Education
1075 TopicsWhat's the difference between School Data Sync (Plan 1) and School Data Sync (Plan 2)?
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/schooldatasync/create-users-for-k12-and-hed#prerequisites-for-sds mentions among the "perquisites to enable SDS for user creation" are School Data Sync (Plan 1) or School Data Sync (Plan 2). Microsoft Partners have access to documents that explain Office 365 Education Plan A1 includes School Data Sync (Plan 1) while both Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Education Plan A3 and A5 include School Data Sync (Plan 2). However, I can't find any details about the differences between the SDS plans on: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/academic/compare-office-365-education-plans https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/office-365-platform-service-description/office-365-education, which doesn't even mention SDS https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/office-365-platform-service-description/microsoft-365-education https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/buy-license/microsoft365/ [EDIT] https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/licensing/product-licensing/microsoft-365-enterprise?activetab=m365-enterprise:primaryr7 mentions "School Data Sync Plan 2 (plan details can be found https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/schooldatasync/)" - but there are no details about the plan there Does anyone know what the distinction is between School Data Sync (Plan 1) and School Data Sync (Plan 2)?Solved4.6KViews0likes4CommentsAssign different service patterns to Staff in Bookings
Hello! I wonder if someone can help me work out if this is possible or not! We have a Bookings system that say we have Service 1 that can be booked from Monday through to Friday by anyone with various members of staff. However, I have a member of staff who only works for this service, parttime and therefore is not available for Service 1 on say a Monday and Tuesday. BUT they do still work with different services on those days, so I cannot restrict their working days via the Edit Staff option as they should still be available for other services. Is there a way I can restrict Service 1 for that member of staff only? So that it is only available for them on a Wed-Fri? I do not want to have to create separate Services for members of staff if it can be helped. But I also cannot see a way to select when services can be made available for specific members of staff. TIA!Solved27Views0likes1CommentRestrict Service to a specific user
Hello! I am wondering if it's possible to restrict days a service is available for specific staff members? I have a Service that is available Monday-Friday....but some members of staff only work parttime for this service and are therefore cannot be shown as available for that service only on certain days. This would be fine if they only needed to be available for that service as we would then just edit their availability on the calendar at staff level. HOWEVER, the issue comes as these staff members do work on the other days but for different services and therefore they do need to be available for the full days - but they can't be available for that service on specific days. i.e. Joe Bloggs works Monday and Tuesday and available only for Service #1. Joe Bloggs works Wednesday-Friday and available only for Service #2. Jane Doe works Monday-Friday and available for Service #1. Both Service #1 and #2 are open to book by the same end user and therefore, ideally, need to be part of the same Booking system. Is there a way to restrict a service to specific days but only for specific staff members?Solved26Views0likes1CommentWhat's New in Microsoft EDU - October 2025
Join us on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025 for our latest "What's New in Microsoft EDU" webinar! These 30-minute webinars are put on by the Microsoft Education Product Management group and happen once per month, this month both 8:00am Pacific Time and 4:00pm Pacific time to cover as many global time zones as possible around the world. And don’t worry – we’ll be recording these and posting on our Microsoft Education YouTube channel in the new “What’s New in Microsoft EDU” playlist, so you’ll always to able to watch later or share with others! Here is our October 2025 webinar agenda: M365 Copilot and AI updates for Educators and Students Learning Zone public preview and the Copilot+ PC Microsoft 365 LTI for Learning Management Systems AMA - Ask Microsoft EDU Anything (Q&A) We look forward to having you attend the event! How to sign up OPTION 1: October 22nd, Wednesday @ 8:00am Pacific Time Register here OPTION 2: October 22nd, Wednesday @ 4:00pm Pacific Time Register here This is what the webinar portal will look like when you register: We look forward to seeing you there! Mike Tholfsen Group Product Manager Microsoft Education759Views0likes0CommentsAI Agents in Free Copilot Chat.
