Blogs
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30. How to Harness the Power of Copilot AI in Education
Introduction: In the ever-evolving landscape of educational technology, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as an extremely useful resource. Among the various AI tools available, Microsoft’s Copilot stands out as a versatile assistant that’s revolutionising the way educators approach their work. This blog post delves into the practical applications of Copilot AI in education, exploring its…
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29. Mastering Microsoft Teams: Step-by-Step Guide to setting up classes
Essential Tips for Teachers to Set Up Classes Effectively Welcome back, colleagues! As the new term kicks off, it’s the perfect time for a quick refresher on creating Teams classes or maybe pick up a few handy tips if you’re just getting started. From setting up your class to engaging with students, this step-by-step guide…
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28. How to use Minecraft in Education for project based learning
Bring History to Life with Minecraft Castle Building! Are your pupils ready to step back in time and experience the medieval era first-hand? This engaging Minecraft project will have them designing and constructing their very own Norman castles, while picking up invaluable historical knowledge along the way. Let’s get building! The first thing you’ll need…
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27. How to Streamline Your School Facility Rentals with Microsoft Bookings
Managing the rental of school facilities can often be a logistical challenge. However, with the arrival of Microsoft Bookings, schools have access to a powerful tool that simplifies this process, and it’s free with C2K Education licenses. Microsoft Bookings Microsoft Bookings is an appointment scheduling platform that integrates seamlessly with your existing Microsoft 365 calendar,…
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26. How to Unleash the Power of CoPilot Notebook
What is it? Access CoPilot by clicking on https://copilot.microsoft.com/ and signing in with your school account. The Notebook feature, is a really useful (if somewhat understated looking) feature in Microsoft CoPilot . Notebook allows you to continue to tailor prompts (add, redefine or edit) even after submitting to ensure more accurate and bespoke CoPilot responses.…
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25. Master the New Microsoft Teams – Speed and Performance Unleashed!
I’d like to express my gratitude to the C2K E-Learning Team for the New Teams webinar, which served as the foundation for this blog. A special shout out to the incredible Donna Vaughan — cheers to a happy, long and wonderful retirement! 🥳. Your insight and support over the past number of years has always…
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24. How CoPilot can make school policies accessible to all
As we step into a future where C2K and Microsoft Copilot will soon join forces, it’s crucial to talk about keeping our data safe. Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 (designed for businesses, schools and organisations) is built to protect every bit of information, making sure it stays private. For educators, this means there’s no need…
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23. Microsoft Copilot: How the AI Assistant can Transform Education
The world of education is constantly evolving, with new technologies emerging to revolutionise the way we teach, learn, and manage. One such ground breaking innovation is Microsoft Copilot, an artificial intelligence-powered conversational assistant that promises to profoundly impact how educators approach their work. What is Microsoft Copilot? Microsoft Copilot is an advanced AI system that…
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22. Boosting Student Engagement: How to Set Up Microsoft Teams Classwork
Working Smarter with the New Teams Classwork App Teams Classwork We constantly seek innovative ways to enhance our teaching methods and engage students effectively. Enter Microsoft Teams Classwork modules – a powerful tool that empowers teachers to create organised, student-friendly learning environments. In this blog, we’ll explore how to set up Classwork modules, thereby streamlining content delivery,…
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21. How to use Microsoft Loop component items to create engaging and interactive content
Last time I explored how Microsoft Loop components can help you work smarter and faster with colleagues. To refresh – Loops are live, actionable units of productivity that you can create and share across Microsoft 365 apps. They include the ability to create lists, tables, notes, and all with a blank canvas, which you can…
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20. Microsoft Loop: A New Way to Work Smarter and Faster with Your Colleagues.
What is Microsoft Loop? Loop components are really clever new features that let you work smarter and faster with your team. They will eventually be available across all Microsoft 365 apps. They are like mini work spaces that you can share and edit in real time in the stand alone Loop app, Teams chat or…
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19. How to Schedule Emails in Outlook: A Guide for Busy Educators
As an educator, you know how important it is to communicate effectively with your students, parents, colleagues, and management. But sometimes, you may not have the time or the opportunity to send an email right away. It also might be prudent to avoid sending emails out of hours, during weekends or holidays. Maybe you want…
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18. Exploring the Power of Generative AI for Education: A Day at GenAIEdu 2024:
I was delighted to join the third day of GenAIEdu 2024, the Second National Conference on Generative Artificial Intelligence in Education, hosted by Ulster University Derry. I had the opportunity to share some of my experiences with using AI tools to streamline my administrative work in a practitioner showcase. It’s great to meet up with…
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17. How to Use AI to Turn Your Handwritten Notes into Professional Minutes
Have you ever attended face-to-face meetings, taken notes then spent too much time trying to write up minutes of the meetings? If so, you might be interested in using AI to help you create minutes from your handwritten notes. Generative AI Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create new and realistic…
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16. How to Lessen the Stress’n with Events Organisation via Teams and Microsoft Planner
Organising any event in school can be very stressful – you have to decide what tasks need to be done, who will do them all with due dates in mind. In this blog, I will use Open Day/Night as an example. It is a hugely important event in the school calendar and it often requires…
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15. How Microsoft To Do Helped Save Christmas
Microsoft To Do is a simple and smart app that helps you manage your tasks and stay organised. Whether you need to create a shopping list, plan a project, or set a reminder, To Do makes it easy to get things done. In this blog post, I will share with you how I use To…
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14. How to remove backgrounds in images with PowerPoint and save as a picture.
