Three Microsoft 365 Apps for Engaging Learners

 When it comes to schoolwork, many students are greatly familiar with Microsoft 365 and its many popular applications like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. They have been the pinnacle of a student’s work whether they needed to make a presentation, write an essay, create a graph, or anything in between. However, Microsoft 365 is more than just those three softwares. Other applications like Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive can prove beneficial by acting as a bridge for collaboration in a student-to-teacher and student-to-student setting. Here, the focus will be on three select applications that are versatile for all students and learning scenarios.

Microsoft Word

            In a learning environment, students will inevitably have to write, and Word will be there for them to fulfill their formatting, length, or design needs. Most students have used Word for just writing essays or short answers. In terms of BLOOM’s taxonomy, this would fall low on either remembering or understanding. It is not a bad thing, but it does leave Word’s capabilities underutilized. Word gives the user the ability to make more visually oriented products like brochures, flyers, newsletters, and even flashcards with the right formatting. In a biology class, I could task students to create a brochure on a real or fictional natural park or nature reserve and include pictures and information on the wildlife and environment. It would be much more engaging to them as well as be higher up in BLOOM’s. Additionally, for students who are English learners, Word does include language translation as well as Read Aloud in order to assist in understanding the vocabulary.

Microsoft Teams

        In a world where distance learning has become an increasingly normal experience, communication platforms like Teams proved to be essential. In a school setting, Teams can be used as a virtual class where a teacher can give their lesson to a number of connected students. Granted, virtual classes require access to a device like a smartphone or computer as well as an internet connection, but when everything is running smoothly, it is just as effective as an in-person class. Teams is incredibly useful in terms of collaboration as that is one of its main focuses. At the touch of a button, a student that needs help is able to instantly talk to their teacher no matter where they are. Likewise, students can collaborate with each other to work on assignments or simply just to get together to study. Additionally, due to the visual nature of video conferencing, images can go hand in hand with a lecture to provide optimal engagement and allow students to grasp knowledge the best way they can.

OneDrive

  

            Although its versatility seems limited, OneDrive can surely prove to be an especially valuable application when it comes to resource management and sharing. As briefly touched on before, not all students will have access to a smart device or internet, yet those that do may not have the means of acquiring additional storage. Many devices that would be considered budget-friendly often times come with limited physical storage space. Free OneDrive access allows 5GB of storage, but schools will often give students their own account with storage capabilities of up to even 6TB which would be more than enough for a single student. Apart from the access to file storage, OneDrive allows the sharing of these files. Once again, students are able to collaborate and compare their work to each other to further increase their understanding of a subject. Students would also be able to get feedback from their teacher by easily being able to send the teacher their work. A combination of Teams and OneDrive would even give the possibility of having a quick meeting with a student or students to get feedback in real-time.

        
    Students need access to applications that will allow them to not only create but collaborate and engage. These three applications are sure to do just that if used to their fullest potential. Intellectually, students would be as stimulated as they would be in a physical classroom but at the comfort of their own homes instead.