Office 365 and its suite of services are coming to Sheridan College! (Sheridan Insider Post: September 11, 2017) The Office 365 Project Team will run a pilot of the two Office 365 services, Office Online and OneDrive for Business, throughout the Fall and Winter terms with an expected launch date of these services in the Spring of 2018. Both services will be provided to Staff, Faculty and Students.
Other Office 365 services are on the Office 365 deployment roadmap for release, but will be evaluated and released only if they meet the needs of the organization.
During the pilot of these two services, the Office 365 Project Team invites members of the Sheridan community (Staff, Faculty and Students) to become members of the Office 365 Pilot Team (see the “Becoming a Pilot Member” section of this communication).
What is Office Online?
Office Online is Microsoft’s Office 365 online suite of applications, which allows users to create and edit files using easily accessible web browser-based versions of the Microsoft Office apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.
Word Online
- Create and edit great-looking resumes, newsletters, and documents, and invite others to review and co-author in real time.
- Save time with free templates, including formatting tools for MLA, APA, and Chicago style requirements.
- Add functionality with free Office add-ins—like the Wikipedia add-in for quick and easy online research as you write.
Excel Online
- Organize and analyze your data in familiar Excel spreadsheets and workbooks. All your changes are automatically saved as you type.
- Visualize your information with modern charts and graphs that turn columns of numbers into valuable insights.
- Collaborate online in real time knowing that everyone is working with the latest version.
PowerPoint Online
- Turn your ideas into compelling presentations in minutes using professional-looking templates. All for free.
- Add interest to your slides using animations, transitions, photos, and online videos.
- Co-author with your team on the same presentation at the same time, from anywhere.
OneNote Online
- Access your notes from a wide range of devices in any location you have internet access.
- No more paper printouts – go fully digital with your sharing and collaboration of notes.
- Make your meetings more effective with shared meeting notes.
What is OneDrive for Business?
OneDrive for Business is an integral part of Office 365, and provides a place in the cloud where you can store, share, and sync your work files. You can update and share your files from any device with OneDrive for Business. You can even work on Office documents with others at the same time.
Automatic File Storage Sync and Backups To The Cloud
Securely store and share files from anywhere. OneDrive offers native desktop, browser and mobile experiences on your devices. Access and make changes that sync automatically in the cloud or sync local copies of files for offline viewing and editing on your PC or Mac.
Share and Collaborate With People Inside and Outside Sheridan
Work faster and smarter with anyone inside or outside Sheridan. OneDrive enables real-time co-authoring in familiar desktop apps like Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and saves you time with a single click to attach files to emails in Outlook. Use built-in search and discover tools to find the most relevant files and let others find your work.
Stay Connected
Stay connected with your files and folders from anywhere. OneDrive mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Windows present the best Office experience, beautifully rendered on your favorite devices. Access files and folders in OneDrive when you’re on the go.
Want to learn more about OneDrive for Business?
Click the Image Below To Learn More About OneDrive For Business
Benefits of Storing Files in the Cloud
When you store your files in the cloud, you can:
- Access and update files from anywhere on any device.
- Share documents and files with others.
- View online documents and files on your Windows phone, iOS, or Android devices.
- Manage your business files on the road.
- Collaborate on documents with others at the same time.
- Synchronize files from the cloud service to your desktop and work with them offline.
- Because your document is online, you can share it by sending a link instead of an email attachment.
Want to Learn More About Office 365?
If you would like to learn more about Office 365 and the services it provides, please visit Sheridan’s library resource of video learning materials at lynda.sheridancollege.ca and search for “Office 365”.
Or you can take a look at Microsoft’s training videos about Workplace training scenarios, which may provide some insight into how you might use Office 365 services in the future.
Becoming a Pilot Member
The purpose of the pilot is to test the Office Online and OneDrive for Business services with a limited number of users in order to ensure that the services and the environment are ready for all users. During the pilot, only the selected Pilot Members and Project Team will have exclusive access to these services for testing purposes. The Project Team will only be accepting the first 20 Staff volunteers, 20 Faculty volunteers and 20 Student volunteers that submit the Pilot Member Agreement form prior to November 20, 2017.
Pilot Members will be asked to provide up to 4 hours per month to:
- Complete step-by-step, instructed testing of both services that will be provided by the Project Team
- Provide feedback to the Project Team about their user experience and any service or quality issues they may encounter
Pilot Members will receive:
- Early access to the Office 365 services that will roll out to the Sheridan community at the end of the pilot period
- Online and self-help resources to assist in learning the features and functions of Office Online and OneDrive for Business services
- Technical support from IT to ensure successful setup and troubleshooting of the services being piloted.
If you are interested on becoming a Pilot Member of the Office Online and OneDrive for Business services, please visit the link below to complete the Pilot Member Agreement. Only individuals that agree to all acknowledgements in the agreement will be eligible to become a Pilot Member. Once you have submitted the form, someone from the Office 365 Project Team will confirm your enrollment into the pilot.
Microsoft Forms – Pilot Member Agreement
Questions
If you have any questions regarding the pilot project or the Office 365 rollout, please send an email to o365@sheridancollege.ca and the Project Team will respond to your question as soon as possible.
We look forward to hearing from you,
Office 365 Project Team
Email: o365@sheridancollege.ca