Tag: Education

Microsoft Ignite is just around the corner, and we are so excited to have thousands of education tech professionals from around the globe join us to learn about the latest tools, technology and ideas from Microsoft.

At Ignite, we’ll share how Microsoft Education can help your institution achieve better learning outcomes for all your students, transform classroom time, and get all of this accomplished on affordable, easy to manage technology.  

Microsoft Education will have an interactive booth and 5 sessions where you can learn about the latest updates, connect with experts, and get your questions answered. Check out our curated guide below for education customers.

Not going to be at Ignite? No problem! All breakout sessions will be available to view via live stream and available 24-hours afterwards to view on-demand. Simply click on the breakout session link below to get viewing. If you want to explore more sessions at Ignite, log into  https://myignite.techcommunity.microsoft.com/ and find your sessions to add to your schedule to tune in live or on-demand.

BRK2403 – Demystifying Microsoft 365 Education

Tuesday September 25, 2-2:45pm

Microsoft 365 Education is designed to simplify IT with a single, secure solution that unlocks creativity and promotes teamwork in your school. Come learn how Microsoft 365 Education creates a path to transforming classroom time and modern IT management, and how the student use benefit can help you provide all your students with the very best in collaboration and productivity tools while keeping your entire organization protected and safe with intelligent security.

BRK2444 – Meeting the challenges of modern IT management for school

Wednesday September 26, 4:30-5:15pm

In order to meet the needs of teachers and students in the classroom, enable better teamwork with staff, and meet rigorous privacy and security standards, schools require solutions to be simple and impactful without overburdening IT or over extending on budget. In this session, learn how Microsoft cloud services makes it easy for a school to implement a full cloud solution. From managing user identity, automatically synced to the school’s Student Information System, to zero-touch device management that’s 84% faster to deploy than traditional methods and can provide a personalized experience to every student, even on shared devices.

BRK2296 – Microsoft Teams+OneNote+Forms+Flipgrid=Student achievement

Thursday September 27, 2-2:45pm

In this session, we share stories about schools and universities that are increasing student achievement by making learning more engaging, accessible, and fun. Join us as we demo a set of new and not-yet-released capabilities in Microsoft Teams, OneNote, Forms, and Flipgrid. We also show you other products that are designed to save educators time and to provide all students with opportunities to learn, collaborate, and develop their authentic voices.

BRK3126 – What’s New in EDU?: Updates to Microsoft Teams in Office 365 Education 

Thursday September 27th – 3:15pm-4:00pm

In the past year, teachers and students from around the world have used Microsoft Teams to engage student voice, streamline staff collaboration, and connect in new, fun, and meaningful ways. Learn about new experiences in Microsoft Teams for education, from teacher controls to updates to assignments. Also hear how education customers from throughout the world have leveraged Teams for collaborative learning and for streamlining staff communication.

BRK2443 – Transform classroom time with Microsoft Education

Friday September 28, 10:15-11am

Every moment a teacher spends away from connecting with and teaching their students is a moment lost. Learn how Microsoft Education helps unlock teachers from the busywork of managing day-to-day tasks and gives them more time and tools to teach, because when teachers have more time to teach and more tools to help engage with students, they don’t just do more things, they do amazing things.

Microsoft Education Booth

Catch us at the Microsoft Education booth (MW 313), where we’ll be showing a variety of education specific technology and devices.  We encourage you to stop by and share your questions and your feedback, which we count on in helping to make the best tools for education customers.

See you in Orlando!

– Microsoft Education team 

This post was originally published on this site.

For students and educators around the world now heading back to school, it’s a time filled with emotions and opportunities to make new friends, connect with old ones, and embark on new learning opportunities.

For one school in Bellevue, Washington, it’s been a momentous week: Wilburton Elementary opened its doors to a new community of students, parents, and educators, for the very first time. Over the past year we’ve been sharing this school’s journey, from its earliest planning stages to partnering with Wilburton to bring the Microsoft Education Transformation Framework to life every step of the way.

More than 400 Wilburton Wolves are in for an amazing year ahead, and I couldn’t be prouder of what the teams have accomplished in creating a holistically impactful environment for these students to dream big, expect more, and give back.

A framework for leadership

For Bellevue School District Superintendent Dr. Ivan Duran, the new school represents a big step forward in the transformation of learning. “Wilburton Elementary is the first school we’ve built from the ground up in over 25 years, in order to serve a fast-growing and diverse area in our district,” Superintendent Duran tells us. “The state-of-the-art campus reflects the district’s commitment to creating innovative approaches for equitable and inclusive learning, enabled by Microsoft technology. Working in partnership with Microsoft Education, we’ve created a learning environment that will give students the skills and opportunities they need to be affirmed and inspired as creators of their future world.”

What I’ve learned over the years, through our Showcase School program, is that amazing schools are the output of an incredible leader. Beth Hamilton, Wilburton’s passionate and energetic principal, is a testament to turning a vision into a real-life, fully functioning school. Hamilton has been a leading light throughout the entire project, ensuring that every detail  – from the building construction, the design of the learning environments, through to the learning approach – has placed students at the heart of every decision.

