Microsoft and Epals are partnering to provide Epals users access to online versions of popular Microsoft programs like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint within the Epals Learning Space. This will allow students and teachers to access and collaborate on documents and files in a single, shared, and secure education technology environment. The integration will also allow schools to set up policy controls around student email sharing and information access for security purposes.

1. Microsoft,Epals Teams up On Collaborative Tool Epals users will have access to online versions of popular Microsoft with a secure learning environment.

2. Epals customers will be able to take advantage of popular productivity software and can access their Word documents and other files all from within a single,shared,and secure education technolgy environment.

3. For instance,a teacher using the online version of Microsoft Word within epals Learning Space could set up a policy rule specifying when a document is created.

4. Early next year,epals users will have access to the web-based versions of Microsoft programs such….

5. Word,Excel,and Powerpoint within the epals Learning Space,the two companies say.

6. “Epals will help take us to the next level [in making] the cloud come alive in a learning scenario.’’

7. Said Anthony Salcito,vice president of world wide education for Microsoft.

8. From an IT persoective,the solution will allow schools to set up sophisticated policy-based controls that regulate which students can email and share information.

9. Shared information with each other for security purposes,and what level of flitering and monitoring is desired for sent and received email.

10. He estimated that fewer than 10 percent of schools in the United States have giving their students tools for communicating and collaborative online.