Over the last six or seven weeks Microsoft has rolled-out some notable updates to their products that teachers and students use most. I’ve covered some of those updates in blog posts here and some I have only shared on social media. Here’s a recap of noteworthy updates to Microsoft products made in the last seven weeks.
Immersive Reader Added to Microsoft Forms
Immersive Reader is a fantastic accessibility tool that is being added into many of Microsoft’s products. As announced in late June, Immersive Reader will enable students who are viewing quizzes and surveys made with Microsoft Forms to hear the questions and answer choices read aloud.
Immersive Reader Integrated Into Third-party Services
Moving forward, Immersive Reader won’t be limited to just the products made by Microsoft. Through Azure Cognitive Services third-party developers can add Immersive Reader to their services. Thinglink is one of the early adopters of this opportunity as is Wakelet.
Branching Logic in Microsoft Forms
Back in May Microsoft added the option to add sections to the forms that you create with Microsoft Forms. As announced a couple of days ago, by the end of August Microsoft Forms will have an option to employ branching logic so that you can send form respondents to a section based on how they answered a question.
Automatic Captioning of PowerPoint Presentations
This is a feature that started to appear in some versions of PowerPoint about a year ago. Earlier this summer Microsoft announced that it is now available in all versions of PowerPoint. Watch my video below to see how it works.
Presentation Coaching
Presenter Coach is another feature recently added to the web version of PowerPoint. Presenter Coach will give you feedback on your pacing and use of filler words like “um” and “ah.” It will also make suggestions on how to improve your pacing and eliminate filler words.
Read-aloud Function Expanded to Mac Version of Edge
Edge is Microsoft’s web browser. It is packed with lots of neat little features. The latest update to Edge for Mac users includes a read-aloud function that was previously only available in the Windows version of Edge.
Redesign of Assignments in Microsoft Teams
Earlier today Microsoft announced the deployment of a new interface for Assignments in Microsoft Teams. The announcement included information about a new “share to Teams” button for adding content from third-party sources, the ability to use materials from any team in any assignment, and a new option for teachers to see assignments in the same way that their students see them. Take a look at all of the new features right here.
Bonus item: All-new Flipgrid!
I’ll be covering this in a detailed post later today.
