Exclusive for Education | Manage Windows 11 SE with Surface Laptop SE

Exclusive for Education | Manage Windows 11 SE with Surface Laptop SE

by | Apr 4, 2022 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

We’ll look at the combined learning experiences and how to deploy and manage all your Windows 11 SE devices at scale using Microsoft Intune for Education. Steve Dispensa, VP of Windows Management, joins Jeremy Chapman to show how Windows 11 SE and the Surface Laptop SE represent purpose-built software and hardware for education.


 


Screen Shot 2022-04-04 at 12.34.55 PM.png


 


Windows 11 SE is a new edition of Windows built off of Windows 11. It’s a cloud-first operating system specifically designed for students and teachers, that brings the best of Windows and Microsoft 365 with Office. Windows 11 SE experiences come to life on a new class of affordable OEM partner devices, which start at $249 in the US.


 


We’ve also launched the Microsoft Surface Laptop SE, purpose-built for education and Windows 11 SE. This brings streamlined performance and more efficient hardware, which leads to greater all-day battery life. Take apart your Surface Laptop SE to replace parts using common tools, without worrying about adhesives.


 


 



QUICK LINKS:


02:08 — Management experience


03:11 — Student experience for Windows 11 SE


04:35 — Install Win32 apps


06:06 — Closer look at Surface Laptop SE


08:11 — Serviceability


09:36 — Device management experience


11:49 — Reset a Windows 11 SE device


12:47 — Wrap up


 


Link References:


For more about Windows 11 SE and our OEM partner devices go to https://aka.ms/Windows11SE


Get a supported list of third party apps at https://aka.ms/Windows11SEapps


Find more information about the Surface Laptop SE at to https://www.surface.com/education


 


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Video Transcript:


– Up next, we have a special show for education as we take a closer look at both the new Windows 11 SE edition, along with the new Surface Laptop SE, built exclusively for education. Now we’ll show you the combined learning experiences along with how to deploy and manage all your Windows 11 SE devices at scale using Microsoft Intune for Education. To walk us through all of this, here today by Steve Dispensa, VP for Windows Management. Welcome back to the show.


 


– Thanks a lot. It’s great to be here.


 


– Now a few months ago, we announced Windows 11 SE, and the new Surface Laptop SE. So these also represent purpose-built software and hardware for education. How does this change things compared to what we’ve done in the past?


 


– Well, there’s a lot to unpack here. We focused heavily on the end-to-end experience with an education-specific OS that is streamlined and secure, and it brings Windows 11 to new device price points. And this addresses a key technology gap in software and hardware that’s existed for primary and early secondary students, or K through 8, as we refer to them in the US. First, Windows 11 SE is a new edition of Windows built off of Windows 11. It’s a cloud-first operating system, specifically designed for students and teachers that brings the best of Windows and Microsoft 365 with Office. And while we are cloud first, we’re not cloud dependent. Students can also continue to work offline, especially if they don’t have reliable internet connectivity at home, and they can sync their local work to the cloud with OneDrive when they’re back online. Second, at the endpoint, Windows 11 SE experiences come to life on a new class of super affordable OEM partner devices, as you can see here, which start at $249 in the US. And of course, we’ve also launched the Microsoft Surface Laptop SE, which is purpose built for education and Windows 11 SE. This brings streamlined performance and more efficient hardware, which leads to greater all day battery life. For example, on the Surface Laptop SE, the battery will last up to 16 hours.


 


– So it’s a powerful and tailor-made experience then for students. So how have we thought about management?


 


– So there’s lots of good news there. This is the first version of Windows that’s purely managed from the cloud. In fact, Windows 11 SE is designed for efficient cloud-based management for the full range of tasks across the device lifecycle. Additionally, using our firmware management controls via Intune, with Surface Laptop SE you can manage hardware components like you’re seeing here. Additionally, this level of cloud-based management is combined with tailored productivity that brings inclusivity to learning. Here, for example, you’re seeing OneNote with Immersive Reader. I’ll pause here, so you can hear it.


 


– [Immersive Reader] Bearded dragons are uniquely adapted to survive in arid forests and inland desert.


 


– And in addition to native voice controls in Windows 11 SE, these accessibility features make the learning experience more inclusive for students. So there are a ton of benefits, especially when you compare Windows 11 SE to Chromebooks.


 


– And really something to reiterate here is that these devices are only available for education organizations. You’re not going to find them, for example, in stores or online, but why do we go deeper into the student experience for Windows 11 SE. Can you show us what you can do with one of these devices?


