Software for Your Laptop

iLife Suite
The iLife Suite that comes bundled on your Mac will allow you to do the majority of the creative, multimedia projects required of education students. However, here are some other software packages you may want to consider.

Productivity Package
A useful productivity package would consist of word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software. This is something you are going to want to install on your computer right away. The most common productivity package used is Microsoft Office, which is available for the Mac. However, there are several options to consider. The following table outlines the options available, along with pros and cons of each.

Product	Price	Pros	Cons
Microsoft Office	$79.98	Many students are already familiar with this. Documents are cross-platform, opening on both Macs & PCs. Supported on campus. The college's Microsoft partnership with WAICU offers great pricing.	Most expensive of all solutions.
Apple iWork	$71, or $41 pre-installed	Interfaces with iLife. Offers a "new" look and feel to documents. Imports and exports with Microsoft documents. Free trial available for download.	Not available in labs on campus.
OpenOffice	Free	Cross-platform solution, available for Macs and PCs. Opensource software, which means free. Imports and exports with Microsoft documents.	Not as many features as a commercial product. Opensource means bugs are not always readily fixed.
NeoOffice	Free	Opensource productivity suite designed specifically for the Mac. "Aqua" interface for the Mac look and feel. Imports and exports with Microsoft documents.	Not as many features as a commercial product. Opensource means bugs are not always readily fixed.
GoogleDocs	Free	Web-based, cross-platform productivity suite. Imports and exports with Microsoft documents. Documents stored online, so available anytime, anywhere.	Not as many features as a commercial product. Because it is web-based, you are dependent on an internet connection.

Additional Software
This is additional software you may want to consider upon acceptance into sophomore block.

Inspiration	Inspiration is concept-mapping software that is very popular in many K-12 schools. Many of your professors use this in their education courses.
Pixie	Pixie is creativity software that is used in many elementary schools. The Green Bay Public School District has this software installed in all of their elementary schools, where education majors will most likely complete their sophomore block field placement.