D211 employees can buy the new Microsoft Office Professional Plus for $9.95 starting today

All Township High School District 211 employees can purchase a license for the new Microsoft Office 2013 which was released today.  The cost is only $9.95!

To take advantage of this offer, go to the official Microsoft Home Use Program website.  You will need to enter this special code C8956B668B along with your D211 email address.

There are some limitations to the program, which can be expected when you are paying less than $10 for something that costs over $400 in the stores.  First, this is a license to use Office for as long as you are an employee of D211.  You are expected to delete the software if you end your employment with the district.  Second, you can only download it to computers that belong to you and are used by you.  Third, you can only purchase Office for $9.95 once through this program between August 1, 2012 and July 31, 2015.

So that was the bad news.  It wasn't that bad, really.  It's not like missing the playoffs after going 10-6!  Let's get to the good news and stop dwelling on the Bears...

The license is for the entire Office Professional Plus 2013 suite of software.  This is a much larger package than the "Student and Teacher Edition".  The Professional Edition includes the following:

• Word
• Excel
• PowerPoint
• Outlook
• OneNote
• Access
• Publisher
• InfoPath
• Lync

Mac users, you are not left out.  You can continue to buy Microsoft Office 2011 for your Mac for the same price of $9.95.

If you are having any trouble purchasing the software, please contact the technology coordinator in your building first.  If the TC cannot solve it, you will need to contact Microsoft directly.  They have always been extremely helpful in resolving issues with the Home Use Program.

Office 2010 beta

We're going to see two different versions of Microsoft Office 2010 next year.  One will be a free online version with limited features, and the other will be the standard full-blown version with many new additions.  I think both will offer new ways to connect with people and share information and data. 

There are no plans right now to use either one next year in D211, but we will continue to monitor the situation as Office 2010 gets closer to its release date.  For now, feel free to get a closer look at Office 2010.  You can download the Office 2010 beta or read about the Top 10 benefits of using Office 2010.

Free anti-virus software for home use

Microsoft has released a free version of their security software called Security Essentials. It protects your computer from viruses, spyware, and mal-ware. While there are several different free anti-virus software titles available today, our tests have shown that Security Essentials is easy to use and offers very good protection for individual users.

Download the software from Microsoft's website:
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/?mkt=en-us

Next generation tablets

At some point in the future we will see all students (yes, all students) with some kind of computing device in their hands. Smart phones, netbooks, laptops, eReaders and iTouch devices are already visible in our classrooms and hallways, but what will the landscape look like in the next five years?

With the Amazon Kindle being seen more as an electronic reader and not the all-around textbook we had hoped for (read the Daily Princetonian article), we may need to look back at a more powerful computer-like device. Here's a blog article from CrunchGear about Microsoft's latest tablet PC, the Courier, which shows a lot of promise.

Connecting to online storage

D211 uses Microsoft's Unified Access Gateway (UAG) to allow students and teachers to access their files remotely from any location with Internet access. It is similar to last year's NetStorage but with more security and more features.

Here are your directions for logging in to UAG and accessing your files.

1.Go to the district Online Storage web page which can be found on the web page of every D211 school. The direct link is https://xtier.d211.org/

2.Click on the LOG IN button.

3.You will get an error message stating that there is a problem with the security certificate on this web page. Click on CONTINUE TO THIS WEB SITE.

4.A box will pop up that states the web site is already in your trusted sites list and ask if you want to allow opening the site. Click YES.

5.An add-on needs to be installed onto your computer to make the software work. Click on the INSTALL button if this box pops up. You will only have to do this the first time you use the Online Storage.

6.The software is being installed onto your computer and needs access to the district Online Storage page for it to work. When you get the security alert asking if you trust the certificate, click on TRUST THIS SITE and then choose ALWAYS. Then click on the TRUST button at the bottom. Again, you will only have to do this the first time you use the Online Storage.

7.You can now log in . Add the phrase d211\ to the beginning of your username. Without adding d211\ you will not be able to access your files. It is required! Enter your password and then click on LOG ON.

For more information on UAG please visit Microsoft's website.