Students who are learning in school and at home need PCs that can give them features they need to succeed in their studies, such as data security, powerful processors, HD webcams and technology that reduces eye strain. But those devices also need to be rugged enough to stand up to the hybrid learning experience, which includes frequent movement through hallways, sports fields, commuting and at home. Acer’s latest additions to its TravelMate B series of Windows 11 laptops check off all those boxes, as they’re military-grade standard MIL-STD 810H-compliant, that means they could withstand drops as high as 48 inches (122cm). Reinforced I/O ports and spill-resistant keyboards protect inner components from damage. All education laptops also include recycled materials in their components and packaging. [caption id="attachment_178089" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Family using Acer TravelMate B3 Spin 11 at home[/caption] With Windows 11’s latest update, students can take advantage of features such as Focus sessions and snap layouts that make it easier to get things done. School IT administrators who want to deploy these laptops as school needs evolve can do so quickly thanks to Intune for Education, which allows the unified management tools of Windows 11 and Microsoft Cloud services. Plus, ongoing management and policy compliance stay simple and streamlined. [caption id="attachment_178088" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Acer TravelMate B5 14[/caption] The Acer TravelMate B5 14 includes Intel Core ⁱ3-N305 processors, up to 7.5 hours of battery life, up to a 14-inch Full HD (1920x1080) display, an additional HDR camera with webcam privacy shutter and dual digital microphones that can suppress background noise during a call, using Acer’s PurifiedVoice with AI Noise Reduction technology. Acer has also upgraded its TravelMate B3 series for education with the addition of two new school laptops that aim to provide added protection for K-12 students and empower them to do more in their studies. Pre-installed with Windows 11 Pro Education or Windows 11 SE and powered by up to an Intel Processor N200, the Acer TravelMate B3 11 and Acer TravelMate Spin B3 11 are packed with enhanced privacy settings and modern education applications to promote collaborative and inclusive learning among peers. The resilient laptops were also designed to minimize damage from external impacts. The lightweight laptops make it easy for young students to carry these around during their hybrid classroom experience, weighing about three pounds. Batteries for both are also built to last full days at school. [caption id="attachment_178090" align="alignnone" width="761"] Acer TravelMate Spin B3 11[/caption] These PCs are shipped with Acer’s User Sensing Software, designed to help protect students’ privacy and develop better habits when using their laptops. For those who tend to lose track of time, the Break Reminder function prompts them to take regular breaks away from their devices to help reduce stress levels and eye strain. A Screen Distance Reminder notifies students when they are too close to the devices’ display. Completing its bundle of advanced protective software, the User Sensing AutoLock capabilities with optional built-in proximity sensors detect a student’s presence based on range and movement, which triggers the screen to automatically lock when they’re away from their laptops. Head over to Acer to find out more about these education-focused Windows 11 PCs.

Though schools have returned to in-person learning, that doesn’t erase the digital paradigm shift that was brought on by the pandemic. At the Future of Education Technology Conference in New Orleans, Lenovo announced refreshed and new solutions aimed at supporting hybrid learning styles and ongoing technological pivots by students and teachers. Lenovo’s latest Windows 11 laptops and convertibles are built to withstand the challenges of education at every level. Lenovo DuraSpec provides a series of hardware features and testing methods to ensure the company’s devices withstand the rigors of daily indoor and outdoor classroom life. These protective innovations built into the laptops include anchored keys, drop protection, reinforced LCD glass and ports, liquid spill protection and rubber bumpers. These new laptops all feature 90% recycled packaging and standard 45W and 65W power adaptors made with 90% PCC recycled plastic. In addition, all Lenovo’s latest education laptops are EPEAT Gold rated. [caption id="attachment_178076" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Lenovo 100w Gen 4[/caption] Windows has been reimagined for a new era of digital learning. Affordable Windows 11 devices help educators unlock the full potential of every student, giving them powerful tools to learn, collaborate and create in a secure and trusted environment. The Lenovo 100w Gen 4 comes with an 11.6-inch anti-glare display, an HD camera, up to 8 GB Ram and a durable keyboard. The Lenovo 300w Yoga Gen 4 is also 11.6-inch but is an IPS touch display with Corning Gorilla Glass and at least a 360-degree hinge and rubber bumpers. The Lenovo 500w Yoga Gen 4 has a 12.2-inch WUXGA IPS touch display with Gorilla Glass and TÜV Rheinland-certified low blue light to ease eye strain. [caption id="attachment_178077" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Lenovo 300w Yoga Gen 4[/caption] All these PCs have an Intel Processor N100, with the latter two able to upgrade to the Intel Processor N200. They also come with an optional Pencil Touch support so students can use a #2 pencil without scratching the surface. The Lenovo 13w Yoga Gen 2 comes with a 13.3-inch WUXGA IPS touch display with Gorilla Glass and AMD Ryzen 7 7000 Series processors – ideal for teachers and administrators who need extra power to manage classroom workloads or campus infrastructure. All four laptops have Wi-Fi 6 for fast and stable connectivity with optional 4G LTE for even more versatility available on 300w Yoga Gen 4 and 13w Yoga Gen 2. These PCs are expected to be available later this spring. With Windows Autopilot, Lenovo can help deliver devices quickly to students and teachers with a zero-touch out-of-box experience and quickly set up devices so users are up and running as soon as possible. Head over to Lenovo to find out more about their Windows 11 education-focused PC laptops.