 


– Yeah, absolutely. So at the core of this is the familiar Windows 11 experience. It has the same simplified user interface, great multitasking with Snap Assist and cloud file sync with OneDrive. Windows 11 SE is optimized for running apps that run in the browser either in Edge or in Chrome. In fact, as you can see, I have Edge pre-installed on this device. And another benefit of Edge is that because it’s based on the Chromium engine, Google Chrome extensions will run on it. Here you can see, we have quite a few popular extensions installed. And from the browser, you can see the social learning app, Flipgrid, where students can also connect with others using video. The Microsoft Teams desktop app is pre-installed, which is perfect for remote learning and working or chatting with other students and your teachers. And for the best productivity experience, you can see Word here and you can see, we have the desktop apps for the rest of Office, including Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. These apps are the full Office desktop apps that you know, which by design work offline and they’re great for hybrid learning outside of the classroom. And we’ve also pre-installed Minecraft Education Edition, with its built-in capabilities specifically designed for learning environments.


 


– And one thing to point out here is that Teams, the Office apps and Minecraft like you just showed, those are all native Win32 apps. So can I install other Win32 apps on these devices?


 


– Yes, so we’ve designed Windows 11 SE to be compatible with Win32 and with Universal Windows Platform, or UWP apps. Here, you can see, we have both types of apps represented in Intune for Education. These apps can only be installed by device admins, and students themselves can’t install apps, which helps remove a lot of security risks and even prevent distraction. And if you’re using enterprise-grade security tools for Microsoft, those work like they would with other versions of Windows. And to make sure you can access the right apps, we’ve worked with educators and their IT teams to curate a supported list of third-party apps that all promote learning outcomes, which we are continually updating. We have allowed categories for browsers and apps for test taking, accessibility, classroom communication, content filtering, and device management, which we’ve documented at aka.ms/Windows11SEapps. So if your school uses Zoom or Google Chrome, these will work perfectly on Windows 11 SE.


 


– Okay, and this is one of the biggest differences, you know, compared to Windows 11 Home or Pro and SE, in that there’s a set of defined and approved apps that are supported and that can be installed, which, you know, given the potential for malware risks and really the need to keep these experiences specifically scoped for learning, these can solve for better security and also bring better student productivity. And we’re going to touch a lot more on these aspects when we get to device management. But before we go there, I see that you also have a Surface Laptop SE in front of you. So can we take a look at that?


 


– Sure. I’d be glad to. The Surface Laptop SE is our most affordable Surface. It’s designed with the same attention to detail that Surface is known for. It has a super durable polycarbonate outer shell in glacier white, and it comes with all the connections that you need to connect and learn with a headset jack, full-sized USB-A and USB-C ports, which also can be used for device charging, and it supports a dedicated power connector. And on the other side of the device is a Kensington-compatible security lock. Then importantly, it’s designed to be easy to repair with replaceable components using commonly available tools. And as we move to the inside, you’ll see there’s a selection of Intel Celeron processors, virtual TPM 2.0 for security, 4 or 8 gigabytes of memory and 64 or 128 gigabytes of eMMC internal storage. And it supports Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE for wireless connectivity.


 


– Great. So it’s durable, it’s serviceable. It’s got a lot of great ports on it. You know, I know a lot of people watching probably have those charging carts with USB-C connectors that they’re using in their schools, so it’s going to make it really easy to deploy.


 


– That’s right. This is specifically designed with education in mind. Moving back to the hardware, the display is beautiful. It measures 11.6 inches diagonally with a 1366×768 pixel resolution. In fact, its size and lightweight make it perfect to carry and fit into a school backpack. It’s keyboard and touchpad are designed to have the same premium typing and precision touchpad navigation that you’ve come to expect from Surface. And there’s an onboard HD webcam, which is great for online learning and optimized for producing accurate colors and skin tones. It also has stereo speakers and crystal clear microphones for an optimized experience with Microsoft Teams or with video discussions using Flipgrid. And you know, having just spent some time with this device, I really appreciate the comfortable typing experience. The touchpad, camera, speakers, and microphone are also great, especially considering a $249 starting price.


