How to Use Office 365 for Education and Training?
Microsoft has customized its Office 365 productivity suite to cater to the unique need of schools and educational institutions. Its Office 365 for Education plans are not only significantly more affordable than commercial plans but also include additional tools and training that help students and staff take much better advantage of the solution. Only accredited academic institutions can qualify to be able to avail of the specially designed solution. Let us explore some of the unique features that are a part of the solution and how to use Office 365 for education and training.
What Are The Unique Features of Office 365 for Education Plans?
Office 365 for Education plans include all the features of their corresponding commercial plans. This includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and Office applications, among others. Some of the applications, such as Microsoft Teams, are customized to cater to the requirements of educational institutions. Additionally, a few more services and applications are a part of the suite. Let us explore how you can take advantage of these features in Office 365 for Education.
Yammer Academic
Yammer Academic is a private enterprise social network solution designed for community members of an institution to connect and engage with each other. It can be used to share information and socialize virtually. Students can use Yammer Academic to create groups for their clubs. They can receive updates on social events and discuss common interests. Faculty and staff can create polls, expand ideas, and run Community Canvas sessions.
OneNote Class Notebook
OneNote Class Notebook in Office 365 for Education can be used as a personal workspace for students. It can also be used for collaborating on lessons and creative activities apart from being used as a content library for sharing handouts. It can help teachers improve their efficiency and save time with features such as the ability to review work and manage assignments and grading.
Learning Tools
Learning Tools are built into Office 365 for Education plans. These help students improve their reading and writing skills. One of the most important features available in Learning Tools is the immersive reader capability that is available with Word, OneNote, Outlook, and other applications. Some of the other notable features are enhanced dictation, focus mode, comprehension mode, and syllabification. With Learning Tools in Office 365 for Education, educators can use proven techniques to facilitate learning.
School Data Sync
School Data Sync is a service that is available in all Office 365 for Education plans. It can be used to read school and roster data directly from the Student Information System (SIS) to simplify class management. With Microsoft School Data Sync, it is possible to create groups and classes in Microsoft Teams, Intune for Education, as well as third-party applications to share data with larger audiences.
Classroom Experiences in Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams for Education is an ideal platform for creating safe collaborative spaces for virtual meetings, live classes, and even sharing assignment feedbacks. With Teams in Office 365 for Education, admins can configure additional policies for safe use, such as the ability to prevent primary-secondary students from creating teams on the platform. There is greater flexibility in customizing user experience with appropriate policies and additional features for educators to create and manage teams.
Apps4Rent Can Help with Office 365 for Education
Office 365 for Education is an important solution for modern academic institutions. Not only is it more affordable than its commercial counterparts, but it also includes some important tools and features to facilitate teaching, learning, and collaboration. As a Tier 1 Microsoft CSP, Apps4Rent can help implement and customize Office 365 Education for authorized academic institutions. Contact our Microsoft certified experts available 24/7 via phone, chat, and email for plans and implementation assistance.
