{"id":3001,"date":"2015-08-25T09:30:34","date_gmt":"2015-08-25T08:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/?p=3001"},"modified":"2015-09-03T16:20:22","modified_gmt":"2015-09-03T15:20:22","slug":"windows-10-has-a-sleeping-giant-awoken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2015\/08\/25\/windows-10-has-a-sleeping-giant-awoken\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows 10: has a sleeping giant awoken?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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flickr photo by ToddABishop<\/a> shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license<\/p><\/div>\n

Readers of our blog may notice that many of our technology-focussed posts relate to either applications that can be used on Apple and Android devices, or online resources. We haven\u2019t, up until now, referred to the operating system that 61% of you<\/a> probably use every day…Microsoft Windows.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whilst this omission may seem an oversight, it hasn’t been without good reason. As a team, we focus on emerging technologies that can assist either teachers or learners, and Windows hasn\u2019t delivered specifically in this area recently.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, it would have been difficult to ignore the Windows release of an updated version of their operating system last month, <\/span>Windows 10<\/span><\/a>, and as a result of all of the pomp and circumstance (<\/span>and now seemingly obligatory promotional video with thumping electronic dance music<\/span><\/a>) around the release, we dedicate a post to the new\u00a0features and consider applications to education. There are many new features to Windows 10 but this blog will explore three – Cortana<\/a>; Microsoft Edge<\/a> and Universal Windows<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cortana<\/b><\/p>\n

Cortana is Microsoft\u2019s digital personal assistant (like Apple’s Siri<\/a>) which remembers your questions\/searches and seeks to assist you in the everyday computer tasks (e.g. your schedule, the quickest route, or update you on news, sport and weather). You can interact with Cortana by speaking through your headset\/microphone or by typing into the search function found on the Microsoft 10 tool bar. See a two-minute video review of Cortana<\/a>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How can Cortana help students and academics? \u00a0<\/span>Microsoft have merged their Bing academic search with Cortana<\/span><\/a> to enable\u00a0anyone writing to ask Cortana to search for references or papers without having to leave the screen they\u2019re working on. This may seem small, but how many times have you researched on the net and ended up browsing for a holiday instead? Asking Cortana to search for you means that you can remain focussed on your writing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Microsoft Edge<\/b><\/p>\n

Microsoft has spent the last few years rebuilding its old and much-maligned browser \u2018Internet Explorer\u2019 and has replaced it with a new browser named <\/span>Microsoft Edge<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

This has two key features that have applications for\u00a0teaching and learning: <\/span><\/p>\n