Open Education Studies, 2022; 4: 241–251 Research Article Joaquim Escola, Natália Lopes, Paula Catarino*, Ana Paula Aires Microsoft 365 as a Tool for Teaching During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Perceptions of Portuguese Teachers of Basic and Secondary Education https://doi.org/10.1515/edu-2022-0015 received November 11, 2021; accepted April 18, 2022. Abstract: In the last year, and largely due to the pandemic situation of COVID-19, teachers experimented with technology in an innovative way not only to keep students engaged, but also to make learning more active and more significant. The Microsoft 365 was one of the solutions that provided schools, teachers and students with all the necessary resources to continue teaching and learning in a remote mode. In this work, we present a study that aims to know the opinions of several teachers about the use they made of Microsoft 365 during distance education and to know the degree of satisfaction obtained with its use. The adopted method has a descriptive and exploratory nature, focusing on a quantitative paradigm. The study participants were 101 teachers of basic1 and secondary education2 from schools in Northern Portugal. A questionnaire survey was used as a data collection instrument, which was mainly disseminated by email from Outlook. Data analysis was performed using Excel (Office 2016). The results suggest that Microsoft 365 was the appropriate response to the constraints imposed by the pandemic, and that most respondents revealed a high 1 Portuguese basic education consists of three cycles: - 1st cycle, from 1st to 4th year (ages 6 to 10); - 2nd cycle, from 5th to 6th year (ages 11 to 12); - 3rd cycle, from 7th to 9th year (ages 13 to 15). 2 Portuguese secondary education consists of three years: 10th, 11th and 12th years (ages 16 to 18). level of satisfaction with its use, despite not having much training in the use of teaching platforms. Keywords: Microsoft 365; distance learning; digital platforms; teaching and learning methodologies. 1 Introduction As with remote work, in recent times, distance education (DE) has also become evident and popularized as a practical, more economical and viable option for students and teachers worldwide. In fact, the pandemic situation that we are experiencing, forced changes in education in all world (Unesco, 2020a; Unesco, 2020b; Unesco, 2020c; Unesco, 2020d; Unicef, 2020). We all had to adapt, and teachers had to change their practices and adapt their teaching methods. To this end, to develop the digital skills of teachers, and to respond to the demands of today’s society, the Portuguese Directorate-General for Education (DGE) prepared the Digital Training Plan for Teachers where the digital platforms will have a more active role, as it is necessary that teachers see technologies as allies in motivating and awakening students to the path of knowledge. Following this line, the teacher will have the mission of adapting their teaching methods to new technologies, to distance learning, revealing an effective receptivity and availability to change, as well as constant updating. Consequently, we agree with Lopes, Escola and Raposo-Rivas (2014, p. 371), since it is “It is essential to learn to master the technological tools to better plan and contextualize them in the curriculum. More than a mere mediator between knowledge and students, the teacher should know how to use ICT and how to integrate them into the curriculum. It is clear that the training of teachers must be developed so that they have a technological culture, but also that it implies a pedagogical renewal, allowing the maximum pedagogical profitability of the means” [Translation done by the authors]. *Corresponding author: Paula Catarino, Universidade de Trás-os- Montes e Alto Douro,Portugal; Lab_DCT- polo of CIDTFF-Research Centre on Didactics and Technology in the Education of Trainers of University of Aveiro, Portugal, E-mail: pcatarin@utad.pt Joaquim Escola, Natália Lopes, Ana Paula Aires, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal Joaquim Escola, IF - Portuguese Research Centre of Philosophy of University of Porto, Portugal Ana Paula Aires, Lab_DCT- polo of CIDTFF-Research Centre on Didactics and Technology in the Education of Trainers of University of Aveiro, Portugal Open Access. © 2022 Joaquim Escola et al., published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.