My 11 year old has had a free office 365 account from his school for two years already. They do all of their assignments on it (word, powerpoint primarily). I do understand how much easier this makes it for teachers as well – and the teachers unions are running the show more than the administration. (In Canada, anyway. All school decisions are basically decided upon by existing collective bargaining).

I believe that if we could get teachers and teachers unions to champion this cause it would get a far better chance of succeeding. Of course, they tend to look out for their best interests over the students as well….