Microsoft 365 app guides
Open an app below for a beginner tutorial, a few skills to try, and links for when you need more help.
The featured videos are from Technology for Teachers and Students. Some show earlier versions of the apps. The written guides cover current menus and settings.
Word Create, format, and share documents.
Use Word to make handouts, letters, lesson plans, and assignment instructions. Start with a blank document or a template, add text and images, and share the file when you want colleagues to review or edit it with you.
Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Word
18 minutes · Word for Windows
Open the Word tutorial on YouTube
What to look for
- Find the tools you need. The video shows how the ribbon changes as you switch tabs. Start with Home for formatting and Insert for pictures.
- Use styles to organize a document. Try a built-in heading style for the sections of a handout. In Word for Windows, those headings also appear in the Navigation Pane.
- Control where a picture sits. When a diagram pushes your instructions out of place, use the picture’s layout options to choose how the text flows around it.
Useful links
Excel Organize information, calculate totals, and make charts.
Use Excel for lists, classroom data, and survey results. Format data as a table so you can sort and filter it, use AutoSum for quick totals, and create a chart when you want to show a pattern. You can also work with colleagues in the same shared workbook.
The Beginner’s Guide to Excel
22 minutes · Excel 2016 for Windows
Open the Excel tutorial on YouTube
What to look for
- Understand cells, ranges, and sheets. A cell holds one value. A range is a group of cells. A workbook can contain several sheets, such as one for each class or term.
- Set up a list with clear column headings. The video builds a simple inventory. You can use the same structure for a classroom supply list or a set of observations.
- Make a sheet easier to read. Format the header row and double-click between column letters to fit the column to its contents.
Useful links
PowerPoint Create slides for lessons, meetings, and student presentations.
Build presentations with text, images, and video. Use themes and slide layouts to give the deck a consistent look, and share the presentation when colleagues or students need to work on it together.
The Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft PowerPoint
23 minutes · PowerPoint 2016 for Windows
Open the PowerPoint tutorial on YouTube
What to look for
- 4:10 · Add a title and choose a theme. A theme helps keep fonts and colours consistent across lesson slides.
- 8:25 · Add a slide and choose a layout. Try a two-column layout for comparing examples or a picture layout for discussing a visual.
- 10:22 · Add visual elements. Put the image or example students need to see on the slide, with enough space to read it from across the room.
Useful links
Outlook Organize email, manage calendars, and schedule meetings.
Use Outlook for district email, appointments, and school calendars. When you share a document by email, a link can give recipients access to the current version. Check who can open the link before you send it.
Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Outlook
13 minutes · Classic Outlook for Windows
Open the Outlook tutorial on YouTube
What to look for
- 3:34 · Switch between Outlook tools. Find Mail, Calendar, and People. The navigation may be in a different spot in new Outlook or Outlook on the web.
- 6:15 · Use folders to organize messages. Try folders for messages you refer back to, such as staff updates or resources for a project.
- 9:43 · Write and send a message. Find the tools for composing email and adding an attachment.
Useful links
- Schedule a meeting in classic Outlook (video)
- Schedule a meeting in Outlook on the web
- SD72 help with school and room booking calendars
- SD72 guide to sharing a file link and checking access
- Set up Outlook on iPhone or iPad or Android
- Microsoft Outlook help and training · Mike Tholfsen’s Outlook tips (video)
OneNote Capture, organize, and share notes and teaching resources.
Use OneNote as a digital notebook for lesson planning, meeting notes, or collecting resources. You can type, draw, or write with a pen on a supported device, then return to the same notebook from another device.
Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft OneNote Online
10 minutes · Earlier OneNote web interface
Open the OneNote tutorial on YouTube
What to look for
- Use notebooks, sections, and pages. A teaching notebook might have a section for each unit and a page for each lesson.
- Put related notes together. Keep your planning notes, links, and examples on the same page so you can find them again when you teach the unit.
- Try a shared notebook. A teaching team can keep shared plans or meeting notes together. If you want a space for each student’s work, see the separate Class Notebook guide below.
Useful links
Forms Create surveys, quizzes, and polls, then review responses.
Use Forms for a survey, an exit ticket, a quiz, or a poll. You can work on the same form with colleagues or share it as a template so they can make their own copy.
Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Forms
21 minutes · Microsoft Forms in a browser
Open the Forms tutorial on YouTube
What to look for
- 3:05 · Add questions. Use a text question for an explanation or a choice question when you want to compare responses quickly.
- 9:22 · Preview the form. Check how it looks on a computer and a phone before sharing it.
- 13:13 · Share it and collect responses. Check who can respond and whether you need to record names for follow-up.
- 15:18 · View the results. Start with the summary, then open individual responses or work with the data in Excel.
- 16:13 · Set up a self-grading quiz. See how to mark correct choices and assign points.
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