New features are coming fast on Microsoft 365 and you have trouble following the official roadmap ?

Every month, I publish a new infographic presenting a tip, a new feature on Microsoft teams / Microsoft 365 solutions that you can use today on your platform.

I am a teacher and I use forms. How to add an image instead of text in an answer for a choice type question ?

,Context :

This was a long-awaited request from many Microsoft Forms users: How to allow selecting pictures instead of text in quizzes? How to implement visual selection questions in quizzes?

Indeed, there are several cases where the choice of images is relevant. It is the example of images (logos, areas to be selected, etc ...) that is much easier to choose the answer, when this answer can not be expressed in words or that to express it in words, it would be necessary to make a sentence too long. It is also the example of teachers who can easily use it to help students with reading difficulties and language comprehension problems or foreign students learning the language.

,,Solution,

From now on, it is possible to select photos in the answer choices. Here are the different types of questions and answers where you can add a photo :

- Choice type question : photo insertable in the question field and photo insertable in the answer field

- Open question : photo insertable in the question field

- Evaluation : photo insertable in the question field

- Date : insertable photo in the question field

- Ranking : photo can be inserted in the question field

- Likert : photo to be inserted in the question field

For Choice type questions, there are - 3 ways to get photos -

1) from your computer

2) from Bing search

3) from your OneDrive

And there are - 3 ways to insert photos - in the answer choice

1) Drag and Drop

2) Copy and Paste

3) Bulk import up to 5 images per batch

Once you have added an image to a question, you can adjust its size by enlarging, reducing or zooming in on it to focus on a portion of the image. You can also add alternative text for screen narrators.

My opinion

This is a great new feature and I'm sure many teachers will be excited about it. Here are the few points I would like to highlight :

- It is available for education tenants but also for business tenants

- You have a size limit of 5MB per picture

- Zoom seems to be selected by default when you import pictures. Be sure to deselect it if needed

If you liked this tip and think it will be useful to others as well, feel free to share it.

Les nouvelles fonctionnalités s'enchaînent à toute vitesse sur Microsoft 365 et vous avez du mal à lire la roadmap officielle ?

Chaque mois, je publie une nouvelle infographie présentant une astuce, une nouveauté sur les solutions Microsoft teams / Microsoft 365 que vous pouvez utiliser dès aujourd'hui sur votre plateforme.

Comment transférer la propriété d'un sondage ou d'un questionnaire quand une personne va partir ou ne fait plus partie de l'organisation ?

,Situation : Quand une personne va quitter ou a déjà quitté une entreprise ou une école ou une université, il est toujours compliqué de faire la passation ou de pouvoir suivre des sondages et des résultats créés à partir du compte individuel d'une personne.

Le offboarding, s'il n'est pas bien organisé, peut être une source de "tracas" pour tous celles et ceux qui restent et doivent reprendre le travail de la personne.

Alors que peut-on faire avec les forms d'une personne avant qu'elle quitte l'organisation ? et que peut-on faire avec les forms de la personne quand elle a déjà quitté l'organisation. Je vous explique tout ça avec ces 2 scénarios.

,,Solution scénario 1 ,> la personne va quitter l'organisation

Pour réaliser le transfert de propriété avant le départ, c'est le propriétaire du forms qui doit réaliser individuellement la procédure.

• Etape 1 :

Dans ses formulaires, la personne choisit le forms à transférer puis clique sur les options pour choisir "déplacer"

• Etape 2 :

La personne choisit le groupe vers lequel elle souhaite déplacer son formulaire et déplace le forms qui se retrouvera désormais dans la section "mes groupes" et non pas "mes formulaires". Seuls les groupes auxquels appartient cette personne sont affichés

Points d'attention :

- La personne qui souhaite transférer la propriété d'un forms vers un groupe doit faire partie de ce dernier

- La propriété d'un forms peut être transférée d'un individu à un groupe, mais pas l'inverse.

- Vous ne pouvez pas transférer la propriété d'un forms qui est partagé avec vous

- Un groupe ne peut pas transférer un forms à un autre groupe.

,,Solution scénario 2 , ,> la personne a déjà quitté l'organisation

Pour réaliser le transfert de propriété du forms à la place de la personne, les conditions suivantes doivent être remplies :

1- Vous êtes l'administrateur global ou l'administrateur de l'application bureautique de l'organisation et vous disposez d'une licence Forms valide.

2- La personne qui est partie a un compte qui a été supprimé ou désactivé.