 


– Great. So now you’ve touched on serviceability. So let’s dive in and really show you what’s possible here. So what’s key to this are these seven Torx screws on the base of the device, because they’re not hidden by the rubber feet like they often are, and that’s by design. And you just need to remove, effectively, what’s visible. Now the great thing here is that the feet are also replaceable. And before I show you the process, I’m going to flash up a disclaimer, as we recommend that you seek professional assistance before dismantling, especially if you’re new to device repair. Now here you’re are seeing our Microsoft Surface engineer, Branden Cole, demonstrating. You can see that he starts by removing the screws from the base of the device. And it’s going to take a few moments to do this. He then moves to the front of the device and starts unclipping all the clips around the keyboard and touchpad panel. Now with that complete, there are two ribbon cables that are connected via ZIF connectors that you need to unclip to remove the keyboard panel. Then before he does anything, it’s always a good idea for safety, he disconnects the battery and other connectors on the board. And this leaves him free to remove the battery. And in the end, he’s able to remove the motherboard, which also includes the replaceable Wi-Fi module. Then you’ve got the display module, the speakers, and those are removable too. And so you can replace those items as needed with available parts. And by the way, once the keyboard panel was removed, as you saw, Branden only needed to remove Phillips head screws and everything else was fastened just with clips and without using adhesives. So that’s serviceability. But I want to switch gears to the management experience, because I know a lot of IT or tech-forward educational staff are probably weighing up their options between Windows 11 SE devices and other platforms. So what’s the management experience like?


 


– Well, the good news is, for anybody that’s managed Windows devices in the cloud before, this should be a very familiar experience for them. In fact, let me do a demo of this for you here. First, importantly, Windows 11 SE requires Intune as a cloud-based and simplified management solution. And the service is included with the device. Using Intune for Education, you can start the device management life cycle using Windows Autopilot. And what this does is it lets you centrally configure and provision your apps and policies for all of your Windows 11 SE devices from the cloud, without needing to take delivery of, or even touch the devices themselves. So it’s super easy for IT and even easier for students setting up a new device. They just need to sign in with their school account. And if they’re using Autopilot now the configuration process works the same as with other version of Windows 10 or Windows 11. Using Intune, once you configure which apps you want to provision and which policies you want to enforce, you can work with your hardware providers to assign that profile to the devices before they even leave the factory. And once you or a student takes delivery and connects the device to the internet, it’ll be provisioned to your specification with all the apps and policies that a student and your IT team needs automatically. Some of the configurations you can make in Windows 11 SE from Intune include wireless or connectivity profiles, so your students stay connected to trusted networks. And remember when we talked about Win32 and UWP app support? Intune for Education is the mechanism that you’ll use to add or remove apps from Windows 11 SE devices. You can see here, I have a long list of learning apps and management tool packages imported into my Intune environment. And these can all be targeted, in my case, to devices running Windows 11 SE. Now from the Surface Management Portal, you can keep track of your Surface devices, including their warranty status and any open support requests that you might have. And you can even make new support requests directly from Endpoint Manager.


 


– Makes sense, and it should be pretty familiar for all the IT admins who are watching today. So what does the process then look like to reset a Windows 11 SE device?


 


– Well, the good news is you never have to reimage a Windows 11 SE device. In fact, all the actions you have to take to reset a Windows 11 SE device can be done entirely from the cloud. Let’s say you want to reset a device like this one for a new school year or for reassignment. In Intune for Education, I’ll go to my Windows devices and I’ll pick this one here that you can see is running Windows, and the model is a Surface Laptop SE. From here, I just need to select Autopilot reset and confirm. And finally, I’ll go back to the Windows 11 SE device and connect to the internet. It gets the reset command from Intune and it’ll reset the device to a clean state. And note that this device could have connected to the internet from anywhere, whether it was at a student’s house, or lost or misplaced, or even in your lab at school for the reset to take place. And this ease of management and familiarity goes through everything we do in Windows 11 SE.


 


– And it’s great seeing, you know, the hardware and software experiences and management experiences on Windows 11 SE and Surface Laptop SE. So if somebody’s watching maybe from education and looking to learn more, what do you recommend?


 


– So the good news is Windows 11 SE devices are starting to ship now. To learn more about Windows 11 SE and our OEM partner devices go to aka.ms/Windows11SE. And for more information about the Surface Laptop SE, go to surface.com/education.


 


– Thanks Steve, for joining us, and the great tour of Windows 11 SE Intune and the Surface Laptop SE. Of course, keep watching Microsoft Mechanics for the latest in tech updates, subscribe to our channel if you haven’t already. And thank you for watching.


Sampling the results of a query to be visualize in a line chart

by | Apr 3, 2022 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Bucketing data by dynamic bucket size


 


When we create chart in Power BI or any other visualization, we have a limited number of datapoints we can plot.


Power BI samples the data according to the resolution and the size of the chart vs. the number of points.


This means that we may bring from ADX hundreds of thousands of points and Power BI will sample the data we bring and plot the sampled data.


What if we want to limit the number of points ourselves using a different method?


Power BI imposes a limit of 1 million rows returned by a single query so if you have more than a million values returned, you’ll have to reduce this number.


