This article is available to download in an alternative format at the bottom of this page.
On completion of your studies you will eventually lose access to your OCA Email Account; after 30 days when withdrawing from a course, or 12 months after a successful completion. As a result you will lose access to OCA websites and services, including OCA Spaces where your learning log is hosted.
Due to this, instead of posting your work directly to your learning log on OCA Spaces, you may wish to work in a Google Document or Microsoft Word Document first. Not only will this enable you to pull your work together before transferring it to your learning log, but it also provides you with your own back-ups, effectively creating an archive of your work that you can keep after your course ends.
If you don't save your work, you can still export your learning log to create a copy of it at the end of your studies, but this must be imported to another blogging site and can't simply be downloaded as readable files. Although not relevant at this stage, feel free to browse the How do I save my content from OCA Spaces after completing my unit and / or degree? article for more information.
We recommend students utilise Google Integrated Applications due to ongoing technical issues that Microsoft is yet to address, but please use whichever tools are most comfortable and useful to you.
Google Integrated Applications
Google Drive (drive.google.com), usually referred to as GDrive, is a cloud storage service similar to OneDrive that you may be familiar with from using Microsoft Office applications. Google Drive allows you to store, edit and share files across multiple devices.
Google Drive offers the use of integrated applications including Google Docs (similar to Word), Google Sheets (similar to Excel) and Google Slides (similar to PowerPoint). For more information on Integrated Applications, see the What are Integrated Applications (Docs / Slides / Sheets)? article.
Microsoft Office 365
It is important to note that you won’t have access to Microsoft Office 365 until after your 2-week induction period has ended; at this point, your OCA Email Account will be issued with a student license enabling you to sign in and use Office applications.
See the How can I access Office 365? article for advice and guidance on accessing and utilising Office during your studies.