• Etape 1 :

Dans la barre d'adresse de votre navigateur, remplacez l'URL existante par la suivante :

https://forms.office.com/Pages/delegatepage.aspx?originalowner=\[*email*\]

L'email que vous devez renseigner est bien celui de la personne qui a quitté l'organisation.

• Etape 2 :

Une fois fait, vous avez accès aux forms de l'ancien employé. Et de la même manière que le scénario 1, vous choisissez le forms à transférer pour ensuite le déplacer vers un groupe.

Points d'attention :

- Le formulaire doit être transféré dans les 30 jours suivant la suppression du compte.

- Il n'y a pas de restriction de temps pour transférer la propriété d'un formulaire d'un compte qui a été désactivé (et non supprimé)

2 solutions vraiment pratiques qui doivent nécessairement interroger sur les bonnes pratiques des forms au sien des équipes, la solution à long terme consistant à créer des formulaires dans des groupes, afin que la propriété ne soit pas liée à un individu.

Si vous avez aimé cette infographie ou cette astuce sur Microsoft Forms et que vous pensez qu'elle sera également utile à d'autres personnes, n'hésitez pas à la partager

New features are coming fast on Microsoft 365 and you have trouble following the official roadmap ?

Every week, I publish a new infographic presenting a tip, a new feature on Microsoft teams / Microsoft 365 solutions that you can use today on your platform.

In Microsoft Teams education assignment, how to add a video of you talking through your feedback to the student ?

,Context : There are different ways for teachers to give feedback on assignments. Previously, in Microsoft Teams assignments, the teacher only had the choice of text block to give feedback before returning the assignment to the student.

Now, many know that video feedback is beneficial in learning because students pay more attention to a video that is personally addressed to them than to a written comment that they are unlikely to read.

So how do you get a video recorder to appear in Microsoft Teams assignments?

,,Solution, : Since the "back to school", Microsoft teams assignments have been enriched with many features. Concerning video option, it was possible for a teacher to record his video as an assignment instruction and for the student to record himself in video to answer an assignment.

From now on, the feedback text block has 3 new options which are

1/ creating a new file (word, excel, powerpoint, whiteboard) or

2/ attaching a file from OneDrive or from your computer or

3/ recording a video or an audio.

The video is recorded via Stream and stored in the Team Sharepoint and we have options to draw, add stickers or photo or record a video without sound or without the camera with only audio. Really handy !

❗ Several points to keep in mind :

- The video recorder only works on the latest versions of Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome on Windows or Mac OS X, and not in firefox browser

- You must also check that you have activated in the settings of Teams that you have authorized in assignment your camera, microphone and speakers

What I think about it

Let's start with the positive points

- The video recording is very easy to use and the fact that you can record only the audio is a real plus to give a different feedback to the assignments

- When a student sends a video as an assignment, it is always better for a teacher to give feedback in video

Let's move on to the negative points

- The fact that the video is recorded via Stream brings the power of Stream, especially in terms of transcription or why not in terms of chaptering the video. However, to do these last 2 things, you have to go through the new stream and make changes to the video feedback via this space.

- The video recorder in Microsoft Teams does not offer screen capture. This is very useful and yet this feature is present when you start a video recording in the new stream.

- The video recorder also does not offer a background blur or the text to insert on the video. However, these two options are present in Microsoft Flip, which can be added as an application in the homework. Some teachers will probably stay with Microsoft Flip.

If you liked this tip and think it will be useful to others as well, feel free to share it.

New features are coming fast on Microsoft 365 and you have trouble following the official roadmap ?

Every week, I publish a new infographic presenting a tip, a new feature on Microsoft teams / Microsoft 365 solutions that you can use today on your platform.

How to create a quiz or a form with a timed response ?

,Context : For those who are on Microsoft 365 education, this new feature in Microsoft Forms should interest you in this period of "back to school".

In some situations, teachers may want to set up timed assessments. Prior to this new feature, the only option in Forms was to set a start date with a start time and an end date with an end time as well. Although this was convenient, it was necessary to warn the participants of the time they had to answer the quiz and no timer was displayed.

I know many people who are looking for a simpler and more automated way to set up a timer into a class quiz, for example.

,,Solution, : A new feature appeared in Microsoft forms settings allowing you to set up a timed response (in minutes) with values between 1 and 999. When a student or a participant answers, he/she will see the time countdown at the top of the window. And once the time is exceeded, the answer is automatically validated and sent. Really handy!

Several points to keep in mind :

- The timer works on both form and quiz

- The timer works on forms/quiz sent internally but also those sent externally with the "anyone can respond" option

- The timer in Microsoft Forms is available on both education and business tenants

- When a student or a participant could not answer one or more questions in time, the teacher or the quiz creator will see in the results "no answer provided".

What I think about it

Excellent new feature that meets a real need. One small regret though, I think it would have been nice in the results window to see a label or an icon in front of each question that was not answered in time or to have the possibility to see the time spent on each question to understand if the person really did not have time to answer or spent a lot of time without being able to find an answer.

If you liked this tip and think it will be useful to others as well, feel free to share it.