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On this 5th day of Kwanzaa, here's an AI prompt you could use in the spirit of Nia (Purpose)... "Ask me 3 questions that could help me identify my purpose. Then, use my answers to create an action plan on how I can put my purpose in practice to help my community." Habari Gani! teamworkcowbell.blog/kwanzaaprompts

On this 6th day of Kwanzaa, here's an AI prompt you could use in the spirit of Kuumba (Creativity)... "Pretend you are poet speaking at a Kwanzaa celebration. Write a poem in the spirit of Kuumba that will inspire the audience to use their creativity to positively impact their community." Habari Gani! teamworkcowbell.blog/kwanzaaprompts

On this 7th day of Kwanzaa, here's an AI prompt you could use in the spirit of Imani (Faith)... " I want to understand how my faith can help impact my community. recommend a speech, a book, and a song that would help me celebrate the spirit of Imani today " Habari Gani! teamworkcowbell.blog/kwanzaaprompts

#Promo

I had a great time this week talking with the Cincinnati Blacks in Technology (BiT) group, sharing my tips, tricks, and thoughts about how cloud computing can be leveraged. I tried to keep this talk focused on the lighter side of cloud computing, and didn’t go quite as technically deep as I’ve done in other cloud talks . But it seems like everyone enjoyed themselves and learned a lot. One listener even admitted to me later that I’d convinced him to give the Cloud a try. Victory. : ) Here’s my slide deck, or you can find it on slideshare :

One feature often under-utilized in OneNote is the Lasso tool. On the Surface Pro, there are a few different ways to execute this feature since you have mouse, pen, and touch as options. See my video below for a demo, but here are the details: The Ways OneNote Desktop: Pen, Finger, or the Lasso Select button in the Draw toolbar. You can use the mouse to lasso or just select things with a basic square selector, but lasso is more precise (curves can go around other objects) OneNote Modern UI app : Pen or Finger – no Lasso Select button (although Lasso options will show in the radial menu after you lasso something). The Whys OneNote Modern UI app: Lasso’ing items is great for moving things around, and once selected, items like handwriting can be resized or stretched. The lasso is more precise than a simple mouse drag selection because you can curve the selection around close objects that you don’t want to be a part of your selection. OneNote Desktop app: In addition to the above, in the desktop app there a ton of additional things you can do to a selected item, especia lly when it’s handwriting. You can change the size and color of the ink, turn your handwriting into Text, rotate it, and much more. Below is an old video of mine where you can see the lasso in action and hopefully get an idea about the practical use of it, especially when diagramming in OneNote. Do you use the lasso tool?

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https://aka.ms/coffee4teams

Generated by AI. Be sure to check for accuracy. Meeting notes: Planner Experience: Ricardo discussed the new planner experience, highlighting its integration with personal and team tasks, and the new features like templates and copilot integrations. He also mentioned the potential for additional features with a premium license. New Calendar Button: Ricardo introduced the new calendar button in Teams, which integrates the Outlook calendar view and functionality into Teams. He explained the benefits and differences compared to the classic Teams calendar view. Training for GCC Tenants: Staci and Ricardo discussed the importance of delivering training for GCC tenants once features are stable and fully functional. They emphasized the benefits of having users immediately tinker with the features post-training. Q&A Feature: Ricardo and Staci clarified that the Q&A feature in Teams is not a premium feature and can be used in any meeting or webinar. They also discussed its availability in different environments. Meet App: Ricardo introduced the Meet app in Teams, explaining its features like viewing upcoming meetings, joining meetings, and accessing meeting recordings. He highlighted its usefulness for managing meetings efficiently. Meeting Conclusion: Ricardo and Staci concluded the meeting by thanking participants and reminding them of the monthly sessions and the updated website for accessing meeting links and on-demand viewing.

