OneNote Class Notebook add-in now includes grade scales, improved LMS integration and sticker customization

onenote for classroom updates - managed solution

OneNote Class Notebook add-in now includes grade scales, improved LMS integration and sticker customization

 As written on blogs.office.com
Since launching the OneNote Class Notebook add-in a year ago, hundreds of thousands of teachers have downloaded and started using the add-in. Teachers all over the world have saved time in distributing assignments, individualizing learning, connecting to their existing systems’ assignments/grades and reviewing student work all within Class Notebooks.
First-grade teacher at the Ashton Elementary School, Rachel Montisano, said, “Now, with two clicks, I can send out all the tabs/pages I created or wanted to share with the students. Truly remarkable! Microsoft had just given me a tool that made me an even more effective teacher and gave me time back!”
Today’s updates for the Class Notebook add-in for OneNote desktop update include:

Grade scale support for Canvas and Skooler

Last spring, we released Assignment and Grade integration for the OneNote Class Notebook. A top request from teachers and schools using Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Student Information Systems (SIS) has been to support additional assignment values beyond just 1-100 points. Many LMS and SIS have richer grade scales—such as custom points, letter grades, pass/fail, percentages—and teachers want to be able to have more flexibility in the assignments they create.
Today, we are releasing the initial updates to allow grade scale support, depending on the LMS or SIS being used. The first two partners that support grades scales are Canvas and Skooler. The Class Notebook add-in will support different grade scales, based on what the specific LMS or SIS supports.
In the example below, a teacher can choose a “Letter Grade” type when creating the assignment, and the assignment will be created in Canvas with that attribute. When the teacher goes to enter grades under the Review Student Work choice, a letter grade can be entered.
Example of grade scale support in Canvas.

Skooler joins the OneNote add-in family

Today, we welcome Skooler to the Class Notebook add-in family for assignment and grade support. Watch the Getting Started with Skooler video to learn more. As mentioned above, our Skooler integration will also add grade scale support.
To see the current list of committed education partners, please visit our new OneNote Education Partners page.

Stickers—now includes the ability to customize

Last month, we announced the arrival of stickers for OneNote Online and Windows 10. Today, the Class Notebook add-in for OneNote 2013 and OneNote 2016 for the desktop includes stickers, including the ability to customize them. To add a sticker to your page, check the Insert menu after you install the latest version of the add-in. We will release more sticker packs in the future—based on student and teacher feedback—so stay tuned!
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Customizable stickers in OneNote desktop.
Since the school year started, we’ve been making improvements to the Class Notebook add-in for OneNote on the desktop. To update your OneNote Class Notebook add-in, just click the Update button on your toolbar to download and install the latest version. If you’ve never installed the Class Notebook add-in, you can get it from the OneNote Class Notebook website.

Taking Office 365 to the College Campus

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Taking Office 365 to the College Campus

By Kelly Cronin
Before Office 365, I was using a $5 planner from Target, some Word documents, some Google Docs, a million Notes in my iPhone, and Five-Star Notebooks to take notes in class, stay "organized", and keep both my personal life and grades afloat.  Although plenty of people had told me about cool note-taking tools, I was a stubborn college student that thought whatever I was doing was good enough.  When I first started my internship with Managed Solution, I was taught how to use almost all of the Office 365 apps, which I never thought I would be using in my personal life. The more used to the apps I got, the more I realized how much they could help me outside of work too. Here's how Office 365 can be used for any college student looking to stay organized and productive:

Let's start with OneNote.

My boss was not exaggerating when she told me OneNote is life.  I first used OneNote for school by keeping all my syllabi in one place.  Before, I had to constantly re-download the syllabus for each class just to look at the class schedule, rules about assignments, and how to contact the professor.  With OneNote, I keep all of this information in one place, both on my computer and my phone, so no matter where I am I can instantly check out the syllabus for any of my classes.  OneNote lets you drag and drop files into a document, so you can click on the document, or you can choose to have the document uploaded as text, so you'll see exactly what comes from that document in your OneNote as text. I prefer to have both:
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My study guides have gotten a major makeover thanks to OneNote.  I re-type all my notes from class and any added points from lecture slides into OneNote to create the ultimate study guide, where I can easily bold, highlight, make tables, lists, and even add images into any of my notes. Since I can keep these in the same section as my other class notes and info, I don't have to keep track of a gazillion documents like with Google Drive.  OneNote also has "tags" that can let me mark things as important, set up as a reminder, or create a check-box for a to-do list. The best part is while I'm walking over to my exam, I can pull up my study guide on my OneNote mobile app and do some last minute cramming.
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Did I already mention you can take OneNote anywhere?  When you need to print something, having a copy of your document wherever you go is pretty much every college student's life saver.  For starters, almost none of us have an actual working printer (there are currently three broken printers sitting in my house), which I now consider a mythical creature at this point. This means we have to constantly send ourselves documents to print at the library right before class.  When you already have a million things to do that week and you were up cramming all night for three exams, forgetting to send yourself your study guide is basically a given.  Office 365 finally came up with the best solution to make sure your grades don't suffer from your brain overloads.  OneNote can be accessed online with your Microsoft account.  OneNote Online will automatically have all the notebooks and pages you have in your OneNote so you can access your notes and documents from any device.  Instead of worrying about whether or not my file will open from my email, I have peace of mind knowing as long as I put something in my OneNote, I can access it from anywhere with OneNote Online.

