The information in this article is correct at the time of writing, please check our TEL Blog for the latest information on Technology at the University of Reading.
Office365 is a collection of applications available as part of your University subscription and available via DTS.
Availability:
- Free as part of a University subscription
- Support available via DTS. Support for students is available via the DTS Hub.
- Online/app-based (may require installation)
Key features:
- Available to all university staff and students
- Sharing can be limited to individual, group (module) or institutional access
- A variety of apps and platforms for interactivity
- Online versions of apps automatically save progress
- Inherits login information to keep track of collaborators or users with a link
Benefits:
- Interacts with majority of everyday university recommended software
- Available for PC and Mac
- Free on multiple devices to staff and students
- Accessible anywhere via Office.com
- Readily available support via DTS
- Autosaving when linked to an O365 account
- OneDrive allows for quick sharing of work for collaboration or dissemination
- Teams allows for collaborative working in real-time with video, chat & filesharing
Considerations and limitations:
- Huge availability of applications can make it hard to learn functionality or choose the correct tool
- Some applications are limited in the browser-version
- Mac users may find limitations in desktop-apps
- Some features not available for Mac users
- Installation may require IT intervention
- Sharing with externals is not possible with all applications (Stream)
- Requires MFA for security purposes, which can cause issues for students studying from abroad, or travelling
Copyright information and liabilities
- When adding third party content (such as images or videos) you must follow guidance on making copyright law work for you in your University teaching (useful copyright FAQs can be found on the University IMPs webpages). You may also find suitable content via the university collections or free image sites such a Pixabay, Unsplash and unDraw (always check the usage terms).
Page last updated on February 4, 2021 by mattjones
