Patrick Harless, an algebra and geometry teacher at Fay School in Southborough, Massachusetts, uses the inking capability of a Tablet PC and Microsoft OneNote to work through math concepts with his students. In an issue of Mathematics Teacher, a monthly periodical put out by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Harless analyzes this process of "scribing"--a new technology-based instructional strategy.

Not a math teacher? That's okay. Any teacher could implement these scribing best practices.  

Today’s blog post is brought to you by Armelle O’Neal. Armelle manages the Office for Mac and Office Mobile writing teams, supports her oldest son's competitive racing schedule, and runs every morning. To say the least, she's one busy lady.

When we added a Mac Book Pro to the family’s arsenal of laptops (five total for a family of four!) I got concerned. Would I encounter any compatibility issues between Office 2010 for Windows and Office for Mac 2011? Spoiler alert: You can probably tell from the title that I was happily surprised. If you're interested in the experience, read the full post.

Does your name appear as a spelling mistake in Word? You're not alone. As part of our Call-to-Action campaign, I recently asked our Microsoft Student Facebook friends to share their Word pet peeves. And this pet peeve was top of the list. Luckily, there's a quick fix. Add your name to the spell check dictionary.

Here's a quick video showing you how. Of course, these steps work for adding any word to the dictionary not just your name. For example, if you're using special technical terms or acronyms in your document.

Find more helpful links and information in the full blog post.

I recently asked a group of students about how and when they use Office Web Apps. Based on their feedback, I've got some advice on how they can help you.

Read the full post to find out when others are using Office Web Apps to get ahead in school.

Kelli Etheredge, a teacher and mentor at St. Paul's Episcopal School in Mobile, Alabama, is onto something. Although Kelli teaches literature, her 'Poetry into Movies' unit is versatile enough to enhance any area of study. If you're looking for new ways to engage with your students, check out Kelli's lesson plan.

Kelli asks her students to analyze a poem, and then create a Windows Live Movie Maker video that shows the imagery, symbolism, and themes of that poem. This extra step lets students dive even deeper into their subject, producing projects that demonstrate their creativity and critical thinking skills. And they get to use digital media to do it!

Read the full blog post for details...I've even included the rubric!

With Office Web Apps and Windows Live SkyDrive you and your team members can rock out a great group project without meeting in person all of the time. Windows Live SkyDrive gives you 25 gigabytes of FREE online file storage! Why not cash in on that? Just save your files to a shared folder on SkyDrive and give your team members access. 

Watch this short video to see how easy it is to create a SkyDrive folder, upload files, and use Office Web Apps. Read the full post for details.

At the end of 2010 I started feverishly typing to-do lists and New Year’s resolutions in OneNote. All of that planning got me thinking. How does everyone else do it? I mean, do I have OCD or is this a normal thing?

So I started researching. I found 5 tips to successful time management that led me to believe I have a pretty good thing going with my OneNote habits.

Read the full post to find out what I came up with and how you can do it, too!

Did you know that you can save your PowerPoint 2010 presentations as Windows Media Player (.wmv) video files? Well, you can. And it only takes a few mouse clicks.

You can then burn the video to a DVD, upload it to your blog or video-sharing web site, or email it to your professor to share the video file with people who don’t have PowerPoint installed on their computer. If you're using PowerPoint 2007 there are a few more steps required, but it's still possible.

Read the full blog post to learn how to do this in PowerPoint 2010 and PowerPoint 2007.

If you find yourself banging your head on your desk when it comes time to sort and filter student data in your grade book, Excel tables can make your life less stressful. Tables let you sort  test scores (for example, from lowest to highest), calculate average scores on assignments, and add special formatting to your spreadsheet. Converting your existing grade book into a formatted table is quick and easy. You supply the student data, and Excel does the heavy lifting.

This video will get you started. If you want to get more in-depth, there's an entire training course devoted to Excel tables.

If you want to learn more about Excel, take a look at the Microsoft Excel blog.

--Matt Shelton

As you reluctantly come back from vacation and return to your regular school schedules, you might need a jumpstart to get you back into your routines.

What kind of school work will you need to do? Write a report with an MLA-formatted bibliography? Or collaborate on a presentation? How are your math skills?

I've pulled together 20 Office tips to help you get back in the school groove.