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Planner - Time to get organized.

 Every college student knows the secrets to procrastination - pretend you're actually being productive even while putting off all of your assignments.  One of the best is making lists of things you have to do (and then not actually do them until tomorrow).  Planner in Office 365 gives you a simplified, satisfying way to keep up with all of your tasks.  As the end of the semester gets busier and busier, I've been completely reliant on adding tasks into my Planner to make sure I keep track of absolutely every thing I have to do.  To start, I set up different groups that organize what needs to be done:
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As I create a new task, I can add notes about what needs to be done, set a date for when it needs to be done by, and make comments as I work on it.  Adding details about all my tasks helps me look in one place and one place only for all I need to know about what to get done.  For mass amounts of paperwork to fill out, I can add a checklist for each item, so I need what I've done already and how much more is left to do.
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Ace presentations with Sway.

 No matter what your major is, every semester you will create at least one presentation, typically with a group, to present to the class.  Google slides are often the top choice for group projects, as just about everyone has a Gmail account to use and collaborate on the project with.  But Google slides editing features are extremely limited.  Minimal slide themes, limited font formatting options, and few visualization selections make each presentation seem almost, if not exactly, the same.  Sway in Office 365 is an easy fix to sprucing up a presentation, and it is just as easy to use as Google slides or PowerPoint.
One of the best parts about Sway is it's complete customization.  You can add different cards: Headers, Text, Image sliders, Image galleries (in multiple varieties), Videos, Tweets, Audio, and more.  You can even embed a Sway within a Sway (yes that's Sway-ception).  These can be grouped together by heading, so instead of having seven separate slides all relating to one topic, Sway can keep them all grouped together.

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If you need a more eye catching color theme, or want to change the font and feel of the text throughout the presentation, use the Design feature:

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Sway offers tutorials and guides on how to do just about anything the application has to offer.  And since Sway can be used in Office 365 online, your presentation is automatically saved and can be accessed anywhere.  Still not convinced?  Check out one of my latest, interactive Sways:

Start getting professional on Word.

College isn't just about taking classes and passing exams (and beer pong).  Starting your career often begins in college.  With helpful professional templates on word, building a solid resume can be completely simplified.  Choose from a variety of templates, from crisp and clean to creative and captivating.  Inputting your information into the template is quick and easy, so you can worry more about what goes into your resume than how you need to format it.

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If you're like me, you've probably applied to hundreds of part-time jobs and internships when you should be doing schoolwork.  Needless to say, you need your resume on pretty much any device, whether it's to update your website link or to print from your friend's computer.  When you use Word Online with Office 365, your work automatically saves as you make changes.  This makes sure your documents don't get lost between sending yourself a million email attachments every time you switch devices.  You can access your word files from anywhere, and make changes as needed.  Update resumes and cover letters alike, without worrying about whether or not you've saved the latest version.

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Making the most of Office 365.

Nobody says college will be easy, but Office 365 is here to help.  When you start working on new classes, learn how to do your own laundry, and lose your voice at every Saturday football game, college can seem like a complete whirlwind.  Use the Office 365 tools for education to keep track of everything going on in your life.  Not only will you learn how to use tools for the modern workplace, Office 365 can help you stay on track to make sure college is the best four years of your life.

Georgia State University tackles malware with Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection

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Georgia State University tackles malware with Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection

