Accessing Online Learning from Home Header

This section will explain what you need to install or download on to your chosen device. The aim is to make sure you have the right programs/apps to support you when learning from home. There are some key programs and apps that you will need, and they are what the College is currently using to deliver online lessons. In a nutshell, the below is what you will need:

  • Microsoft Teams
  • Office 365
  • OneDrive (technically part of Office 365)

You may already have some experience in using these programs but don’t worry if you haven’t – the below resources will talk you through each program and how to install/download it.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a program/app that allows you to connect to the different College teams. Your tutor has likely already set up a team and put a number of resources on for your programme. Teams is available on a number of different devices including your laptop, computer, tablet and phone.

To use teams effectively, you need to have a microphone (see the equipment section). Ideally you will have a headset, which will allow you to hear others more effectively.

Like anything else, Teams will take some getting used to, but once you have familiarised yourself with it, you will find it is a very useful piece of software.

There are a number of resources to help you get started with Microsoft Teams, tap on the links below to view:

Office 365

As a student at College, you have access to the full suite of Microsoft Office programs. These can be added to a wide range of devices including your laptop, computer, tablet and phone. You can use up to 5 licences for different devices, for the entire time of your course. You don’t even need to install the apps to access Word, PowerPoint, and Excel etc. They are all usable through your normal web browser. The best part is, it is free!

Having access to Office 365 on all your devices means that you can complete all of your work, wherever you are.

Please see below resource:

OneDrive

You are probably already familiar with using the cloud. If you have used iCloud, Google Drive or Drop Box, you will already be familiar with it how OneDrive works. The principle of OneDrive is that you can save your work to your OneDrive account and then you can access them on any device. This gives you a lot of flexibility and it means that you don’t have to remember to bring your memory stick if you need to work remotely.

As with the other two programs/apps, there are a number of resources to help you get started: