How can it enhance my teaching?
Since Microsoft Office is the most commonly available and used productivity suite for both students and faculty, it is ideal for handling management and instructional issues with a minimum of overall expense. Due to the familiarity that most students and faculty have with this product, it can easily be utilized with a minimum of training and guidance. There are a large number of online and in-person workshops, tutorials, guides, and other forms of support. This support will facilitate developing uses that will meet teaching and learning needs that may be unique to a course or topic.
The Office suite is already well integrated and proven to work effectively with instruction in the physical classroom. A significant number of the instructional uses of Office 2007 will be interchangeable with Office 2003 or would require only small modifications, this providing consistency and compatibility for students or faculty that may use either suite.
Potential Benefits:
- Students have more opportunity for anytime-anywhere access to learning. The use of certain Microsoft Office components is becoming more ubiquitous with the increased availability of wireless connectivity and mobile devices..
- Using Office components in the online environment can simplify, automate, or enhance teaching and learning (link to MLA/apa examples)
- Use of Excel and Powerpoint can enhance active learning by using visual and graphical examples that are interesting, engaging, and motivating.
- It allows other instructional technologies to be incorporated with or linked though various components of Office 2007. (link to Excel gradesheet example)
- Tutorials are available from Microsoft Office that demonstrate basic skills as well as advanced topics this will benefit both online instructors and students.
