How do you get Office 365 if you’re a teacher, or even a school? Well, it’s quite easy. Students and educators at eligible institutions can sign up for Office 365 Education for free – including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and now Microsoft Teams, plus additional classroom tools. Use your valid school email address to get started today. This is NOT a free trial, it is FREE for as long as you are signed up for it.
Click here to see if you’re eligible.
Go FastTrack!
Microsoft has a FastTrack team whose main role is to work with organisations to help their staff get to grips with new technology. Microsoft has recently announced that it will provide help and support to its education customers with all aspects of remote learning. And it’s free of charge!
Fasttrack: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/fasttrack?SilentAuth=1
Office 365 for Education has been provided free by Microsoft for quite a while and they are now offering additional support to set up a new Office 365 system. The FastTrack team will also help any existing customers who may only have basic services.
In the UK there are over 27,000 schools and they educate over 10 million pupils. Microsoft has pledged to help schools to run classes remotely, where necessary, using Microsoft Teams, Office 365 plus other popular programs such as Minecraft: Education Edition, Flipgrid, Skype in the Classroom and InTune.
All the tools we’ve mentioned (available on tablet. PC, mobile and browser), promote teamwork and allow students and teachers to connect with each other, share files, issue and mark work, communicate and collaborate in real time. They also offer a safe and secure learning environment, using intelligent security features enhanced by machine learning to protect data and identities.
Free trial
If you’re part of an educational establishment, you can sign up for a free trial of Microsoft 365 Education. After Microsoft verifies the academic eligibility of your school, you can buy Microsoft 365 products at academic prices. This includes products that are available for free, like Office 365 A1 for faculty and Office 365 A1 for students. You have until the end of the free trial to convert to a paid subscription at academic prices.
Buy subscriptions at academic prices after your school is approved.
*Before you begin you must already have a Microsoft 365 Education trial subscription. If you don’t have a trial subscription, visit this webpage and select Get started for free.
*Verify that you have a trial subscription
*If you’re not sure if you have a Microsoft 365 Education trial subscription, use these steps to verify that you do.
In the Microsoft 365 admin centre, go to the Billing > Your products page. Look for Office 365 A1 for faculty Trial and Office 365 A1 for students Trial. If you don’t find these subscriptions, visit this webpage, follow the instructions and get started for free.
Verify your school’s academic eligibility
In most cases, when you sign up for a free trial and complete the eligibility verification wizard to provide your school’s domain, you’ll receive an immediate approval or denial of your school’s eligibility. In some cases, Microsoft require more information to complete a manual eligibility review and they will reach out to you with a questionnaire to complete. This review can take up to 10 business days. After they have reviewed your school’s eligibility information, Microsoft send an email that notifies you of your school’s status.
You can close the academic verification wizard before entering a domain and start using the trial subscription right away. However, you aren’t eligible for academic prices until you complete the verification process. You must complete the process before the end of your free trial to convert to a paid subscription and continue to use it. This also applies when you convert to the free A1 subscription.
Find out more about Microsoft 365 for education here.