By Ren Flot, chief information security officer and director of cyber security at Georgia State University as written on blogs.office.com
As the chief information security officer at Georgia State University, my job is focused on balancing the needs of an academic community—where faculty and students value broad access and flexibility in online research—with the security requirements of a large enterprise. Advancing both these requirements calls for a proactive approach to combating malware. In a threat landscape that is constantly changing, I look for products that can deliver effective protection, while helping us make efficient use of our cyber security team’s time and resources. To meet these needs, we acquired Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection to increase email security for our more than 55,000 students and more than 6,000 faculty and staff.
The cyber security team at Georgia State University had noticed a steady uptick in malware attacks, particularly phishing, and it felt like we were fighting fires every day. The security of our university community in digital spaces is an important priority, so we aimed to get ahead of the problem. It was clear that an additional layer of security was needed. To address the issue, we selected Advanced Threat Protection, because detection and protection against malware attacks would be handled within a Microsoft cloud environment, freeing up time for us to focus on other security and IT tasks.
After deploying the solution to a pilot group, we saw a significant reduction in the number of malicious emails reaching our users, and by the time we completed our implementation, we had reduced the number of emails that got through with malicious content by more than 2,000 messages over a five-month period. Today, Advanced Threat Protection has become an important part of the toolset that is helping us take a proactive stance against malware. This hosted email filtering solution also interoperates very smoothly with our Office 365 email system, providing a highly secure productivity platform.
And implementation was accomplished quickly and easily, with support from Microsoft FastTrack. Our team has also found the management controls and user-based settings available within the solution to be very configurable, an advantage given the range of user groups—faculty, staff and students—that we have to consider in the higher education environment. The Safe Links feature has been particularly useful in our environment, because students share a lot of links while working on projects, and it has performed well at helping prevent inadvertent access to malware through links and attachments. The solution is seamless from a user experience perspective, and the product is unobtrusive, working efficiently in the background.
Georgia State University’s security profile has been significantly enhanced as it relates to email through use of Advanced Threat Protection. Today, we have a solution that is nearly invisible, while providing staff and students a safer environment in which to work and study.

Computer Science Education Week

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computer-science-education-week-manage-solutionComputer Science Education Week

By Kelly Cronin
The first full week of December is Computer Science Education Week, celebrating the importance of computer science education for both students and educators alike.  Computer science education has the power to shape our future, and it is becoming more and more prevalent in classrooms all over the country.  Take a look at how new technologies are benefitting computer science education.

Managed Solution displayed the HoloLens at CalPoly Cyber Security & Awareness Fair

Managed Solution participated in the 2016 Cal Poly Pomona Cyber Security & Awareness Fair.  The fair aimed to bring awareness to the world of Cyber Security where our entire world is progressing into an internet connected world.  At the fair students and faculty got to experience a variety of speakers that have in-depth knowledge of the Cyber Security do’s and don’ts and experience in the Cyber Security field, a poster contest where students displayed their research of pressing issues in the Information Technology Industry, and a hands-on exhibit that allowed students to experience the world of a typical attacker on Internet of Things products.
Read the full press release here >>

Students demonstrate their HoloLens apps after a quarter of VR and AR design

At the University of Washington, a computer science classroom is equipping their students with HoloLens headsets to let them develop their own apps. One app developed is called HoloScanner, which redesigns the process of scanning a room and turns it into a game that can then be used for other apps. Other apps include augmented reality cooking, a painting app, and more.
Check out the HoloScanner app video and more here>>

HackingSTEM: Using Computational Thinking to Understand Earthquakes

Millions of students worldwide are in the process of discovering the possibilities of instructing machines to accomplish tasks. Whether completing the Minecraft Hour of Code tutorial, or watching a Pixar In a Box episode on Khan Academy, the spirit of discovery, experimentation and the art of Computer Science is celebrated while students build core 21st century software engineering skills.
This month, the Education Workshop has partnered with the California Academy of Sciences and KQED to combine coding with mechanical engineering and data science to empower students to use computational thinking to experience how engineers and computer scientists are working together to mitigate the impact of earthquakes.
Learn all the details here >>

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Minecraft: Education Edition officially launches

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Minecraft: Education Edition officially launches

By Sarah Perez as written on techcrunch.com
Following months of testing and free trials for early adopters, Microsoft announced this morning that its learning-focused version of the popular Minecraft game, Minecraft: Education Edition, is now available for purchase. The game is available in 50 countries and in 11 different languages, the company said, and will include the Classroom Mode companion app that lets teachers manage settings and interact with students in the game.
Microsoft had first announced its plans to develop a version of the game for educators at the beginning of the year, after acquiring the learning game MinecraftEdu for an undisclosed sum. The company then built upon that library of lessons and activities to develop programs for teachers across a variety of subjects, including STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), history, language, and art, for example.
At the time of the deal, Microsoft had said it made sense to move in this direction given that Minecraft was already being using in over 7,000 classrooms in over 40 countries worldwide, even without Minecraft’s official involvement.
With that market in mind, Minecraft: Education Edition got off the ground, and now offers lessons for kids as young as five up to teens and even college students.
Teachers were given free trials during the testing period, ahead of today’s official launch, in order to offer feedback and try Minecraft in their classrooms. The company in September said that, during these trials, over 35,000 students and teachers have used the software.
The companion app Classroom Mode was previously announced, along with the November launch date. This new app lets teachers change the variables for the world, offer up items to students, communicate with students, and transport students virtually from a central interface.
Now live, Minecraft: Education Edition is no longer free, but will instead cost $5 per user. Volume pricing will be available for larger institutions.
The software will also continue to be updated over time, notes the company, to include new game features from other editions of Minecraft. At launch, the official version includes all the latest updates previously available in the Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition beta, says Microsoft.
In addition to the software, Microsoft offers a dedicated website for educators at education.minecraft.net, where they’ll find lesson plans, tutorials, starter worlds, and collaborate with others. There’s also a more structured program called Minecraft Mentors available, which will team a teacher new to Minecraft with others with experience to learn how to use it in the classroom.