“We’re going to help each other, take risks, get things wrong,” Hamilton says. “We’re going to laugh and cry, but it’s all to make sure that we have a relevant, adaptive, and rigorous learning experience for all of our kids.”

It’s been a privilege to work alongside Beth and listen and learn along the way. And what we’ve learned throughout the journey will help inspire and educate the next generation of new schools.

The Microsoft Education Transformation Framework (ETF) has been instrumental in helping Hamilton to consider every aspect of learning and design. Across Leading and Policy, Modern Teaching and Learning, Intelligent Environments, and Technology Blueprint, we’ve trialed and tested various approaches and options to best craft this amazing new place to learn.

And the new teachers at Wilburton couldn’t be more excited.

From day one to the first day

“On day one, the teachers were excited, but tentative,” Hamilton says. “Today, they’re excited and full of energy – all because of the relationships and trust they’ve built with each other. They believe in each other; it’s the mindset we’ve created.”

Wilburton’s educators, some of them brand new, spent the summer getting their classrooms ready and investing in their own development. Leveraging the Teaching and Learning component in the ETF, along with resources like the Microsoft Educator Community, these educators participated in over 100 hours of professional development, with a focus on connecting as a team and going deep with the innovative technologies designed to take student learning and experience to the next level.

First-grade teacher Mandy Sin says, “Coming in as a first-year teacher, I’m nervous about this whole new chapter in my life, but after our PD there’s a sense of togetherness. We’re a wolf pack – a family – and it feels like whatever I do, say, or try – it’s ok.”

And all of Wilburton’s staff is looking forward to the new resources they can access – including their partnership with nearby Bellevue Botanical Garden and the school’s learning terrace, which is an indoor/outdoor environment connected to their Maker Space. It’s an area for raised gardens, creativity, community building, with all the resources of a classroom. The school is also designed with pods that create open spaces, for students in different classes to connect as a community.

Built for today, built for everyone

From the very beginning, the school was designed to consider opportunities for technology to play a key role in driving digital transformation in both the learning environments and the efficiency and effectiveness of the school and facility itself. Using the Microsoft Education Transformation Framework, they executed on a plan that identified the tools their students and educators need today, and the systems and solutions the school needs to be more productive, efficient, and secure.

Wilburton Elementary provides every student with access to a device while they are at school, where they will use Office 365 with digital inking and a stylus to support their ability to collaborate with each other and be more productive. Microsoft Teams, OneNote, Forms and more will be used throughout the school to enable learning, improve feedback and assessment, and provide more personalized learning to every student.

The school is also taking a holistic approach to accessibility and inclusion, using Microsoft Learning Tools to support every student, regardless of learning differences. STEM is considered fundamental in the curriculum, with the Maker Space leading to hands-on experiences, Minecraft and MakeCode introducing coding and creative thinking, and computer science serving as core.

 

Technology leads the way

Katherine Gorin, a 2^nd grade teacher, is most excited about using technology to differentiate learning and make her classroom more inclusive and equitable. “When technology wasn’t as integrated in the classroom, it was a lot more difficult to make all the materials accessible,” she tells us, “but with technology that we’re extremely lucky to have, it’s so much easier to make sure all students have the opportunity to access what they need to be successful.”

Physical Education teacher Marnie Kazarian looks forward to bridging the connection from the classroom into the gym with technology. “I need to assess and check for understanding, and technology creates that environment where classroom teachers and I can connect to talk about health and skill concepts outside of the 40-minute class period,” she explains. “We’ll know what’s happening in both worlds and can make that connection visible to students so that they come into the gym with a focus.”

Lessons learned

Building a new school – and a new community – from the ground up has presented its share of challenges. The lessons Hamilton and her team have learned in the process apply not only to new schools, but to any school seeking to transform learning:

1. Relationships, relationships, relationships. According to Hamilton, leading any school is all about building relationships, both within the broader school community and between teachers. “You can have all the procedures and routines figured out, but if you don’t have the relationships, it’s never going to work,” she says. “It’s the culture, climate, and relationships that staff, families, and students are creating with each other that will make the school amazing.”
2. Less is more. The work of leading a new school requires Hamilton to wear many hats. “My Type A personality wants me to have everything in order and done,” Hamilton shares. “I’ve learned this year to focus what’s the most important – what we need to do right now – because an overwhelmed teacher is never going to be at their best.”
3. Model the technology. Hamilton stresses that school leaders can’t just tell teachers about technology tools, they have to use them. “If you want teachers to use technology in an innovative way that is intentional and purposeful, you have to show them and model how it can be done,” says Hamilton. “And if they use it as a student, they have a better understanding of it’s potential, and they can pass that on to their students.”
4. Throughout the journey, Wilburton leaned on the advice and support of many partners and stakeholders in the process, including Microsoft, ISTE, NPDL, Sam Labs, ST Math, Steelcase and local community partners.

Wilburton’s journey has been a learning experience for Microsoft, too. Putting innovation into practice continues to inform our products and our relationships with schools, educators, and students. We’re also excited to share the Wilburton story with the many education officials, school leaders, and educators, who visit the Microsoft Redmond campus every year. As part of our collaboration, Wilburton has a dedicated space for Microsoft to welcome those who want to learn more about the school from both students and educators.

