The Times They Are A-Changin'- Office 2007

The times, they are a-changin’. No, this is not the start of another Dylan song but rather the sound of technology evolving. As many of you know, Microsoft recently released their latest version of Office 2007. We currently have Office 2000 and 2003 installed around campus. With this new release, the latest updates are not rolling back to the Office 2000 installs. The help desk has started to register increased trouble calls related to systems running Office 2000. This has prompted the need to update systems across campus. Therefore, the school will be upgrading to Office 2007 during the summer.

While this is a significant change, you will still be able to do all you have been able to do before. Add to that, new functionality and ease of access to more advanced features. We are in the process of preparing a center of reference materials that will help you with this transition. Many of you will find the reference material sufficient to start immediately working in Office 2007. For those who want more, or would like a quick tour of the standard operations, we will provide a series of short orientations at the start of school. Because there are significant new features as well as making advanced features are more accessible, we will produce a self-paced course WebCT course for Office 2007 that you can use to increase your skills with this new software. Of course, my office is always open and I would be happy to work with anyone learning this new version of Office.

I have created a short video that will give you a quick tour of the new Office. I encourage you to take a moment and see the new look. I think you will be surprised with how easy it really will be to start working in Office 2007.