Hi all! When Agents were first introduced into Copilot Chat for free, you used to be able to upload 20 knowledge resources. Now this has been cut back to 4 web URLS only, and each of these can only be 2 forward slashes deep - we are really struggling on using agents successfully. Based in the UK, all of the Department for Education content is more than // deep in their web. We can't upload docs from the PDF's and most other juicy web content is much deeper in the domains than 2 x // I would love to hear from other Copilot Chat Agent users in how you are working with the barriers of the free version in your setting. Paid licenses are just not an option on UK school budgets sadly. Thanks all!8Views0likes0CommentsFrom idea to Security Copilot agent: Create, customize, and deploy
This week at Microsoft Secure, we announced the next big step forward in agentic security. In addition to Microsoft and partner-built agents, you can now create your own Security Copilot agents, extending the growing ecosystem of agents that help teams automate workflows, close gaps, and drive stronger security and IT outcomes. Why it matters: no two environments are the same. Out-of-the-box agents give you powerful starting points, but your workflows are unique. With custom agents, you get the flexibility to design and deploy solutions that fit your organization. Two ways to build: Your choice, your workflow Security Copilot gives you options. Analysts can easily build with a no-code interface. Developers can stay in their preferred coding environment. Either way, you end up with a fully functional, testable, and deployable agent. For full documentation and detailed guidance on building agents, check out the Microsoft Security Copilot documentation. But now, let’s walk through the key steps so you can get started building your own agent today. Option 1: Build in Security Copilot, no coding required Step 1: Create in natural language Click ‘Build’ in the left nav, describe what you want your agent to do in plain language, and submit. Security Copilot will engage in a back-and-forth conversation to clarify and capture your intent so you start with precision. Step 2: Auto-generate the configuration Security Copilot instantly creates a starter setup, giving you: An agent name and description Clear instructions and input parameters Recommended tools pulled from the catalog, including Microsoft, partner, and Sentinel MCP tools This saves time and generates a strong foundation you can build on Step 3: Customize to fit your needs Tailor the configuration to your needs, you can edit any part. Update instructions, swap tools, or add new ones from the tool catalog. If the right tool isn’t available, you can create one in natural language or a form-based experience. You’re in full control of how your agent works. Step 4: Keep YAML and no-code views aligned Every change you make is automatically reflected in the underlying YAML code. This ensures consistency between the no-code visual and code views, so both analysts and developers can work with confidence. Toggle on ‘view code’ to see it live. Step 5: Test and elevate with autotune instruction optimization Run full end-to-end tests or test individual components to see how your agent performs. Security Copilot shows detailed outputs and a step-by-step activity map of the agent’s dynamic plan, including the tools, inputs, and outputs. While you can test without it, turning on autotune instruction optimization delivers major advantages: Refined instruction recommendations you can copy directly into your config AI quality scoring on clarity, grounding, and detail to ensure your agent is effective before publishing Faster iteration with confidence your agent is tuned for real-world use Explore the activity graph tab to view a visual node map of the run, and click any node to see details of what happened at each step. Step 6: Publish and share When you’re ready, publish the agent into your Security Copilot instance at either a user or workspace scope (depending on admin permissions). If you’re a partner, you can also download the agent code, publish to the Microsoft Partner Center and contribute it to the Microsoft Security Store for broader visibility and adoption by customers. Benefit: Build production-ready agents in minutes without writing a single line of code. It’s that easy to build an agent tailored to your unique workflows, and you are not limited to the Security Copilot portal. If you prefer a developer-friendly environment, you can build entirely in VS Code using GitHub Copilot and Microsoft Sentinel MCP tools. You still get AI-powered guidance, YAML scaffolding, and testing support, along with rich context from Sentinel data and the full platform toolset, all while staying in the environment that works best for you. Option 2: Build in VS Code using GitHub Copilot + Microsoft Sentinel MCP Tools Step 1: Set up your development environment Enable the Microsoft Sentinel MCP server in VS Code. This gives you direct access to the collection of Security Copilot agent creation MCP tools and integrates with GitHub Copilot