Microsoft is offering another free download aimed at the education market. Learning Essentials provides the following resources:

Learning Essentials adds curriculum-based templates and toolbars to Microsoft Office Word, PowerPoint, and Excel to guide students and teachers through projects. There is a separate set of tools for teachers and students. Some language versions include tools to create e-learning content.

Educator and Student Centers

Centers give educators and students a starting place for common assignments and tasks and guide them through a customizable interface to encourage project completion.

Templates & Toolbars

Templates help educators and students get beyond the blank page and produce high-quality work. Readily available toolbars bring together Office resources and commands for writing, presentations, math and science, and foreign languages.

Tutorials & Project Assistance

“Just in time” guidance and coaching from leading education publishers and expert Microsoft Office users can be seen side-by-side with work in progress. Handy Checklists help track progress within an assignment.

Microsoft has made some interesting additions to its free downloads and Learning Essentials could be useful for both students and teachers.