<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[West Des Moines Community Schools Technology]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://wdmtech.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Brian Abeling]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://wdmtech.wordpress.com/author/wdmtech/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Microsoft discounts for students ENDS FEB&nbsp;29th!]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://wdmtech.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/office1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="1461" data-permalink="https://wdmtech.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/microsoft-discounts/office-2/" data-orig-file="https://wdmtech.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/office1.jpg" data-orig-size="280,180" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="office" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://wdmtech.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/office1.jpg?w=280" data-large-file="https://wdmtech.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/office1.jpg?w=280" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1461" title="office" src="https://wdmtech.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/office1.jpg?w=280&#038;h=180" alt="" width="280" height="180" srcset="https://wdmtech.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/office1.jpg 280w, https://wdmtech.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/office1.jpg?w=150&amp;h=96 150w" sizes="(max-width: 280px) 100vw, 280px" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Last Chance to Save on Microsoft Products! </strong></p>
<p>For several years, we have been able to provide students discounts on Mi­crosoft Office and Windows software for home use. (Ex­ample: Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010, retail $499, discounted price $89.95). These discounts have been signifi­cantly less than what you’d find in retail stores. However, Microsoft has announced that all student discounts will end after Feb 29th, 2012. </p>
<p>If you anticipate needing Mi­crosoft software for your home/ personal computer, order today to insure you get the best price possible. Orders can be placed online by going to <a href="http://www.journeyed.com/Select">http://www.JourneyEd.com/Select</a>.   Note: All students can request this pricing, so parents of kindergartners could even order at these prices.</p>
<p><strong>Q1.  Where can I place an order? </strong> <a href="http://www.journeyed.com/Select">http://www.JourneyEd.com/Select</a></p>
<p><strong>Q2.  Who made this decision? Do you think the offer will come back again?</strong><br />
The decision was made by Microsoft.  What we&#8217;ve heard from vendors indicates that student discounts will stop &#8211; and that any future discounts will not be nearly the quality of discount that is currently available.</p>
<p><strong>Q3. Has the district researched other options that will enable us to continue to provide discounts to students/families?</strong><br />
Yes, we have talked with several distributors &#8211; but they are unable to offer student/family discounts as the program was discontinued by Microsoft.</p>
<p><strong>Q4. Are there other alternatives to consider besides Microsoft Office?<br />
</strong>Yes, the following alternatives are available&#8230;</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><strong>Option #1)</strong>  Use the free online version of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that are available to students through the Microsoft service called Live@EDU.  For more information, visit:  <a href="http://wp.me/p1JF02-3t">http://wp.me/p1JF02-3t</a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><strong>Option #2)</strong>  <strong>OpenOffice</strong> is a free productivity software package that is compatible with Microsoft Office documents.  More information at <a href="http://www.openoffice.org/">http://www.openoffice.org</a></p>
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