for code generation – all while staying in your preferred workspace. Step 2: Define agent behavior from natural language with platform context Describe the agent you want to build in natural language. GitHub Copilot interprets your intent, selects the relevant MCP tools, find relevant skills and tools in Security Copilot for your agent, and crafts the agent instructions. The agent YAML gets generated and outputted back to you. Because your agent is built on Microsoft Security Copilot and Sentinel, it automatically leverages rich data and tooling across the platform for context-aware, more effective results. Step 3: Iterate, customize and extend your agent Modify instructions, add tools, or create new tools as needed. Use prompts to vibe code your edits or copy the YAML into the code editor and directly modify the agent YAML there. GitHub Copilot keeps the chat and code in sync. Step 4: Deploy to Security Copilot for testing Once you’re ready to test your agent YAML, prompt GitHub Copilot to deploy the agent to your user scope. Then head to the Security Copilot portal to test and optimize your agent with autotune instruction optimization. Take advantage of detailed outputs, activity maps, and AI scoring to refine instructions and ensure your agent performs effectively in real-world scenarios. Step 5: Publish and share your agent Once validated, publish the agent into your Security Copilot instance at either user or workspace scope (depending on admin permissions). Partners can also download the agent code, publish to the Microsoft Partner Center, and contribute it to the Microsoft Security Store for broader discoverability and adoption. What you get: Full code-level control and the same AI-powered agent development experience while staying in your preferred workspace. Whichever approach you choose, you can build, test, and deploy agents that fit your workflows and environment. Microsoft Security Copilot and Microsoft Sentinel give you the tools and advanced AI guidance to create agents that work for your organization. Explore the Microsoft Security Store Automate your workflows with pre-built solutions. The Microsoft Security Store gives you a central place to discover and deploy agents and SaaS solutions created by Microsoft and partners. Browse ready-to-use solutions, learn from proven approaches, and adapt them with your own customizations. It’s the quickest way to expand your ecosystem of agents and accelerate impact. More resources about the Security Store: What is Security Store? Microsoft Learn Build, deploy, defend Security Copilot puts the power of agentic AI directly in your hands. Start with ready-to-use agents from Microsoft and partners, or create custom agents designed specifically for your environment and workflows. These agents streamline decision-making, surface critical insights, and free your team to focus on strategic security initiatives - making operations faster, smarter, and more responsive. Join us at Microsoft Ignite, online or in-person, for hands-on demos and insights on how Security Copilot agents empower teams to act faster and protect better. More resources on building Security Copilot agents: Watch the Mechanics video to see agents in action: Security Copilot agents Mechanics video For more detailed guidance on building agents, check out the Microsoft Security Copilot documentation Special thanks to my co-authors, Namrata Puri (Principal PM, Security Copilot) and Sherie Pan (PM, Security Copilot), for their insights and contributionsHow to Filter or Block Non-Business Emails in Microsoft Bookings?
Hi community! 👋 I'm currently using Microsoft Bookings to manage appointment scheduling for a project, and I’m looking for a way to restrict or filter out personal emails (like @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, etc.) from making bookings. What I've Tried So Far: Required custom field asking users to "Enter your business email" Manual review via "Admin Approval" setting Filtering in Outlook after the booking is created But these are still more like workarounds. Is there any built-in feature or third-party integration that can: Block bookings unless the email is from a business domain Auto-decline free/personal email addresses Or at least flag them in the calendar? Bonus Context: I run a digital experience site that blends online booking and content storytelling — one of our examples is this fun article combining real-life stories with booking-based workflows: 🔗 https://tirafficridergame.com/evel-knievel-mining-incident/ It’s not a direct tutorial, but we're expanding into more productivity-related content. Any help or plugin tips would be appreciated! Thanks in advance! 🙏 — [Raza] Let me know if you want to change the topic or make it more technical, SEO-focused, or tutorial-style.57Views0likes1CommentStep-by-Step: Setting Up GitHub Student and GitHub Copilot as an Authenticated Student Developer