 

Cal Poly Pomona students, faculty & President experience Microsoft HoloLens at their Cyber Security & Awareness Fair

Managed Solution displayed the HoloLens at CalPoly Cyber Security & Awareness Fair

San Diego, CA. On October 25, 2016, Managed Solution participated in the 2016 Cal Poly Pomona Cyber Security & Awareness Fair.  The fair aimed to bring awareness to the world of Cyber Security where our entire world is progressing into an internet connected world.  At the fair students and faculty got to experience a variety of speakers that have in-depth knowledge of the Cyber Security do's and don'ts and experience in the Cyber Security field, a poster contest where students displayed their research of pressing issues in the Information Technology Industry, and a hands-on exhibit that allowed students to experience the world of a typical attacker on Internet of Things products.
At the event, Managed Solution demonstrated Microsoft HoloLens for education to over twenty interested ticket holders.  The President, IT Staff, and select students got to experience the world of mixed reality and try out an application to see how they could learn with mixed reality in the classroom. Faculty and student developers tested the HoloLens for the first time and will be getting their own devices in the classroom in the next few weeks to collaborate on mixed reality application development in the classroom. Managed Solution is excited to work with the future generation of mixed reality developers and stay in touch to share their successes.

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Soraya M. Coley, Ph.D., the president of Cal Poly Pomona experiencing Microsoft HoloLens for the first time.

To learn more about Managed Solution's tools for education, click here.

 

Taking higher ed even higher with Office 365 University

 

Office 365 University

 

Taking higher ed even higher with Office 365 University

By Devin Pastoor as written on blogs.office.com
My life is a whirlwind of classes, assignments, group projects, and lab work. Like most college and university students, I’ll take all the help I can get to keep organized, stay productive, and ultimately remain ahead of the learning curve.
Lucky for me, and other higher-education students striving to make sense of it all, Microsoft just released Office 365 University for college and university students.
As an early adopter of Office 365, I’ve been up and running for few months. In that short time I’ve gotten to know and love many of the new capabilities-all of which I won’t be able to do without whether I’m at school, home or work. Here are just a few:
In addition to all the things I love about using Office 365 for school, I can’t end without letting you know about all the extras that come with an Office 365 University subscription, including:

For more information on technology solutions for education, click here

Managed Solution is a full-service technology firm that empowers business by delivering, maintaining and forecasting the technologies they’ll need to stay competitive in their market place. Founded in 2002, the company quickly grew into a market leader and is recognized as one of the fastest growing IT Companies in Southern California.

We specialize in providing full managed services to businesses of every size, industry, and need.

Try it out: Windows 10 in the classroom

Try it out: Windows 10 in the classroom

As written on technet.microsoft.com
Are you an educator? If so, use this guide to learn how to use the Windows 10 operating system in your classroom. Discover how to personalize devices running Windows 10 for use in the classroom and use the built-in apps to make learning more productive and effective. The advanced user features in Windows 10 help you run and manage apps in your classroom to achieve your learning objectives more easily than other operating systems and even previous versions of Windows.

Review the lab environment

There is an online lab environment that you can use to perform the exercises in this lab. This lab environment contains all the virtual machines, users, and files that you need to complete these exercises. You can use this lab environment without charge and it is available online at all times.
Perform the following steps to access the lab environment online:
  1. In Microsoft Edge or Microsoft Internet Explorer, browse to TechNet Virtual Lab: Teacher Try-It-Out.
      Note: If you are already signed in using your Microsoft account on Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer, then you can go to step
  2. On the TechNet Virtual Labs page, click Sign In.
  3. On the Sign in page, enter your Microsoft account and corresponding password, and then click Sign in.
  4. On the TechNet Virtual Labs page, click Launch Lab. TechNet Virtual Labs builds the lab environment and displays the lab environment once completed as shown in Figure 1.

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The Content tab (as shown in Figure 1) contains the step-by-step instructions for completing the lab exercises.

The Machines tab (as shown in Figure 2) contains the list of virtual machines that you will use in the lab exercises.

