation in cold room on a rainy Monday morning. When thinking about Word, I can't help but think about the countless hours spent writing my dissertation, hours spent slowly realising that any social life I once had, was now gone. Arguably, Publisher provides the worst memories. Opening Publisher has always been related to feelings of annoyance, that what I was about to do will be completely pointless, as it always seemed to be a leaflet on healthy eating (or something just as mundane).

Microsoft Office evokes different feelings from different people. This woman has just worked out how to italicize her writing.

However, despite my negative outlook on Microsoft Office, it does have its pro's. The functionality on most programs is simple, once you've had a play around with the software. Most importantly, in academic terms, Office is vital. When presented with a piece of work, regardless of what format the work is, Office can do it. Dissertation? Office can do it. Leaflet on the health risks caused by smoking? Office can do it. Presentation on how the Battle of Hastings was won? Office can do it. Advice on what do to once you've graduated? Office can do it (probably).

There is nothing that Microsoft Office can't do (probably)

This blog is supposed to highlight my perceived competence with Microsoft Office, talking about my usage of the software, and when I use it. I've used it pretty much non-stop for as long as I can remember, in some capacity. The majority of my life has been in education, in institutions where Office is unavoidable. It has aided my learning, and allowed me to streamline the creation process. In employment, it allowed me to collate and store information effectively, leading to a far easier working day for me. In teaching, it has allowed me to construct assignment briefs and guides, making it easier for my students to achieve good grades. At this moment, I probably couldn't complete my PGCE without Word, which is the highest accolade that I could give to it.

In terms of teaching, Office is an all encompassing package which can aid many facets of teaching. As previously spoken about, Word allows for documents to be created, from assignments to feedback forms. Publisher can create module leaflets, to be given to students when they start the course. 

PowerPoint enables course content to be presented in an attractive manner, engaging students more than having them read off a piece of paper. Most lessons, I utilise a PowerPoint presentation, taking the pressure off me talking for 90 minutes. Excel allows for detailed mathematics functions to be undertaken, and vast spreadsheets to be created. When marking work, I record all of the students marks in a large spreadsheet. From this, I can quickly work out their average marks, and inform them of what grades they need to obtain a certain amount of UCAS points. 

Looking at Office as a whole, it seems that it has made my life a lot easier, for as long as I can remember. Despite this, it is ingrained into my brain that I severely dislike Office. For something that has helped me so much in my learning, I can't help shake the raging hatred that I have for the software. To be clear, this is not an attack on Office. This is an attack on me. 

Hopefully, this blog makes clear just how useful Microsoft Office is, whether you want to believe it or not. Writing this blog has made me realise that my feelings are completely unjustified, and that I an certainly inferior to Office. That isn't a surprise really, as Office is the best thing ever (probably).