To become an authenticated GitHub Student Developer, follow these steps: create a GitHub account, verify student status through a school email or contact GitHub support, sign up for the student developer pack, connect to Copilot and activate the GitHub Student Developer Pack benefits. The GitHub Student Developer Pack offers 100s of free software offers and other benefits such as Azure credit, Codespaces, a student gallery, campus experts program, and a learning lab. Copilot provides autocomplete-style suggestions from AI as you code. Visual Studio Marketplace also offers GitHub Copilot Labs, a companion extension with experimental features, and GitHub Copilot for autocomplete-style suggestions. Setting up your GitHub Student and GitHub Copilot as an authenticated Github Student Developer397KViews14likes14CommentsMicrosoft 365 LTI is now Generally Available
Today, Microsoft is announcing a unified LTI® designed to make LMS integrations simple, with powerful capabilities to streamline and simplify deployment. Microsoft 365 LTI enhances your LMS platform whether you’re using Canvas, Schoology, Brightspace, Blackboard, Moodle™, or any other LTI 1.3 capable platform, making it easier than ever for educators and students to leverage the full suite of Microsoft 365 tools within their existing LMS workflows. The new Microsoft 365 LTI combines all the capabilities of the individual tools into one convenient tool--instead of managing multiple LTI integrations, you’ll have one unified solution that is more functional and easier to deploy and maintain. Educators and learners will benefit from a more seamless and up-to-date LMS experience for Microsoft 365 Education. Teach and learn with confidence knowing that Microsoft 365 LTI is backed by Microsoft's industry-leading security and compliance tools with Microsoft 365. Deploy and access the new Microsoft 365 LTI in your LMS with the overview and deployment guides. IMPORTANT: If you've already deployed the Microsoft 365 LTI in preview, you do not need to redeploy in your LMS – However there are a few action items for LMS admins with existing deployments: Review the deployment guide for any updates Revisit your Admin Settings, to review the apps enabled you wish your educators to have access to in their courses Ask your M365 Admin to re-consent to permissions to grant the app additional permission to display Meeting Recordings with the M365 Consent link Microsoft 365 LTI release debuts with OneNote Cass Notebook, Teams, Meetings and Reflect – all generally available. Microsoft Assignments, OneDrive, and Reading Coach join these experiences in preview and will transition to GA as ready. At-a-glance: The Microsoft 365 LTI is now generally available, bringing all your favorite Microsoft Education tools into a single, seamless experience inside your LMS. No more juggling multiple integrations - just streamlined access to everything educators and students need, right where they work. This includes: Unified access to OneDrive, Teams, Class Notebook, Reflect, and more, directly in your LMS Add content, create assignments, and schedule meetings - all from one place New – Reading Coach bringing reading self-practice for students to your LMS No need to enable multiple tools separately or clutter your LMS menus Available for all currently supported LMS platforms, including Canvas by Instructure, PowerSchool Schoology Learning, Blackboard by Anthology, D2L/Brightspace, and Moodle™, and for any LTI 1.3 Advantage compliant platform. Existing LTI retirements: Replaces deprecated Teams Meetings and Team Classes LTI tools sunsetting September 15, 2025 Replaces Microsoft OneDrive LTI, OneNote LTI, Teams Assignments LTI and Reflect LTI as they retire next September 17, 2026 Dive into the new Microsoft 365 LTI to streamline your LMS experience We are bringing our Microsoft 365 Education capabilities for learning management systems together into a single, unified tool to streamline the user experience. Educators will be able to access Learning Accelerators, Reflect, OneDrive, Teams, and more in their LMS courses, without having to enable multiple tools separately, and without overcrowding menus where LTI tools surface. Whether adding content to a module, creating an assignment, or scheduling a meeting for a class, you will be able to easily access Microsoft 365 Education related features directly in your LMS workflow. Microsoft 365 LTI is available for supported LMS platforms, including Canvas by Instructure, PowerSchool Schoology Learning, Blackboard by Anthology, D2L/Brightspace, and Moodle™, and for any LTI 1.3 Advantage compliant platform. Learning Accelerators and AI-enhanced assignments in your LMS - without Microsoft Teams (Preview) With the Microsoft 365 LTI, you will be able to use Learning Accelerators, multiple-document submissions, AI rubric and instructions generation, AI-assisted feedback, auto-graded Forms and other Microsoft Education assignment capabilities directly within your learning management system (LMS), without the need to create and sync a Microsoft Team for your class. Assignments in Microsoft 365 LTI no longer require Teams, enabling more LMS users to benefit from advanced, AI-enhanced capabilities that were formerly exclusive to Microsoft Teams for Education. Assignments