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The Support tab (as shown in Figure 3) in the lab environment lists information about the lab environment and provides access to frequently asked questions about the lab interface.

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Sign in to, and personalize, Windows 10

So, you just received your new Windows 10 device. What's the first thing you'll do? Sign in. In this section, you learn how to configure your Windows 10 sign-in experience and customize it for yourself or your students.

Configure sign-in

You can sign in to Windows 10 by using a traditional password, a PIN, a picture password, or the facial-recognition capabilities in Windows Hello.

Use a PIN to sign in to Windows 10 instead of your password (similar to the PIN or password you use on your mobile device). Or, use Windows Hello, which allows a Windows 10 device to recognize you through digital imaging, such as Kinect for Windows or the Intel RealSense sensor. (Note that because no such device exists in this virtual environment, the Windows Hello feature will be disabled, even if you define a PIN.)

Windows Hello integrates with Microsoft Passport to allow other software to leverage the Windows Hello sign-in page. For example, a public website could use Microsoft Passport to authenticate a user who signed in through Windows Hello.

Finally, you can set up a picture password instead of a traditional password. With this feature, you define gestures on a picture that you can use to uniquely identify yourself.

Perform the following steps on the WIN10 virtual machine (VM) signed in as Lori Penor with a password of Passw0rd:

  1. Click Start (as shown in Figure 4), and then click Settings.

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  1. In SETTINGS, click Accounts.
  2. In ACCOUNTS, click Sign-in options.
  3. Review the options, specifically, the Passwordoption, which allows you to change your password.
  4. Under PIN, click Add.
  5. In First, verify your account password, in Password, type Passw0rd, and then click OK.
  6. In the Set up a PIN dialog box, in New PIN and Confirm PIN, type 1234, and then click OK.
  7. Under Picture password, click Add.
  8. In Create a picture password, in Password, type Passw0rd, and then click OK.
  9. In Welcome to picture password, click Choose picture.
  10. In the Open dialog box, go to Pictures, click PicturePassword, and then click Open.
  11. In How's this look, click Use this picture.
  12. In Set up your gestures, select the three gestures that you will use as your picture password. The simplest gesture is to use three mouse clicks (or touches) on the tips of three of the flower petals (as illustrated in Figure 5).Location of gestures on a picture password
    Figure 5. Location of gestures on a picture password
  13. In Confirm your gestures, repeat the three gestures that you just selected (as shown in Figure 5).
  14. In Congratulations, click Finish.
  15. Close Settings.
  16. On the Start menu, click Lori Penor, and then click Sign out (as shown in Figure 6).Location of an account
    Figure 6. Location of the Lori Penor account on the Start menu
  17. Sign in as Lori Penor by using the gestures you created.
    note icon Note: If you are unable to sign in with the picture password, you can still sign in by using Lori Penor with a password of Passw0rd.
  18. Personalize the lock screen and account pictures

In Windows 10, you can personalize the lock screen to show app status and provide essential information, even when the device is locked. This information is similar to the notifications you see on a Windows Phone device's lock screen. You can also add a picture to your account, which helps identify you as the owner of the device.

Perform the following steps to personalize the lock screen and account pictures:

  1. On the Start menu, click Settings.
  2. In SETTINGS, double-click Personalization, and then click Lock screen.
  3. Under Choose an app to show detailed status, click the plus sign (+), and then click Calendar (as shown in Figure 7).Lock screen settings
    Figure 7. Lock screen settings
  4. Under Choose apps to show quick status, click the second plus sign (+), and then click Mail.
  5. Under Choose apps to show quick status, click the third plus sign (+), and then click Alarms and Clock.
  6. In Settings, click back (as shown in Figure 8), and then click Accounts.Back button
    Figure 8. Back button in Settings
  7. In Accounts, click Your account.
  8. In Your account, under Your picture, click Browse.
  9. In the Open dialog box, go to Pictures, click LoriPenorPicture, and then click Choose picture. The picture for Lori Penor is displayed.
  10. Close Settings.

Explore Microsoft Edge

One of the important new Windows 10 features is Microsoft Edge, a web browser that provides an enhanced user experience over other web browsers, allowing you to take notes by using your finger, stylus, or mouse and keyboard on web pages. You can save your notes, and then look at them anytime. You can also share your notes with other users.

Microsoft Edge builds on the reading features found in Internet Explorer by providing Reading view, which allows you to view web pages in an easy-to-read format. Microsoft Edge also allows you to create a reading list, where you can identify web content that you want to read in the future. In addition, Microsoft Edge is the default PDF reader in Windows 10.

note icon Note: You can determine the name of a Microsoft Edge icon by hovering the mouse pointer over the icon or right-clicking the icon (as shown in Figure 9).