Key Topics: Introduction and Meeting Setup: Ricardo and Staci greeted the participants and discussed technical issues with Staci's account. Ricardo mentioned the purpose of the meeting and encouraged participants to ask questions. 0:14 New Chat & Channels UI: Ricardo introduced the new chatting channels UI rolling out this year, highlighting its game-changing features. Staci shared her initial reluctance but acknowledged the benefits after using it. 3:00 Combining Chat and Channels: Ricardo demonstrated the new UI, explaining how chat and channels are now combined. He addressed concerns about the loss of the Teams button and emphasized the unchanged functionality. 7:07 Custom Sections and Organization: Ricardo showcased the ability to create custom sections, allowing users to organize channels and chats based on their needs. He highlighted the benefits of having all related conversations in one place. 13:54 Visual Cues and Mobile Experience: Ricardo and Staci discussed the importance of visual cues like bold text for unread messages. Ricardo shared his positive experience using the new UI on mobile, emphasizing its effectiveness. 17:48 Increased Channel Use: Staci mentioned that the new UI has reinvigorated channel use within her team, as it marries group chats and channels, making communication more efficient. 19:18 Flexibility of Group Chats: Ricardo explained the flexibility of group chats, allowing ad hoc conversations without needing to add members to a team. He contrasted this with the more organized nature of channel conversations. 23:00 Naming Chats and Sections: Ricardo shared his pet peeve about unnamed group chats and how the new UI allows him to organize chats into sections, reducing the need for naming. 26:14 Feedback and Future Sessions: Ricardo encouraged participants to provide feedback on the new UI during the public preview phase. He mentioned the importance of user input for potential changes before the general release. 29:29

Key Topics: Meeting Introduction: Ricardo introduced the meeting, explaining that it is an office hours session for discussing and asking questions about using Teams effectively. They encouraged participants to come off mute or use the chat to ask questions. 1:05 Article on Mastering Teams: Ricardo shared an article from LinkedIn about mastering Teams, which includes tips to boost productivity and collaboration. They found it interesting and decided to go through the tips during the meeting. 2:36 Organizing with Teams and Channels: Ricardo discussed the importance of organizing with teams and channels, mentioning the new chats and channels experience in Teams. They highlighted the benefits of creating teams for departments, projects, or clients and using channels for focused discussions. 4:16 Leveraging Tabs for Quick Access: Ricardo emphasized the use of tabs in channels for quick access to frequently used documents and tools. They mentioned that many people miss out on this feature and encouraged its use for better organization. 8:06 Streamlining Meetings with Built-in Tools: Ricardo talked about various tools to streamline meetings, such as together mode, live captions, and recording meetings. They also mentioned the upcoming AI-powered real-time translation feature. 11:25 Automating Processes with Power Automate: Ricardo discussed the use of Power Automate for automating notifications and alerts in Teams. They shared their preference for receiving alerts in Teams and Outlook and encouraged others to use this feature. 14:20 Collaborating with File Integration: Ricardo highlighted the importance of file integration in Teams, mentioning version history and linking Teams channels to specific SharePoint libraries for centralized document management. 17:36 Using Shortcuts in Teams: Ricardo mentioned the use of shortcuts in Teams, although they admitted not being a big shortcut user themselves. They shared some common shortcuts and encouraged participants to explore them. 17:53 Focusing with Notifications and Quiet Hours: Ricardo recommended setting up quiet hours and quiet days on Teams, especially during non-working hours and vacations. They also discussed managing channel notifications to reduce distractions. 19:44 Employee Engagement with Viva: Ricardo talked about using Viva for employee engagement, including Viva Engage, Viva Insights, and Viva Learning. They mentioned the recent integration of storylines in Viva Engage. 21:01 Securing Teams Environment: Ricardo emphasized the importance of securing the Teams environment with MFA, conditional access policies, and regularly reviewing guest access and permissions. 21:56 Staying Up to Date with Teams Features: Ricardo encouraged participants to stay up to date with Teams features by checking the roadmap and taking advantage of new updates. They mentioned that Teams now updates more fluidly. 23:23 Meeting Conclusion: Ricardo concluded the meeting by wishing everyone happy holidays and informing them that the next meeting will be in January 2025. They shared the link to the discussed article in the chat. 27:38

Using my recent article , I talk about some Copilot best practices based on scenes from Eddie Murphy's movie "Coming to America". :) aka.ms/cap4copilot