can be created, managed, completed, and graded, without leaving your LMS, and grades and feedback will sync automatically to the LMS gradebook. This capability is included automatically in the new Microsoft 365 LTI tool. Existing, Teams-based assignments will continue to work and can be copied to new courses, so no migration is necessary. The assignments functionality in Microsoft 365 LTI replaces the classic Teams Assignments LTI which will retire next September 17, 2026. NEW! - Introducing Reading Coach in your LMS (Preview) Support independent reading with confidence. The Reading Coach student experience is now available in your LMS—offering students personalized reading practice, real-time feedback on fluency and pronunciation, with engaging AI-generated stories, library passages, and the option to add their own content to keep practice fun and fresh. Available now in preview. Teams and Teams Meetings Microsoft 365 LTI replaces the former Teams Classes LTI and Teams Meetings LTI tools which reach end of life on September 15, 2025. The new Teams and Teams Meetings experiences continue in Microsoft 365 LTI with improved user experiences where users can easily schedule, manage, and launch meetings from directly within their LMS course. The tool provides streamlined views of future and past meetings, attendance insights, and a “Meet Now” capability. NEW! view all of your meeting recordings on one place in the Recordings and files tab! Automatic rostering in Class Notebooks returns with the Microsoft 365 LTI In March, we announced the retirement of automatically adding newly rostered students and co-educators to OneNote Class Notebooks provisioned through the LMS using the LTI 1.1 integration. This much-loved feature is back in the new Class Notebook app in Microsoft 365 LTI. Any instructor in the LMS course can create a Class Notebook and all co-educators and students are automatically added to the notebook--even as the LMS roster changes. In addition, the new integration enables OneNote with the benefits of LTI 1.3 conformance and a modernized provisioning flow for educators to easily deploy new Class Notebooks for their courses. Existing notebooks created in the LTI 1.1 integration will continue to work, and sections and pages can be easily copied to new notebooks. The OneNote Class Notebook app in Microsoft 365 LTI replaces the classic OneNote LTI which will retire next September 17, 2026. OneDrive and Microsoft 365 files with embedded editors and new placements (Preview) The new Microsoft 365 LTI tool expands beyond the capabilities of the existing OneDrive LTI tool. The full capabilities of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, are now available within the LMS experience for attaching content resources, collaborative documents (including Collaborations for Canvas Courses and Groups), and students editing and submitting Microsoft 365 documents as an assignment without leaving the LMS. Documents can be embedded or linked into courses and other LMS activities including discussions, announcements, pages, with proper management of permissions to prevent oversharing, and with dedicated course-level storage to support proper document lifecycle management, assignment workflows, and use of Microsoft 365 Copilot. This functionality replaces the classic Microsoft OneDrive LTI which will retire September 17, 2026. Easily add Reflect to your classroom Microsoft 365 LTI also provides easy access to Microsoft Reflect to support student wellbeing in the classroom. Educators can create check-ins, view responses, and monitor trends within an LMS course. Users can access activities from Microsoft and partners such as Calm to support physical and mental wellbeing. The Reflect app in Microsoft 365 LTI replaces the classic Reflect LTI which will retire next September 17, 2026. For more information, and to keep up with future product announcements Please visit the Microsoft Tech Community Education Blog and subscribe to keep up with what’s new in Microsoft Education. We also hold bi-monthly office hours every first and third Thursday where lots of LMS + Microsoft 365 customers come to discuss scenarios and get assistance from peers, please join us. Microsoft 365 LTI Office Hours 1 st and 3 rd Thursday of each month @11am EST Join link: https://aka.ms/LTIOfficeHours How to get help or send feedback For any issues deploying the integration, our Education Support team is here to help. Please visit https://aka.ms/EduSupport Once deployed, the Microsoft 365 LTI integration has links to Contact Support and Send Feedback from right within the app. These can be found in the user voice menu in the upper right on any view that appears within the LMS. Learn more about Microsoft feedback for your organization. We can’t wait to hear your feedback! Try out the Microsoft 365 LTI today! Learning Tools Interoperability® (LTI®) is a trademark of the 1EdTech Consortium, Inc. (1edtech.org) The word Moodle and associated Moodle logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Moodle Pty Ltd or its related affiliates.2.1KViews1like0Comments