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Figure 9. In Microsoft Edge, hover over or right-click an icon to see its name.

Figure 10 identifies the icons on the menu bar in Microsoft Edge. Use Figure 10 as you perform these tasks to help identify the icons.

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Figure 10. Microsoft Edge menu bar icon names

Explore note taking in Microsoft Edge

In Microsoft Edge, you can make notes on any web page displayed in the browser by using your finger or a stylus on touch devices or a mouse and keyboard on non-touch devices. You can then share these notes with other teachers or students.

Perform the following steps to explore note taking in Microsoft Edge:

  1. On the taskbar, click Microsoft Edge.
  2. In Microsoft Edge, on the menu bar, click Hub, click Favorites, and then click Microsoft Edge - The Browser for Doing (as shown in Figure 11).Microsoft Edge Hub and Favorites
    Figure 11. Microsoft Edge Hub and Favorites.
  3. On the menu bar, click Make a Web Note.The Make a Web Note menu opens, as shown in Figure 12.Make a Web Note menu
    Figure 12. The Make a Web Note menu in Microsoft Edge
  4. On the Make a Web Note menu, click Pen.
  5. On the web page, click and drag the pen to draw a circle around the Introducing Microsoft Edge heading, as shown in Figure 13.
  6. On the Make a Web Note menu, click Highlighter.
  7. On the web page, click and drag the highlighter to highlight The brand new browser for doing text, as shown in Figure 13.
  8. On the Make a Web Note menu, click Add a typed note.
  9. On the web page, click next to the Introducing Microsoft Edge heading to create an empty note (as shown in Figure 13).
  10. In the note, type Need to increase the font for this heading, as shown in Figure 13.Web page with notes
    Figure 13. Web page with notes
  11. On the web page, click next to the coffee cup in the picture.
  12. In the note, click Delete (the trash can icon).
  13. On the Make a Web Note menu, click Eraser.
  14. On the web page, click the highlighting to remove it from The brand new browser for doing.
  15. From the Make a Web Note menu, click Save Web Note.
  16. In Name, type Notes on Microsoft Edge home page, and then click Add.
  17. From the Make a Web Note menu, click Share.
  18. Review the information in the Share panel, and then click elsewhere to close the Sharepanel.
  19. From the Make a Web Note menu, click Exit.
  20. In Microsoft Edge, open a new tab.
  21. On the menu, click Favorites, and then click Notes on Microsoft Edge home page. The webpage with your web notes opens. You can see all the notes and highlighting you made earlier in this section.
  22. Close the tab.
  23. Leave Microsoft Edge open for the next section.

Explore reading features in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge has many features for reading web content. Often, web pages are cluttered with advertisements and nonessential information. Reading view in Microsoft Edge eliminates the advertisements and any nonessential information from the content so that you can read it in a concise manner. Reading view retains the pertinent graphics and pictures associated with the content.

Microsoft Edge also has a reading list, which is similar to the familiar Favorites found in both Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer. The reading list is specifically designed to help you and students keep track of web content that you want to read at a later date. The process of adding items to your reading list is similar to adding a Favorite website.

Perform the following steps to explore Microsoft Edge reading features:

  1. In Microsoft Edge, open a new tab and browse to http://www.msn.com/news.
  2. Review the content on the page, and then choose a news article.
  3. In the news article you're reviewing, on the menu, click Add to favorites or reading list.
  4. In the drop-down panel, click Reading list, and then click Add. You can use the Microsoft Edge reading list to keep track of content that you want to read.
  5. On the menu, click Reading View.
  6. Leave Microsoft Edge open for the next section.

Explore Microsoft Edge PDF print and read functionality

You can print web content to PDF in Microsoft Edge (or in any other Windows 10 app). You can also read PDF files in Microsoft Edge. In this section, you browse to web content, print the page to PDF, and then view the PDF in Microsoft Edge.

Perform the following steps to explore Microsoft Edge PDF print and read functionality:

  1. In Microsoft Edge, on the menu bar, click Hub. Click Favorites, and then click Windows 10 Specifications.
  2. On the menu bar, click More actions, and then click Print (as shown in Figure 14).
    Print menu
    Figure 14. Print menu option on the More actions menu
  3. In the Print dialog box, in Printer, select Microsoft Print to PDF, and then click Print. Windows 10 displays a notification about the .pdf file being stored in the Documents folder.
  4. Close Microsoft Edge.
  5. In File Explorer, go to Documents, and then double-click Windows 10 Specifications - Microsoft.pdf.
  6. Review the .pdf file in Microsoft Edge.
  7. Minimize Microsoft Edge.

