School is a serious life transition for college students as they tackle larger accountability for managing their schedules and fulfilling their tutorial and extracurricular obligations. Juggling courses, golf equipment, volunteering, work, sports activities, and internships can go away college students feeling overwhelmed. To offer college students with one linked expertise, Microsoft created a digital residence inside Groups for Schooling that centralizes all of the assets college students want in a single, straightforward to entry place.

Making a digital residence in Microsoft Groups for greater training with Viva Connections for Schooling

Microsoft Viva Connections for Schooling is a digital platform that goals to simplify faculty college students’ lives. This platform is built-in into Microsoft Groups for Schooling, making it straightforward for college students to entry all of the instruments they want in a single place. Every scholar has their very own personalised dashboard which acts as a digital residence base for his or her tutorial journey, together with essential deadlines, occasions, and alternatives. 

Viva Connections for Schooling acknowledges that college students want assist to simplify their tutorial expertise. The platform affords entry to their establishment’s intranet, enabling college students to collaborate with friends and educators on related content material and recordsdata. College students may also hook up with third-party functions such because the establishment’s LMS or different inner companies, additional streamlining their workflow.

The platform’s dashboard playing cards could be tailor-made to every scholar’s particular person wants, based mostly on their space of research, extracurricular pursuits, and different preferences. This permits college students to handle their tutorial and private lives from a single location, with options akin to organizing their programs, assignments, extracurricular actions, tuition funds, internship alternatives, scholarship functions, and extra.

Establishments can simply share updates in actual time, so faculty college students can keep updated on class registration deadlines, not too long ago chartered golf equipment on the lookout for members, or upcoming audio system visiting campus. Moreover, college students can choose their most well-liked language and entry the platform on their cellular units, making it much more handy. College students get what they have to be profitable multi function place.  

Be taught extra about Viva Join for Schooling.

Extra new updates to Groups for Schooling

Except for the Viva Connections integration, two new options are coming to Microsoft Groups for Schooling assignments in April! The primary helps you prioritize what college students see within the lively assignments tab. Now you can mark assignments as inactive to assist set up the assignments record. That is particularly helpful for elective assignments that do not require a submission or aren’t required for each scholar. By marking these assignments as inactive, you possibly can clear up the assignments record, permitting college students to give attention to what’s most crucial. Don’t fret, although! When an project is marked as inactive, it is nonetheless accessible within the accomplished project record and gradebook for you and your college students.

We’re additionally happy to announce an replace to streamline the creation of Groups assignments! With more room for directions, a fast new scheduling choice, and a simplified collection of choices, now you can create assignments in much less time, making the method extra productive and environment friendly than ever earlier than. These updates will present a clear, fashionable expertise throughout cellular, net, and desktop platforms, permitting you to rapidly construct assignments with out the necessity for extra dialog bins.

Reimagined Groups app for Home windows

A brand new and improved model of Microsoft Groups that guarantees to be sooner, less complicated, and extra versatile is within the works. The new Groups desktop app for Home windows is now rolling out for public preview.

Listed below are among the options you possibly can anticipate from the brand new Groups:

• It’s twice as quick because the outdated model. This model of Groups will begin up sooner, you possibly can reply to messages sooner, and work higher while you’re presenting in a gathering. 
• It makes use of 50% much less reminiscence and battery life, which implies your laptop will run extra easily. 
• You need to use a number of accounts and tenants extra simply. Keep signed in throughout all of them and obtain notifications irrespective of which one you might be at the moment utilizing. 
• It’s extra dependable, safe, and simpler to handle. 

Please be aware that the brand new Groups interface is barely accessible for Home windows Desktop.

To get began, you possibly can opt-in to the brand new Groups when your roll out arrives. Merely search for a toggle button within the prime left nook of the Groups Desktop in your present model of Groups (Basic). Flip the toggle on and entry the brand new Groups expertise by clicking “Get it now” to put in the brand new shopper. If you wish to return to the Basic Groups model, you possibly can merely toggle off the button within the prime left nook.

Discover out extra concerning the new Groups app for Home windows.

Be taught extra about these updates in What’s New in Microsoft Groups for Schooling | April 2023.

See what you missed from final month’s updates to Groups for Schooling.