Even if the number of results is not over the limit, it will be more efficient to return a small number of rows instead of bringing a very high number of points and letting Power BI do the sampling.


 


Function that aggregates the data in a dynamic way


 


The scenario is a line chart using a date time column on the X axis and some value on the Y that we can average.


I created a KQL function that summarizes the data to limit the number of points using a dynamic bin size.


The function averages the values in each group of points.


Other ways of representing the values can use other aggregations like count, sum or more sophisticated methods


The function uses data from the help cluster.


You can create the function in any database you have access to.


.create-or-alter function conditional_Sampling(From:datetime,To:datetime,GranularityS:string=”5s”,MaxPoints:long=1000)


{


// Easier to use strings in Power BI and convert here


let Granularity=totimespan(GranularityS) ;


// Number of points is calculated based on the timespan and the known granularity in the specific table


let Points=tolong((To-From)/Granularity) ;


// The factor is the number of points represented as one point in the chart


let Factor=iff(Points <=MaxPoints,1,tolong(Points/MaxPoints)) ;


let Span=Granularity*Factor ;


// In this table we have an observation each 5s


cluster(“help”).database(“Samples”).SamplePowerRequirementHistorizedData


| where timestamp between(From..To) 


// Aggregate all points in Span to one average value


| summarize Value=avg(value) by bin(timestamp,Span)


}


 


 


 


 


 


 

March Update Blog

March Update Blog

by | Apr 1, 2022 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Staying organized is one important factor in delivering projects on time and within budget. Two features released earlier in March are aimed at helping you in this regard. Read on to see what these features can do for you and your team.


 


 New Features:



  • Colors in custom field drop down~ Add colors to your custom fields for better visual organization of your project plans.


 


MicrosoftProjectTeam_0-1648854759855.png


 


 


 



  • Priority Field ~ Almost finished rolling out, set the priority of your tasks in Project for the web, to better help sort and prioritize your work.

  • Labels ~ Almost finished rolling out, add up to 25 different colored labels to your tasks in Project for the web for better visual organization.


 


Upcoming Features:


 



  • Guest Users ~ Add people who are not part of your Microsoft 365 Group to your projects & assign tasks to them. This can include external stakeholders such as vendors or partners.

  • Templates ~ Get a jump start on your projects with a set of built-in templates.

  • Task edit for Microsoft 365 users ~ Enable your users with Microsoft 365 licenses to edit tasks assigned to them from a project plan built in Project for the web.

  • Charts View ~ Visually assess the progress of your work through charts.

Meet a recent Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador graduate: Japhlet Nwamu

Meet a recent Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador graduate: Japhlet Nwamu

by | Apr 1, 2022 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

This is the next segment of our blog series highlighting Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors who achieved the Gold milestone and have recently graduated from university. Each blog in the series features a different student and highlights their accomplishments, their experience with the Student Ambassadors community, and what they’re up to now. 


  


Today we meet Japhlet Nwamu who is from Nigeria and recently graduated from the University of Benin with a degree in Computer Science.


 


 


Student_Developer_Team_0-1646174920655.png


 


Responses have been edited for clarity and length.  


 


When you joined the Student Ambassador community in September of 2019, did you have specific goals you wanted to reach, such as a particular skill or quality? 


I’ve always loved being unique and making a difference. My goal when I joined the community was to do just that–empower thousands in unique ways and make a difference. Have I accomplished this? I can proudly say “yes”. With the support of this global community, I have empowered thousands and counting. The community has given me access to the right opportunities, the right people, and the right platform to accomplish this goal.


 


What were the accomplishments that you’re the proudest of and why?


They are so many of them I am grateful for, but here are just a few:



Why do these accomplishments matter to me? Before I joined the community, I was an introvert and never thought I would attain such milestones, that I would be able to empower people so much, but the community has allowed me to empower thousands of lives and inspire others in ways I never thought possible.


 


What are you doing now that you’ve graduated? 


I am currently working towards securing a job that would give me the opportunity to empower the lives of people around the world.


 


My goal for 2022 is to “democratize technology and make a difference”. I hope to do as much as I can. I’ve already started it and hope to continue with it.


 


If you could redo your time as a Student Ambassador, is there anything you would have done differently? 


I would have started empowering people earlier. As an introvert, especially in global spaces like the Student Ambassador program, I spent 5 months trying to find my feet, connect, and make friends before I hosted my first event, and I wish it didn’t take so long.


 


If you were to describe the community to a student who is interested in joining, what would you say about it to convince him or her to join? 


“Love to empower lives and make a difference? Then join the Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors community.”


 


What advice would you give to new Student Ambassadors? 


