MU offers its students a plethora of programs to make sure they succeed during their rigorous academic year. Tutoring programs, freshman interest groups, study spaces and Office 365 are all examples of MU’s plan for student success. Of these, the one resource that can tend to be more convoluted is Office 365 due to its sheer content volume and how its different tools can be tricky to use. Office 365 is given free to every enrolled MU student and can be downloaded with your MU email address.
The first thing to understand about Office 365 is that it is a collection of programs bundled by Microsoft including Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Outlook. Once you get the know how of using all five programs within Office 365, it will help you keep your grade at a happy letter.
####Microsoft Word####
Microsoft Word has been every student’s go-to word processing program, or “essay writer,” since before Google became the top search engine and far before Google Documents. Many of the tips and tricks to making Microsoft Word work for you lie in its ability to manage, edit and format your paper. By using tools such as custom margins, the review tab and custom heading, you can get any essay paper formatted in no time at all. Using each tab and exploring this program can make your paper writing go much smoother.
####Microsoft Excel####
Excel is Microsoft’s spreadsheet program meant to help keep data in order and categorize and manage complex equations. Using this system, you can take the individual boxes, or cells as the spreadsheet calls them, and run them through equations and synthesize new data. Excel is one of the most condensed programs in the bundle, and it offers a breadth of usability to match. Learn to use Excel well and numbers will become a breeze.
####Microsoft PowerPoint####
Microsoft PowerPoint is the most well known application that Microsoft provides, aside from Word, due to its common use in projects starting back in elementary school. Powerpoint is just as complex as other programs like Word and Excel, but its area is more visual than the rest. From setting specific slide times so that your project goes smoothly to a visual style that packs a punch, using the design, animation and slide show tabs of Powerpoint can increase the effectiveness of any presentation and move the feel of the project up to the level you need for a college course.
####Microsoft OneNote####
OneNote is a special program that rests a tad outside the use of Powerpoint, Word and Excel. OneNote is a note-taking program released in 2016. It serves the same function as Notes, the Mac program and iPhone app. It offers a large variety of formatting in a similar but smaller way than Word by allowing for several notation styles. Using OneNote can help organize your binders and notebooks. Not only does it keep them in a safe place, but it also allows you to highlight, bold and italicize the important parts and give your studying a boost.
####Microsoft Outlook####
Last but not least is Microsoft Outlook. Outlook is part of the Office 365 bundle, and is the email address that is given out to each student by the school. Outlook works in a similar manner to Gmail or Yahoo but has several distinct functions. For one, it is an application on the computer and is also accessible online. Alongside its email functionality,Microsoft Outlook comes with an in app calendar and planner, allowing for even more organization. The calendar functions as any other would, incorporating the Microsoft drop down menu at the top of the screen. This lets you do all sorts of interesting and helpful things such as setting reminders to ring across devices or creating Skype meetings. Outlook also comes with a to-do list for smaller tasks and a contact sheet to keep track of everyone you meet.
_Edited by Alexandra Sharp | asharp@themaneater.com_
