Office 365 Tutorial

Introduction

Office 365 is the platform Microsoft has created to allow you to use Office products like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. anywhere you go. It can be used on computer desktop apps, web browsers, and mobile apps. Without Office 365 or platforms like it your files would need to live on one device. To use your files on other devices you would need to email them to yourself, use a USB stick, or some other form of file movement. With Office 365, your files are available on any device you can connect to the internet.

Please note that this tutorial will not show you how to use individual types of programs like Word, PowerPoint, etc. This tutorial is focused on how Office 365 enhances access and makes your files shareable. 

How to access your files

There are 3 ways to access your files. The first 2 involve a computer (web browser and adding OneDrive to your file explorer). The third is to use mobile apps.

Accessing via Web Browser

To access on a web browser, simply go to office.com Links to an external site. and log in with your Wilson account which is typically firstname.lastname@wilson.edu. Once you log in you'll see your recent files. The blue cloud button in the menu on the left is for OneDrive. That's where your files are. You can alternatively open a specific app like Word or Excel and access files specific to those apps.

Click here to view a screenshot of office.com. Download Click here to view a screenshot of office.com.

Accessing via OneDrive on your computer

To access via OneDrive on your computer, you need to first have the OneDrive app on your computer. In the bullet points below you will find links to directions for Windows and Mac. However, it is very important to realize what this does. When you sync your OneDrive files to your computer you're essentially telling OneDrive to take your Wilson files and put them on your computer. Once you do that, you can make changes to those files on your computer and those changes will also happen in the cloud. If you are an employee and using your Wilson computer, there's zero problem with this. However, if you are using a personally owned device you'll want to consider if your hard drive has enough space for whatever files you have in OneDrive. You would also want to make sure you have anti-virus, a lock screen password, and make sure you do not share your device with others. Many anti-virus services offer to remotely wipe your device if it is stolen. This may be something you'd want to have available to make sure a thief doesn't get access to your Wilson files. You are ultimately responsible for the security of your personally owned devices. If you have questions about security, please contact the IT Helpdesk.

Once you have OneDrive synchronizing on your computer you can open your file explorer and see OneDrive in your list of file locations. When you do that you'll notice there are icons next to each file. The blue cloud means the file is only in the cloud. The green checkmark means the file is on your computer AND on the cloud. While you are actively changing a file the icon will change to a cloud with a circle. If you open a file that is only on the cloud, the cloud will turn into a green checkmark.

Click here to view a screenshot of the file explorer with OneDrive. Download Click here to view a screenshot of the file explorer with OneDrive.

Accessing via Mobile Device

To access on a mobile device you will need to install the necessary apps. You have some choices. If you want access to all of your files, you would need the OneDrive app. However, if you only need to access Word files on your mobile device then you could install only the Word app. Please pay attention in your app store to make sure the apps you download and install are legitimate. The app should say that it was published by "Microsoft Corporation." There are imitation apps out there that are often filled with malware.

Once you have an app installed, it will ask you to log into your Microsoft account. You will use your Wilson account which is typically firstname.lastname@wilson.edu. Once you do that, you will have access after a short time it takes to synchronize with the cloud. 

Note: Adding your Wilson files to your mobile device makes your mobile device security even more important. Please make sure you use a lock screen, mobile anti-virus, and do not share your device with others. Many anti-virus services offer to remotely wipe your device if it is stolen. This may be something you'd want to have available to make sure a thief doesn't get access to your Wilson files. You are ultimately responsible for the security of your personally owned devices. If you have questions about mobile security, please contact the IT Helpdesk.

Sharing Files

To share files you have to first decide what permissions you'd like to use. Your main decisions are who you want to view the file (or link) and if you want that person/people to be able to edit, download, etc.

Note: the directions and screenshots for this section about sharing will reflect the web-browser experience. The experiences on the desktop and mobile versions are very similar.

Sharing a link

Sharing a link to a file or folder is what you'd want to do if you have a large number of people that need to use the file AND it isn't something that you'd be upset about it getting forwarded. If you use this method and someone gives the link to someone else, that other person can use the link. You also need to decide if you want people using the link to be able to edit vs. view-only. If you choose view-only then for certain types of files you also need to decide if you want those people to be able to download a copy. Important note: "Anyone with the link" will go away very soon. You will need to use "People in Wilson College with the link." If you need to share with external people please contact the IT Helpdesk. To toggle between share types, click on the share type that is currently selected and it will show you the other options.

Important Note: If you have Anyone with the link or People in Wilson College with the link selected, you can still type in names to send the link to directly. That does NOT mean you're only sharing with those specific people. Those people can still forward the link to others. If you mean for only those people to have access then you need to read the next section about sharing with individuals.

