Google and Microsoft are two of the largest companies in the world. They make a variety of products but they both have made applications for office use. These include examples like Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets but the two I’m focused on are Microsoft Word and Google Docs.
These types of applications are called “word processing tools,” and there are many of these out there. Apple Pages and Adobe InCopy just to name a couple, but there’s an abundance of word processing tools. Microsoft Word and Google Docs are the most prominent on the Fresno City College campus.
Docs and Word at FCC
When it comes to writing assignments or general work, students and faculty have many options as to which applications they can use. Two big examples on campus are Google Docs and Microsoft Word.
Fresno City College offers Word for free for students through Microsoft 365, while Docs is already free and accessible to anyone with a Google account.
Many students and faculty use both applications to work, all having their reasons for using said applications.
The Rampage ran a poll on our website and instagram showing that 82.9% (63/76) of people use Docs while 17.1% (13/76) use Word.
Alissia Christman, a studio arts major at FCC, said she uses Docs because she’s been using it since high school.
“It’s been working well so I don’t know why I would change what I use,” Christman said.
She believes that most freshmen use Docs because they’ve also been using it throughout their high school years too. She also thinks it’s easier and simpler to use than Google.
Full-time English professor Joseph Voth at FCC said he prefers his students use Word and that he uses Word outside of class.
“We have this Canvas system, which we’re not required to use, but we default to,” Voth said. “It has sometimes given us trouble with things like Google Docs in terms of opening it [assignments].”
Privacy online for students is another reason he prefers students use Word over Docs. In Google’s privacy policy they do state that they collect and have access to content you create like emails or documents.
Voth said Docs has its positives, like community editing and the easy accessibility of it, but said Word is freely available to students too and has privacy that Docs doesn’t.
There are no regulations at FCC for which applications students or faculty should be using for assignments and work, so everyone is free to pick their respective word processing tool.
Which Is Better?
As a student who used Docs throughout all 12 years of school, I am biased towards Docs. I never got to use Word as a student growing up and Docs seems like the easier tool to use. I tried using Word for a little but it didn’t stick for me.
I do agree with the sentiment that most students use Docs because they used it throughout their early school years. It really depends on the school, if they used Microsoft or Google to create student emails.
It makes sense that faculty leans towards Word, considering the fact that FCC uses Microsoft to make student emails. It’s just easier using Word than using a product outside of the Microsoft bubble.
Personally, I don’t think you should pay for some of Microsoft’s products, like Excel, which is a spreadsheet program. Google Sheets is also a spreadsheet program but it’s free, a lot of Google’s products are free actually.
The only issue I have with Google’s products is that they don’t keep things truly private. As I mentioned before, Google’s privacy policy says that they have access to all documents you create, like emails. But if it means I get quality products for free then I have no problem with that privacy issue.
Some people do have a problem with that privacy issue though, which makes things tricky for most. Do you pay for a product that’s free everywhere else for the sake of being safe online, or do you give up your privacy for free and quality products? I think it all really depends on what bubble you’re in. If you already have a handful of Google products you use daily, then Docs is just easier and more convenient to use, and the same for Word.
There are many options besides just Docs and Word though. There’s so many word processing tools waiting to be found, so maybe try something new and look at what these other applications have to offer.