PowerPoint is a powerful tool for creating presentations, but did you know that you can also use it to remove the background from pics and allow you to save slides as images. In this quick post, I will show you how to use the built-in feature in desktop PowerPoint to remove the background from any…
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13. Sharing My Journey to Smarter Planned Absence Management Workflows
In a recent Education Authority webinar, I shared how I have transformed our school’s staff absence request process using Microsoft Forms, Excel, Teams, SharePoint Lists and Power Automate flows to save time and work smarter. The webinar was based on a recent blog no8. Ultra Quick Responses to Forms with Power Automate (well worth a…
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12. How to Use Microsoft Visio for Education
The Undiscovered Country I admit that I’m not very familiar with Visio. I have used it a few times, but I still have a lot to discover about how I can make full use of it in education admin and supporting teaching and learning. However, from my limited experience I have found Visio very easy…
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11. Live Captions: Engage your EFL students with PowerPoint
Engage EFL students with Powerpoint Teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) can be challenging, especially when your students have little grasp of the language. You may find it hard to communicate with them, motivate them, and assess their progress. One of the common problems that EFL teachers face is student engagement. How can you…
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10. AI – Long Live the Revolution and Resistance is Futile
Musings from Belfast AI Conference: Getting the conversation started I am just fresh from attending and participated in a ‘show and tell’ session at an AI Conference in Belfast. The key note delivery was from Professor Mairead Pratschke of Manchester University. Other stakeholders, such as DE, Google, Microsoft, C2K/EDIS and CCEA were represented also. Professor…
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9. Three easy ways to speed up Outlook Responses.
Speed up Outlook responses with Signatures, Quick Parts and Templates Signatures, Quick parts and Templates in Outlook are a great way to save time when sending emails or responses in Outlook. A signature immediately lets people know who you are and what you are about. Your signature can carry your name, position, business/school branding and…
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8. Ultra Quick Responses to Forms with Power Automate
Create a Work Flow to respond more quickly Welcome all. I’m a bit nervous about this post because I’m going to look at Power automate work flows that (If I don’t explain this right) has the potential to reach Level 5 on the Implementation Pain Indicator scale. Pain leads to anger, anger leads hate, hate…
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Halloween Break: Rest, Recharge and Refocus
Hi, all! I hope you have had a great week and are looking forward to the upcoming Halloween break. Just to let you know that there will be no edtech blog content this week. I’m taking a little time to put the feet up, relax and enjoy the week off. I also appreciate that you…
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7. How to Enhance your SharePoint Page with Web Parts and Analytics
In this blog you can read how to enhance your SharePoint page with web parts such as the Events Calendar, Countdown Timer, Quick Links and Hero. I will also delve a little into how analytics can help you take stock of how well your site is performing and what to do if it isn’t! You…
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6. The Ultimate School Staff News Template: How to Use SharePoint to Impress!
In last weeks Blog: Internal Communication: The Email Epidemic – Cure and collaborate better, I explored some of the various internal communication options out there and explained the benefits of, and how to start up, a school SharePoint site so that a ‘one stop shop’ for information could be created. The site would have communication…
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5. Internal Communication: The Email Epidemic – Cure and Collaborate Better
Schools need effective internal communications to ensure the smooth functioning of any educational institution. They help staff stay informed, engaged, and motivated, as well as foster a sense of community and collaboration. However, many schools face various challenges and issues in achieving effective internal communications. Over the next few weeks, I will discuss some of…
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4. Microsoft Sway is the Way!
Share great things with Sway: Do you have lots of really good content, images, videos and important links that you want to easily share with students, staff, parents or professional colleagues? If so, Sway is the way! For example, you can use Sway to create interactive and multimedia-rich presentations that showcase learning and creativity. It’s…
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3. Generative AI in Education – Friend or Foe?
AI – My Awakening Ignorance! It is worth noting that I did not know about Generative AI or its advanced level until relatively recently. I automatically had concerns about AI in Education. I am certain that many students will attempt to plagiarise, cheat on assessments, and generate homework through AI. However, after dabbling a bit…
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2. Make life easier: Create a MS Form in an Excel sheet!
This blog might be for you if downloading and sharing an excel sheet from a live Microsoft Form that you created often feels like a cumbersome and repetitive task. I will show you how to create a Microsoft form from an online Excel sheet. This will allow you to create an excel sheet that the…