You have an amazing and solid support system in the community. People are ready to help you.  They want to see you grow, they love to see you succeed, so harness this opportunity. Connect with them, collaborate, make lasting friendships, and empower others.


 


What is your motto in life, your guiding principle? 


Set goals, commit to them, be consistent, and attain them. That’s all you need to succeed.


 


What is one random fact about you that few people are aware of? 


I love playing football, travelling, meeting and interacting with new people.


 


Good luck to you in all your endeavors, Japhlet!


 


Readers, you can find Japhlet on Twitter and LinkedIn.


 


 


 

Microsoft Teams apps designed for Microsoft 365 coming in Preview to Outlook and Office.com

Microsoft Teams apps designed for Microsoft 365 coming in Preview to Outlook and Office.com

by | Mar 31, 2022 | Technology

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

At last year’s Ignite 2021 Microsoft announced the Preview of a new Teams SDK that enables developers to create Microsoft Teams apps that, with minor adjustments to the app’s manifest, can also extend Teams personal apps and message extensions to other parts of Microsoft 365, like Office and Outlook. Today, we are making the first group of these Teams apps available in Preview for Outlook and Office.com for users enrolled in the Targeted Release program. We’ve also worked on enhancing some of our own apps, like Power BI, partnered very closely with ISVs like Mural and Zoho to build apps using this SDK and will be adding more. Read on to learn how you, an admin, can get your users ready, and what admin controls are already available.


 


With this enhancement, apps built for Teams not only run everywhere Teams runs, but also in more of the places that users spend their time in Microsoft 365, like Outlook and Office.com. You should note that once your users in Targeted Release start seeing these apps, you will need to know how to manage this experience. Click here to learn more.


 


What does this mean for your organization?


 


With the enhanced Teams apps, your users in Targeted Release that use the apps in Teams will start seeing those apps in Outlook and Office.com.


 


Illustration labeled, “Same delightful experience available everywhere you work.” Displays the Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Outlook icons, and beneath them are screenshots of Power BI in Office, Microsoft Teams, and Outlook.Illustration labeled, “Same delightful experience available everywhere you work.” Displays the Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Outlook icons, and beneath them are screenshots of Power BI in Office, Microsoft Teams, and Outlook.


App Management Tools


 


With the enhanced Teams apps, as an admin, you can now manage the app and user access to the app in a unified manner. Previously, for an app to work in Teams, Outlook, and Office, you needed to manage each app independently. With the enhanced Teams apps, you now need to manage it only once, and enable a single, connected experience for end-users across Teams, Outlook, and Office.com.


 


With the enhanced Teams app, for its use in Outlook and Office.com, there is no change in existing permissions, or the app data access. The enhanced app continues to use the existing permissions granted in Teams.


 


Displays the Teams admin center with the permissions pop-up for Zoho projects app.Displays the Teams admin center with the permissions pop-up for Zoho projects app.


As an admin, you can manage the enhanced Teams apps, in the Teams admin center, using the same admin controls that you use for your Teams apps. As a Teams administrator, you can manage your end-users’ access to the enhanced Teams apps. If you are already using the Teams app that is enhanced to work across Microsoft 365, you can see the experience in Preview for Outlook and in Office.com.


 


Displays the Mural app in the Microsoft Office.com experience.Displays the Mural app in the Microsoft Office.com experience.


After you install, your end-users can start using the Teams app in Office.com and can see the app conveniently available in the app bar in Office.com.


 


Displays the Zoho projects app in the Microsoft Office experience, with a highlight on the Zoho projects app in the left ribbon.Displays the Zoho projects app in the Microsoft Office experience, with a highlight on the Zoho projects app in the left ribbon.


Like in Office.com, your end users will have a similar experience in Outlook, plus message extensions within email and calendar composite experience. The app is conveniently available on the left app bar in Outlook.


 


Displays the Zoho projects app Message Extension in the Microsoft Outlook experience.Displays the Zoho projects app Message Extension in the Microsoft Outlook experience.


For additional guidance on how to manage access to the Teams apps across Microsoft 365, check out this Microsoft Docs article: Manage access to Teams apps across Microsoft 365.


 


In the future, we will bring more admin controls to the Microsoft 365 admin center to manage these experiences across all Microsoft 365 apps.


 


Note: The Preview roll-out of these new capabilities has started for users enrolled in the Microsoft 365 Targeted Release program or who are members of the Office Insiders program and have Outlook for Windows installed from the Beta Channel.


 


Continue the conversation by joining us in the Microsoft 365 Tech Community! Whether you have product questions or just want to stay informed with the latest updates on new releases, tools, and blogs, Microsoft 365 Tech Community is your go-to resource to stay connected!