It’s been only 10 weeks since Sway Preview was launched, and there's already been over one million unique visitors to Sway.com and over 175,000 requests to join, and those numbers grow by thousands daily. On the back of this demand, Sway Preview is now open to everybody - with no waitlist!

The Sway team is asking educators for their help in shaping the future of the app! Many educators with access to Sway Preview are loving the opportunity to transform presentations and bring ideas to life in a new and exciting way. If you want to test out Sway Preview go here. Once you've checked it out, we'd love for you to tell us your thoughts through the User Voice forum and see what other people have said. Your suggestions will help improve Sway and grow the app.

Recent improvements to the app include:

• Adding Bing Image Search and 'suggested searches'
• Undo and re-do actions
• Bullets and numbering
• Editing text on the canvas
• Reordering sections more easily
• Import a PDF into Sway
• Improvements to the Colour Picker

If you want to read about all of these enhancements in more depth, check out this Sway blog post.

Sway is being adopted by the Microsoft Innovative Educators network across New Zealand who are using the app to create engaging and innovative presentations that can be used in classrooms in the new year. Check out the MIE Minute Newsletter which is now on Sway and see how the app can be used!   

There are some amazing Sway presentations emerging - click on the images below and check them out!

We're very pleased to announce that Sir George Seymour College, Travel Careers & Training and the Southern Institute of Technology have joined the list of New Zealand institutions providing Office to their students for free. There are now 20 tertiary institutions across New Zealand which are providing the Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus benefit to their students free of charge!
  
What does this mean? The latest version of the full Office productivity suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote are available for offline and online use to best prepare you for class. As long as you’re a current student at an eligible institution that has activated the service, you’ll be able to use this software for free.

• Install on up to 5 compatible PCs and Macs, plus 5 tablets (including iPad!)
• Sync across all your devices with OneDrive
• Gain valuable skills on the world’s most popular productivity software
• Use the same programmes as your lecturers and tutors to ensure full file fidelity
  If you are enrolled at an eligible tertiary institution that has activated the service, you can download the software by signing in to Office 365 using your institution login and password. If you’re a student at one of the below tertiary institutions, simply click on the corresponding link and follow the instructions. If your institution isn’t listed below but has activated this service, you can visit this link and sign in using your institution login and password.

• • AUT University
  • CPIT
  • Eastern Institute of Technology
  • Lincoln University
  • Massey University
  • Manukau Institute of Technology

• • Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology

• • Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
  • Otago Polytechnic
  • Sir George Seymour College
  • Southern Institute of Technology

• • Te Wananga o Aotearoa

• • Travel Careers & Training

• • Unitec
  • University of Auckland
  • University of Otago
  • University of Waikato

• • Waiariki Institute of Technology
  • Western Institute of Technology - Taranaki

• • Wintec

Don’t forget, you’ll need your tertiary institution account login and password to sign in and take up this benefit.
 
Did we miss out your tertiary institution? Ask your institution’s IT department about getting Office for free. We’ll keep you updated and provide direct links to other institutions that are providing this exciting benefit in future blog posts.
  

Microsoft is very excited to announce the latest step taken to reinforce Microsoft Azure's position as the most trusted cloud service provider!

Microsoft Azure has just become the only cloud service provider to be certified against ISO 27018. What does this mean? ISO 27018 is a standard which requires cloud service providers to adhere to six key conditions to ensure the protection and privacy of customer's data:

• Consent - Microsoft Azure will not use customer's data for any purpose other than what the customer has specified.
• Control - Customers retain explicit control of their information and how it is used.
• Transparency - Azure must inform customers where their information is stored and how it is handled.
• Accountability - Any information security breach will trigger a review by Microsoft Azure to determine if there was any harm to customer's information.
• Communication - In the case of a security breach, Azure will notify customers and regulators, and clear records will be provided about the event.
• Independent yearly audit - a third-party audit will determine Azure's compliance to the standard, which can be relied upon by the customer.

This is a major achievement for Microsoft Azure! It complements Azure's amazing features to provide the best possible cloud service to customers. And, certification against ISO 27018 provides further assurance about the reliability and security of Microsoft Azure for existing customers and those looking to join the cloud storage movement. To find out more about Microsoft Azure, go here!

How does this impact the education sector? Universities across New Zealand are striving to create successful academic research environments. Microsoft Azure delivers the flexibility,
speed, security, and responsiveness post-doctoral and graduate student researchers need to achieve an even higher level of productivity and innovation.  Research data requires vast, reliable, secure storage. Microsoft Azure makes storing massive amounts of data feasible and cost-effective as it provides the ability to increase storage when needed, and scale it back down when not in use. The Microsoft Azure platform takes care of infrastructure setup, network connections, data collection and storage, freeing researchers to focus on the work that really matters! And now, with Azure's certification against ISO 27018, researchers can have peace of mind that their data and information is well-looked after and secure!  

There is unlimited potential for educators to improve students' learning experiences using the latest Microsoft technologies such as OneNote and Office Mix. Design engaging lessons? Improve collaboration? Get your message across in a new way? Captivate students' imaginations? All of these common goals can be achieved by using technology more effectively in the classroom! However, as educators it can often be difficult keeping up with the latest technologies and tools available. These products have the potential to improve the quality of your classroom experience, but how do you incorporate them into your lessons?

To make it easier to harness the power of technology in the classroom, Microsoft have created a series of 2-minute Quick Tip Videos that show educators how to use Microsoft products in their classroom. These videos help educators to uncover the true potential of the technologies they are already using.

Whether you are finding it difficult coming to grips with the latest classroom technologies, or you've heard about the cool things Microsoft products can do and want to know how to use them in your own classroom, these videos will be a useful starting point. They provide handy hints and tips to show you how to maximise the full potential of Microsoft's latest classroom technologies. Check them out here, and start using these fantastic ideas in your classroom!

There are now 17 tertiary institutions across New Zealand which are providing Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus to their students free of charge!

What does this mean? The latest version of the full Office productivity suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote are available for offline and online use to best prepare you for class. As long as you’re a current student at an eligible institution that has activated the service, you’ll be able to use this software for free.

• Install on up to 5 compatible PCs and Macs, plus 5 tablets (including iPad!)
• Sync across all your devices with OneDrive
• Gain valuable skills on the world’s most popular productivity software
• Use the same programmes as your lecturers and tutors to ensure full file fidelity
  If you are enrolled at an eligible tertiary institution that has activated the service, you can download the software by signing in to Office 365 using your institution login and password. If you’re a student at one of the below tertiary institutions, simply click on the corresponding link and follow the instructions. If your institution isn’t listed below but has activated this service, you can visit this link and sign in using your institution login and password.

• AUT University
• CPIT
• Eastern Institute of Technology
• Lincoln University
• Massey University
• Manukau Institute of Technology

• Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology

• Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
• Otago Polytechnic

• Te Wananga o Aotearoa

• Unitec
• University of Auckland
• University of Otago
• University of Waikato

• Waiariki Institute of Technology
• Western Institute of Technology - Taranaki

• Wintec

Don’t forget, you’ll need your tertiary institution account login and password to sign in and take up this benefit.

Did we miss out your tertiary institution? Ask your institution’s IT department about getting Office for free. We’ll keep you updated and provide direct links to other institutions that are providing this exciting benefit in future blog posts.