Explore the Mail and Calendar apps

Another improvement in Windows 10 are the redesigned Mail and Calendar apps. Both apps have been reimagined to provide a better user experience for both touch and mouse users. Also, both apps more closely model the familiar Microsoft Outlook user experience.

Explore the Mail app

Microsoft has made several user experience improvements in the Windows 10 Mail app. One of the design goals for the Mail app is to have a great user experience for both mouse and touch users, and the app now more closely resembles Outlook.

Perform the following steps on the WIN10 VM to explore the Windows 10 Mail app:

  1. On the Start menu, click Mail.
  2. In the Mail app, click Add account.
  3. In the Choose an account dialog box, select the type of account for your personal email account.
  4. Add your email account based on your personal information.
  5. When you have added your email account, on the Accounts page, click Open inbox.
  6. In the Inbox, select various email messages and view them in the reading pane. The menu interface at the top of the app provides a touch- and click-friendly experience for accessing email.
  7. Click Settings (the gear icon) in the lower left portion of the Mail app.
  8. In Settings, click Accounts, and then click back.
  9. In Settings, click Options.
  10. Under Notifications, select the Show a notification banner check box.
  11. Under Notifications, select the Play a sound check box, and then click away from the Settings panel to close the panel.
  12. Minimize the Mail app.

Explore the Calendar app

As with the Mail app, Microsoft redesigned the Calendar app for easy click or touch. Like Mail, the Calendar app now more closely models the calendar user experience in Microsoft Office.

Perform the following steps on the WIN10 VM to explore the Calendar app:

  1. On the Start menu, click Calendar.
  2. On the Accounts page, click Open calendar.
  3. On the menu, click Day.
  4. On the menu, click Work week.
  5. On the menu, click Week.
  6. On the calendar displayed in the left panel, click a day 2 weeks in the future.
  7. Click New event.
  8. In the new event, in Event name, type Project Update Meeting.
  9. In Location, type 12th Floor Conference Room.
  10. In Start, select 11:00 AM.
  11. On the menu Save & Close.

The event is saved and displayed in the calendar. As with the Mail app, you can see that the Calendar app is optimized for mouse and touch, providing a user experience that mirrors Outlook.

Access apps, data, and information

You can access your apps, data, and information by using the Windows 10 Start menu, Cortana, and the taskbar. In this section, you learn how to access your apps, data, and information more quickly and easily than in previous versions of Windows.

Start apps by using the Start menu

The new Start menu in Windows 10 is an elegant blend of the Windows 7 Start menu and the Windows 8.1. Start screen. Perform the following steps to start apps from the Start menu:

  1. Click Start, and then click All apps.
  2. In the list of apps, scroll down to Microsoft Office 2013. Expand Microsoft Office 2013, and then click Word 2013.
  3. Close Microsoft Word 2013.
  4. On the Start menu, click All apps.
  5. Click above the list of apps (which brings up an alphanumeric matrix).
  6. In the alphanumeric matrix, click M. Expand Microsoft Office 2013, and then click Excel 2013.
  7. Close Microsoft Excel 2013.
    note icon Note: Starting apps by using the Start menu in Windows 10 is similar to the user experience in Windows 7 for keyboard and mouse users.
  8. Press Windows logo key+A to open the Windows 10 Action Center.
  9. In the Action Center, click Tablet mode.
  10. Click Start. The Start menu now takes up the entire screen, just like in Windows 8.1. In tablet mode, Windows 10 converts to a touch-friendly user interface (UI). Although you made this change manually, Windows 10 can automatically detect whether the device is in tablet mode, a feature called Continuum.
  11. In the upper left corner of the Start menu, click the menu icon (three horizontal lines). The same UI you saw previously for keyboard and mouse interaction appears.
  12. Press Windows logo key+A to open the Windows 10 Action Center.
  13. In the Action Center, click Tablet mode. The Start menu reverts to the keyboard-and-mouse-friendly UI. Again, you made this change manually, but in a convertible device (such as the Surface Pro 3) this change would happen automatically if you added or removed the keyboard.
  14. Click anywhere on the screen to close the Start menu.

Find apps, data, and information by using Cortana

Cortana allows you to search your local device and the Internet for apps, data, and information. You can access Cortana by using your keyboard or by voice command. Perform the following steps to find apps, data, and information by using Cortana:

  1. On the taskbar, in Search the web and Windows, type Word. Cortana returns a list of results. At the top of that list is the locally installed copy of Word 2013.
  2. On the taskbar, in Search the web and Windows, type LoriPenor. Cortana returns a list of results. At the top of that list is the LoriPenorPicture.png file that you selected earlier for the user profile.
  3. On the taskbar, in Search the web and Windows, type Windows 10. Cortana returns a list of results, including local files that have Windows 10 in the name, web searches that relate to Windows 10, and apps in the Windows Store that relate to Windows 10.
  4. On the taskbar, in Search the web and Windows, type What is the cube root of 55. Cortana returns the correct answer (3.80295246).
  5. On the taskbar, in Search the web and Windows, type Distance between Los Angeles and New York.
  6. Click the first item in the list of results. Cortana opens Microsoft Edge. The first result in Bing is by Bing Maps, showing the driving distance between Los Angeles and New York (2,778 miles).
  7. Close Microsoft Edge.

