Did you know that there are assistive technology supports that are available to all? …Well, we hope so if you’re a regular to this blog!

But if you happen to be a new blog reader or subscriber, let us start at the beginning…

What is Assistive Technology?

Assistive Technology, or AT refers to hardware, software, devices, tools, and strategies that support individuals in a variety of ways. Within the educational setting, AT supports learners by providing alternative ways of accessing or interacting with their course materials (example: text-to-speech, enlarged font, ergonomic devices).

Technology Available to all Students

Sounds great, doesn’t it?!

If you want to learn about the different types of Assistive Technology available to all students, check out the Assistive Technology page by Student Accessibility Services.

…Yes, this is a webpage by Student Accessibility Services, but if you venture to the bottom of the page, there is a section on “technology available to all students”. It’s even broken down into categories!

“Accessibility in Windows and Office Applications” Tutorial

Did you know that there is AT built into your (Windows) device as well as many common Office applications such as Word, PowerPoint and OneNote? Well, there are! And we even have a tutorial in LEARN that you can take to find out about these built in AT features!

Accessibility in Windows and Office Applications LEARN Tutorial

Subscribe to the Blog!

View this past Tech Tips: Work Smarter, Not Harder blog post on Subscribing to the Blog!

Welcome back! We hope everyone had a restful Winter Break! As a welcome back, welcome to the New Year gift, we’d like to do a special post where we outline our favourite posts from 2025.

Let’s count down from 10 to 1!

Top 10 Posts from 2025

10 – Accessibility in Office Applications (Part 1)

Learn how to make your work in Office Applications more accessible!

Accessibility in Office Applications – Part 1 blog post

9 – Accessibility in Office Applications (Part 2 – Word)

Learn about accessibility in Microsoft Word.

Accessibility in Word blog post

8 – Accessibility in Office Applications (Part 3 – PowerPoint)

Learn about accessibility in PowerPoint.

Accessibility in PowerPoint blog post

7 – Accessibility in Office Applications (Part 4 – OneNote)

Learn about accessibility in OneNote.

Accessibility in OneNote blog post

6 – Quick Parts in Word and Outlook

Learn what Quick Parts are, and how they can save you time in Word and Outlook!

Quick Parts (Word and Outlook) blog post

5 – Microsoft Editor Browser Extension

Learn how to add Microsoft’s Editor to Edge for help with your spelling, grammer, and more!

Microsoft Editor Browser Extension blog post

4 – Pinning Applications in HUB

Learn how to pin your most used applications in HUB so they appear at the top of your list!

Pinning in HUB blog post

3 – How to Recover a Lost Document

Learn how to (potentially) save a lost document!

How to Recover a Lost Document blog post

2 – Autosaving

Learn how to set your Microsoft Office documents to autosave.

AutoSave Your Microsoft Documents blog post

1 – Make the Most out of Teams

Learn about 6 different features that will help you make the most out of Teams!

Make the Most out of Teams blog post

Bonus!

Subscribe to the Blog so that you never miss a new post! View this past Tech Tips: Work Smarter, Not Harder blog post on Subscribing to the Blog to learn how!

We’d venture to guess that every student here at RRC Polytech has used Teams in some way. To attend a virtual class, meet with classmates over a group project, or meet with instructors or other staff at the College. Teams is a widely used application, but, there may be some features of Teams that you’re not aware of.

Features of Teams

There are quite a few blog posts we’ve done on features of Teams. Given that many programs are wrapping up for the year, we thought we’d wrap up our previous Teams posts as a congratulations gift. Ok, that was a little cheesy, even for this blog!

• Muting a Teams Chat
• Pinning a Teams Chat
• Formatting Messages in Teams
• Scheduling a Post in Teams
• Important Teams Messages
• Live Captions in Teams
• Speaker Coach in Teams

Farewell to 2025

This will also be our last post for 2025! We’d like to thank everyone for their continued support for the blog, and wish you all a well-deserved Winter Break!

Don’t forget you can subscribe to the blog so that you never miss a new post! View this past Tech Tips: Work Smarter, Not Harder blog post on Subscribing to the Blog to learn how!

Speaker Coach is a built-in feature that offers private, real-time feedback to help you become a more effective communicator (at least in Teams meetings).

Why Use Speaker Coach

Speaker Coach helps you:

• Avoid filler words like “um” and “uh”
• Pace your speech appropriately
• Stay inclusive by avoiding interrupting others
• Improve clarity and engagement
• …and hopefully, boost your confidence in speaking!

It’s like having a supportive mentor in your ear—without anyone else knowing!

How to Turn on Speaker Coach

• During a meeting
• Click the More actions (⋯) menu
• Select Language and Speech
• Select Turn on Speaker Coach

Speaker Coach works in both scheduled meetings and rehearsals (like PowerPoint Live).