Click here to see how to share a file as a link from OneDrive Download Click here to see how to share a file as a link from OneDrive

Click here to see how to share a file as a link from within a file itself. Download Click here to see how to share a file as a link from within a file itself.

Click here to see how to select edit vs. view-only. Download Click here to see how to select edit vs. view-only.

Click here to see how to block downloads of view-only files. Download Click here to see how to block downloads of view-only files.

Sharing with individuals

To share with specific individuals you click on the Share button. The default share setting will appear. Click on it to display the other options. Then select Specific People. Be sure to also make your selections regarding editing and downloading explained above. After applying those settings you can type in the name of the person or people you are sharing with and then send the message through Office 365. Your recipient will get an email with a link to the file or folder. The file or folder will also appear in their OneDrive under "Shared with me." The link in the email will ONLY work for the person or people you shared the file or folder with.

Click here to see how to select the Specific People option. Download Click here to see how to select the Specific People option.

Click here to see how to type in the person's name and send the share. Download Click here to see how to type in the person's name and send the share.

Revoking access to shared files or folders

To revoke access to share files you need to go to OneDrive and click on the 3 dots and then select Manage access. It will open the Manage access pane on the right. This will display all of your share links and who has access. To alter a share link you've already created you must click on the 3 dots to the right of the share link displayed in the pane. 

Click here to see how to enter the Manage access pane. Download Click here to see how to enter the Manage access pane.

Click here to see the Manage access pane. Download Click here to see the Manage access pane.

Click here to see how to delete a specific share link. Download Click here to see how to delete a specific share link.

How Office 365 can be used to enhance educational goals for teachers and students

Office 365 can be used do some really cool things for classes. This section will be split into how teachers and students can make really good use of Office 365. However, both sections will be available for teachers and students to see on their respective Canvas areas so that everyone is aware of the possibilities.

Teachers

First we'll point out that you no longer need to carry fragile USB storage devices to your classrooms. All of your Office 365 files will be available to you in any classroom you teach in. They'd also be available to you at any conference you're giving a presentation as long as the conference has internet access. 

Here are some other examples:

  • If you co-teach a class with a colleague or if you are trying to share a bunch of course materials with someone helping you to build an online class you can create a OneDrive folder and share the whole folder rather than emailing everything.
  • Students working on things collaboratively is now a lot easier. Whether that be a large group project or some small collaborative activities during your 50 minute class. Perhaps if you have a small group discussion where each group needs to report out their thoughts, you could have a document you share with them to contribute to. That way you have a record of what came of the discussion. This helps you to evaluate your lesson later on. It also gives the students a record of it for when they study.
  • If you need students to submit a rough-draft of their work for you to provide feedback you can have them share an Office 365 file so that your feedback goes right onto their file. It will make it easier for them to incorporate your feedback.
  • If you have students give presentations in class, instead of having them all bring a USB stick or all take time to log into their own accounts, you can have them upload their work into a shared OneDrive folder. Then when it's time to present you just open the folder and the files are all there.
  • Class Notebook can be used with your students and it's even available from right in your Canvas course. View a training about it here. Links to an external site. A good way to think about it would be if your entire class had access to a shared 3 ring binder and could all work on each page together at the same time. Each student also gets their own private space as well. The possibilities are really broad with this application.

Students

The obvious use-cases for students to use Office 365 are that it's beneficial to have access to your files on all of your devices and if you've ever worked on a group project you know the ability to co-author files from different devices is invaluable. However, there are some other things that would be beneficial for you:

How Office 365 can be used to enhance administrative work

Office 365 can streamline your work any time you are collaborating with people that you work with. If you've ever worked on a project where people email file attachments back and forth then you can benefit from Office 365. Instead of email attachments and having to make sure you're on the right version of the document, you can know that you're always on the current version. You can also have multiple people working at the same time. If you share a file with someone you can both log in at the same time. You'll see the other person making edits right on your screen.

Here are some more specific examples:

  • The most simple example is that if you are having a meeting in a conference room and don't bring a laptop with you, you can easily access your files from the computer in the conference room.
  • If you have a project you're working on with multiple people you could create a OneDrive folder and share that folder with your team members. Then everyone has access to everything in the folder at a single link. They can also add to the folder themselves.
  • Use Staff Notebook to give a team access to a shared OneNote notebook to share meeting notes, files, etc. regarding a particular project.

 

Recorded Webinar for Faculty use of Office 365

Feel free to view the recorded webinar delivered to faculty about how they can use Office 365. Most of what was covered would really apply to anyone.