You can perform these same tasks by using voice commands on devices equipped with a microphone.

Manage apps on the Start menu and taskbar

Managing apps on the Start menu and taskbar is again a blending of the Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 user experiences. You can pin apps to the Start menu (just as you could with the Windows 8.1 Start screen), and you can pin apps to the taskbar (just as you could in Windows 7). Perform the following steps on the WIN10 VM to manage apps on the Start menu and taskbar:

  1. On the desktop, right-click Recycle Bin, and then click Pin to Start.
  2. Click the Start menu. The Recycle Bin appears as a tile on the Start menu.
  3. On the Start menu, right-click Recycle Bin, click Resize, and then click Small. Windows 10 displays the Recycle Bin tile as a small tile.
  4. On the Start menu, right-click People, and then click Pin to Taskbar. The People app appears as an icon on the taskbar.

Run and manage apps

Running and managing apps in Windows 10 is more intuitive than in previous Windows operating systems. Desktop and Windows 10 Universal apps are treated as equals in Windows 10. Windows 10 introduces Snap Assist, which helps you snap multiple apps on your desktop for optimal viewing. Finally, Windows 10 supports virtual desktops, which allows you to have multiple logical groupings of apps so that they are easier to manage and use than on a single desktop.

Manage running apps

Perform the following steps on the WIN10 VM to manage running apps:

  1. On the taskbar, restore the Mail app that you minimized earlier.
  2. In the upper right corner of the app, view the Minimize, Restore, and Close buttons. Then, click Restore. (You may remember that Windows 8.1 apps only started in full-screen mode and took up the entire desktop. In Windows 10, these apps behave more like a traditional desktop app and are similar to the user experience in Windows 7 desktop apps.)
  3. In the upper left corner, on the title bar, right-click Mail. The standard Windows system menu appears, with the Restore, Move, Size, Minimize, Maximize, and Close options.
  4. Minimize the Mail app.

View multiple apps

You can view multiple apps in an optimal visual arrangement by using the Windows 10 Snap Assist feature. Perform the following steps on the WIN10 VM to view multiple apps:

  1. Restore the Mail app.
  2. Click the Mail app title bar, and then drag the title bar to the left side of the desktop. When the mouse pointer hits the edge, a visual queue lets you know when to release. The Mail app is snapped to the left side of the desktop.
  3. In the list of apps on the right side of the display, click the Calendar app. The Calendar app is snapped to the right side of the display.
  4. Click the Calendar app title bar, and drag it to the top of the desktop. The Calendar app is maximized.
  5. Minimize all apps.

Manage virtual desktops

Virtual desktops in Windows 10 provide you with another layer of productivity when you're running multiple apps. You can use Windows 10 virtual desktops to give the appearance of running your apps on multiple systems. For example, you could have one virtual desktop dedicated to working on grades while using another virtual desktop to present information to your students.

Perform the following steps on the WIN10 VM to manage multiple virtual desktops:

  1. On the taskbar, click Task view. In Task view, you can see the list of apps running in your current desktop. You can click any of the apps to bring that app into focus.
  2. In the lower right portion of Task view, click New desktop. Desktop 2 is added to the list of desktops.
  3. In Task view, click Desktop 2.
  4. On the taskbar, click Word 2013.
  5. On the taskbar, click Task view.
  6. In the lower right portion of Task view, click New desktop. Desktop 3 is added to the list of desktops.
  7. On the Start menu, click Store.
  8. On the taskbar, click Task view.
  9. In Task view, click Desktop 1. The original desktop appears.
  10. Press Windows logo key+Control+Right Arrow to move to Desktop 2.
  11. Press Windows logo key+Control+Right Arrow to move to Desktop 3.
  12. Press Windows logo key+Control+Left Arrow to move back to Desktop 2.
  13. On the taskbar, click Task view.
  14. Close Desktop 2. Any apps running in a desktop that you delete are automatically moved to another desktop. For example, notice that the apps running in Desktop 2 moves to another desktop.
  15. Open the new Desktop 2.

You can use the Windows shortcut keys, your mouse, or touch to move quickly and easily between virtual desktops. Use virtual desktops to keep track of your different tasks and apps so that you can be more efficient and effective.