Microsoft has unveiled a cloud-first version of Windows 11, built specifically to meet the needs of school IT admins and students in K-8 classrooms (US). Windows 11 SE, as it is known, is another attempt by Microsoft to take on the more popular Chrome OS backed Chromebooks used in US schools. It will address the learning challenges laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic and made available on low-cost devices starting with the new Surface Laptop SE.
Expected to complement’s Microsoft’s current portfolio of Windows 11 for learning devices, Windows 11 SE will also be available on devices manufactured by the following OEMs: ‘Acer, ASUS, Dell, Dynabook, Fujitsu, HP, JP-IK, Lenovo, and Positivo—powered by Intel and AMD’. The OS is optimised for Microsoft Edge and Microsoft 365 applications (both online and offline) i.e., Excel, OneDrive, OneNote, PowerPoint and Word are available to use offline. Third-party apps such as Chrome and Zoom are also supported.
According to Microsoft, the OS will launch apps in fullscreen and files will be store locally on OneDrive until there is access to the internet to sync the changes. There is also promise of better battery life and only school IT admins can install apps on the new OS. There are tools such as Windows Autopilot and Intune for Education for admins to manage Windows 11 SE devices efficiently via the cloud.
Source: Windows Blog
