Yesterday I showed students how to access their Office 365 accounts. We also started typing our short story drafts through this program.
Office 365 is a fabulous resource our district has made available to students. Through Office 365, students can access files through the internet, without needing access to the school network. This eliminates the need for students to use flash drives to be able to work on computer projects at home and school. Office 365 also makes it possible for students to use the online versions of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel - even if these programs are on their home computers.
Another great feature of Office 365 is students can share documents with one another, allowing students to collaborate together on assignments in a new, exciting way. I will admit that this can be overwhelming for us teachers, but it really opens up some creative possibilities.
With this feature, students have each been given a district email account. I took some time in class to explain that the school district owns these accounts (just like they own my own). And because these accounts are owned by the district, the district has the ability to access these accounts and their contents at any time. This includes any files students create or upload in their OneDrive accounts. While I don't say this to scare students or parents, it is good to be aware of as students grow as users of technology.
Finally... our school district provides a free download of Office 365 to any students in our district. That means families can download the software to home computers to be able to use any of the programs available through Microsoft Office (like Word, Publisher, OneNote, PowerPoint). There is an icon on our junior high webpage that will walk you through this offer.