Speaker Coach’s Feedback

To access your feedback after your meeting has ended:

• Go to the Teams calendar and open the meeting.
• Click Speaker Coach report to view personalized insights on your speaking habits.

Only you can see your feedback—so it’s a safe space to grow.

AI Usage Acknowledgement

This post was jointly written by Copilot and a human.

If it’s happened to you, you know how frustrating it can be: when you’ve been working hard, and then something happens and you lose all of your hard work. Super sad face.

To keep this from happening again in the future – enable AutoSave!

Sign into OneDrive

In order to utilize AutoSave for your Microsoft files, you must be signed into OneDrive (or SharePoint online).

To sign into OneDrive:

1. Open any Microsoft application (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc…)
2. Select File
3. Then Account
4. Sign in with your Microsoft account (your RRC Polytech account)
5. Once signed in, your OneDrive will appear as a save location

Enable AutoSave

1. Open your document
2. Save it to OneDrive
   • Select File
   • Then Save As
   • Then Select OneDrive
3. In the top left of the ribbon toggle AutoSave on

Bonus Tip!

Don’t see the AutoSave option? Search for it in the search bar in the top middle of the ribbon.

AI Usage Acknowledgement

This post was jointly written by Copilot and a human.

It happens to us all, and it’s scarier than any costume you’ve seen on Halloween… you’re working on a document and, your computer crashes, Word freezes, something happens, and all your hard work is just, gone! AH!

But did you know there are things you can do to try and recover that work?

Option 1 – Previous Versions

If you have previously saved the file, and lost additional work, you may be able to recover a previous version of the file.

• Locate the file in your File Explorer
• Right click
• Select Properties
• Select the tab for Previous Versions
• Select a previous version (if available)

Option 2 – Document Management

• Open a blank Word document
• Select File
• Then Info
• Then Manage Document
• Select Recover Unsaved Documents

Subscribe to the Blog!

View this past Tech Tips: Work Smarter, Not Harder blog post on Subscribing to the Blog!

Maybe you’re in a noisy environment, forgot your headphones, or simply prefer reading over listening, we suggest that you give Live Captions in Teams a try!

Live captions display, in real-time, a text version of what is being said in Teams.

How to Turn on Live Captions

1. Join the Teams meeting
2. Click the more (•••) icon in the top right-hand side of the window
3. Select “language and speech”
4. Then “show live captions”

Learn More!

Use live captions in Microsoft Teams meetings – Microsoft Support

AI Usage Acknowledgement

This post was jointly written by Copilot and a human.

Did you know that your (Windows) computer, and Microsoft Office Applications come with many “accessibility” features built-in? Well, they do!

…we put “accessibility” in quotes as we strongly feel that these features are not just for those with disabilities – they are features that help everyone work in their best way. Features that help everyone thrive!

LEARN Tutorial

To help users get acquainted with these “accessibility” features and the benefits they provide, we’ve put together a LEARN tutorial.

Whether you’re looking for a way to type faster (using voice dictation), read what’s being said around you (with live captions), or are looking for ways to reduce eye strain from extended computer use – this tutorial has you covered!

Check it out at rrc.ca/WindowsAccessibility

Welcome! Welcome to the 2025-2026 Academic School Year. …yes we know we’re a little late in posting that, but we wanted to wait a bit to give students a chance to settle into a routine (and find our blog!).

What is this blog about?

For those of you who are new to our blog, Tech Tips: Work Smarter, Not Harder is a blog dedicated to making your academic (or work) life easier. We do this by highlighting available technologies, or ways of using those technologies.

When do new posts come out?

Typically we post bi-weekly.

However sometimes around special times of year we may post more or less frequently.

Stay in the loop!

You can sign up to receive email notifications when new blog posts come out. It only takes a quick minute, and this way you’ll be reminded of new posts.

1. Go to Red River College Polytechnic – Newsletter Subscriptions
2. Enter your email address in the text box
3. Check off the boxes for any newsletters you want to subscribe to
   • Note: with the above link “Accessibility Tech Tips” is already checked off – this is Tech Tips: Work Smarter, Not Harder
4. Select subscribe at the bottom of the page

Howdy folks, and welcome back to these here Tech Tips blog posts! …translation: Hi, welcome back to our Tech Tips: Work Smarter, Not Harder blog posts. 🙂

Summers are always a slower time of year at the College with less programs running, and less students around. But, that didn’t mean that the posts stopped over the summer!

So, for those that missed our summer posts, here’s what you may have missed:

• Marking Teams Messages as Unread
• Pinning Teams Chats
• Muting a Teams Chat
• Pinning in HUB
• Formatting Messages in Teams
• Scheduling a Post in Teams
• Important Teams Messages

Side Note: Happy 3-year anniversary to the blog!