Student Union

I am very excited about the Live@Edu pilot program that is set to start this fall! The product has really grown on me in such a short amount of time. Since its feature set meets of exceeds Google Apps in almost every area, my biggest concern was how easy the user interface would be to navigate. I am not a native Outlook user, so I excpted some time to adjust.

After testing Live@Edu for a while, I've learned the user interface. It is definately different from Gmail, but it is intuitive and easy to navigate. Here are some screenshots that show a few of the key features and the user interface of Live@Edu. Click on the images to see them fullsize in a popup window.

1) Live@Edu features a stunning Web 2.0 interface. Users are presented with the classic 3 pane Outlook view. Right now I was unable to reorganize the panes, but this is a feature that is planned for the fall release. The inbox comes with 10 GB of storage space.

2) When composing emails, users can take advantage of auto complete which is generated from a built in global address book of all users and those users whom you have contacted before. This is a feature I am really excited about. You will no longer need to go to the WUSTL Directory to find an email address. Now, you can just start typing the name of your professor and the global address book will do all the work for you.

3) Live@Edu has a conversation view where users can easily access all the messages in an email thread no matter when they were sent. This is very similar if not identical to Gmail's conversation view.

4) Categories in Live@Edu function similar to labels in Gmail. Users can apply multiple categories to an email, and can also sort and search via categories. I really like the labels feature in Gmail so I was very happy to see that Live@Edu had a similar function. You can create custom labels and give them different colors, etc. This will allow fans of labels to organize using the same paradigm, but those who like folders (for whatever reason, lol) will still be able to use those as well.

5) Live@Edu comes with a built in personal calendar that is directly tied to email. For example, when users are sent emails with event invites, they can automatically be added to the Live@Edu calendar.

6) Users can make calendar events, invite other attendees, and book resources from the same window. Autocomplete works with the calendar as well. Making a calendar event is very similar to writing an email, so once you get used to one of them, you're used to the other.

7) The Live@Edu scheduling assistant puts the availability of all invitees and resources in the same window for easy scheduling. The scheduling assistant also shows suggested times along with how many invitees can attend during each time. I think this is a really cool feature. No more emailing back and forth to schedule a meeting. This is even easier than whenisgood.net.

8) Live@Edu allows users to view shared calendars side by side for quick reference.

9) Each Live@Edu user has a profile page that can be seamlessly connected with social networking websites like facebook and twitter. As you can see I have my facebook feed and the SU blog feed connected to my profile. You can also give yourself a status message at the top.

10) Each user has a 25 GB skydrive for file storage and sharing.

11) Live@Edu makes collaboration easy with Office Live workspaces. These workspaces allow users to share documents for various project types seamlessly. I like the different templates that come with the service...it makes collaboration even easier.

Thanks for viewing. If you want to see screenshots of anything that I haven't posted, just let me know and I'll be happy to do so.

STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT JEFF NELSON:

Today I am proud to announce a new initiative that will greatly improve the way that we use technology to communicate.

For the past year, Student Union has worked with representatives from across the University to improve online communication tools by outsourcing them to a third party vendor. We have been evaluating two leading products: Google Apps for Education and Microsoft Live@Edu. Based on student feedback from surveys, test groups, town hall meetings, focus groups, product demonstrations and blog posts, we are ready to move forward in tangibly improving the way that the University provides online tools to students.

Starting this fall, we will begin offering undergraduate students email accounts powered by Microsoft Live@Edu [through a pilot program].

This move will accomplish several goals. First, it will introduce a unified communications platform. This means that students, faculty, staff and administrators can all seamlessly share information using the same tools.

For example, If you are looking for a classmate's email address, you will no longer have to go to a different website to find it. Now, you will be able to simply type their name and watch their email address automatically load from a built in global address book. Of, If you need to schedule an advising appointment with a professor, you will no longer need to walk to the office and sign your name on a sheet of paper taped to the door. Now, you will be able to view their calendar online and schedule a meeting from the same place.

These are just a couple examples of ways in which Live@Edu will make communication easier for everyone.

Live@Edu will also cut costs associated with providing online communication tools. The University will be able to provide robust online tools to students while eliminating hardware, software, and licensing costs. And since Live@Edu is built from Microsoft Exchange, the same architecture that is widely used by businesses, government agencies and our own faculty and staff, it will integrate seamlessly into the current environment with minimal implementation costs.

Now, many students expressed a strong preference for Google Apps and I personally understand why. Gmail is already used by many students because it comes with a large email inbox, online document editing tools, document storage space, an integrated calendar, and an intuitive user interface. Well, Microsoft Live@Edu offers each of these things and much more.

Using Live@Edu, each student will have a 10 gigabyte email inbox; 25 gigabytes of file storage space where they can upload documents, music and videos; an integrated and sharable calendar; online collaborative workspaces; direct integration with social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter; and access to full-featured online versions of Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

This is an impressive list of features. And when students graduate they will still have access to these same resources as alumni of the University.

If you have more question about Live@Edu please check out the SU Website or send me an email.

If you are interested in being an early adopter and signing up for the fall pilot program, please go to http://su.wustl.edu/TestLiveAtEdu.

If you want to help develop the branding for the Live@Edu service for Wash.U. please go to http://su.wustl.edu/NameLiveAtEdu.

It is clear that Live@Edu will improve the way that students use online tools to communicate. We are very excited about this accomplishment and even more excited to see it implemented starting this fall.

Thanks for watching.

###

Attachment: 1 July 2009 Online Communication Tools Go Live.pdf

The Student Email Group met on Friday (4/10) to recieve the responses to our Request for Proposals (RFP) from various vendors. 5 vendors have responded to the RFP, including Microft (Live@Edu) and Salvair (on behalf of Google for the Education and Primier edition of Google Apps). We are also expecting a few more responses to trickle in over the next week.

GOAL

To improve student email while saving money at the same time. The University should provide email accounts to students with the following features:

1. name@wustl.edu email address
2. Increased storage space
3. Integrated document repository
4. Integrated and shareable calendar
5. Minimal or no cost to the University to provide
6. Integration with the WUSTL Key
7. No 3rd party advertisements for student email accounts