As this part of the journey ends, another one (this time, with students!) begins, and we’ll be there every step of the way to provide support. Congratulations and best of luck to the entire Wilburton Elementary community! Thank you for an amazing journey. I am humbled that you chose Microsoft be a part of it.

Learn more about becoming a Microsoft Showcase School.

Catch up on the full Wilburton Elementary story, start to finish:

1. Building for innovative learning: A new elementary school takes shape
2. A new community breaks ground on creativity
3. Staffing from scratch
4. Professional development and the art of vulnerability
5. The women of Wilburton Elementary are reinventing STEM for K-5
6. Building community, one parent and one student at a time
7. Making it personal: New approaches for inclusive learning at Wilburton Elementary

I am a reading specialist, and my main goal is to provide students with tools to overcome barriers to literacy to promote strong readers, writers and critical thinkers. As an educator, I am always looking for ways to innovate my teaching practices. My lessons with English language learners (ELL) overseas challenge me to not only use best techniques in literacy instruction, but to also stay up-to-date on the most current technologies that will help meet their needs from thousands of miles away.

This past year, I started teaching high school students from China who hope to study in the United States. Due to the vast distance between me and my students, we use Skype to meet for class. This enabled us to meet from anywhere at any time. As a former ELL student myself, I can relate with my students’ need to visualize content as it is essential for comprehension. Therefore, I have always typed out important information, such as key vocabulary or phrases, that I want to emphasize during lessons. The Share Screen feature has made it possible for students to follow the lesson by looking at a PowerPoint or OneNote notebook with charts and notes. Often, however, the language barrier can be impeding, regardless of how many ways I may try to explain the meaning of a word or concept.

Recently, I began to work with James, an ELL student with a strong background in English grammar, vocabulary and reading accuracy. Yet, he struggled with verbal communication and comprehension. During our Skype lessons, it quickly became clear that James was not fully engaged in our lessons. It took him a while to respond to my questions or prompts throughout the lessons. Even with visuals and written instructions, James really struggled to understand concepts and was becoming frustrated. This led me to modify my lessons. Instead of working on higher level thinking in our discussions, we had to work on basic comprehension. I needed to find a way for him to follow what I was saying throughout the lessons.

During this time, I was attending a technology conference (International Society for Technology in Education—ISTE) in Chicago, and I learned about Microsoft Translator. As I tried out the translator demo, I realized that this was not like other translation applications. Microsoft Translator (available on PowerPoint, as an app for mobile devices, as well as on the web) documents your dialogue as you speak into your microphone and provides live captions on the screen of anyone that is part of the conversation. In addition, anyone who joins the conversation (from one person to a large group of people) can choose which language they wish the information to be translated into. The most exciting feature for me was the one that allowed you to read information in English and in another language, simultaneously. I became so excited by the possibilities that this would provide for my students that I decided to try it the next day during my morning lesson with James.

While working with James using the Microsoft Translator, I learned more about him in that hour than I had in the prior month of lessons. I learned that James is a visual learner, and that he learns best when he can follow what is being said. I also learned that James is a strong thinker who can look at concepts abstractly, but he struggles finding the right words to express his ideas. For the first time, I saw James smile during our lessons. His high-level of engagement was evident as he quickly responded to my questions and eagerly waited for my responses. I noticed his eyes carefully following the captions on the screen to make sure he was not missing anything. By the end of this transformative lesson, James told me that he could not wait to share the Microsoft Translator app with his parents, who do not speak English, and his friends. He said, “Ms. Mata, the translator helped me feel so much more comfortable during my lesson, and I even learned new vocabulary!”

During our next lesson, we started a young adult novel. As we read together, he could see the captions in English and Chinese. Throughout the chapter, we stopped and discussed important ideas and even symbols in the story. Because he was able to understand what was being discussed, he was also able to respond — in English — and point out different important symbols in the story. At certain points in the lesson, I asked him to share symbols from his own culture and to explain them in Chinese. More recently, I asked James to challenge himself by trying to use only the English captions without the Chinese ones. Though this has been more difficult, he has been able to follow our conversations and effectively communicate while using this tool to help him stay engaged throughout the lesson.

I wonder how often students are not seen for who they really are and are instead perceived as disengaged and unmotivated. Literacy barriers that stem from learning disabilities or lack of fluency lead to frustration and, sometimes, negative behaviors in the classroom. As educators, it is our job to find ways to highlight students’ strengths, regardless of these barriers. Tools such as Microsoft Translator make it that much easier for students to understand ideas and express their own, thus alleviating frustrations in the classroom.

By using Skype and Microsoft Translator together, a whole new layer of James was revealed, and though his journey to English fluency continues, his progress has been remarkable. With this new tool, James is more capable to take on the English language than ever before. As we head into a new school year, I encourage other educators to take risks and try innovative techniques, tools and approaches. Microsoft Translator is just one of many incredible learning tools available to educators and students. Time and again, I have witnessed that while integrating new technologies may be an adjustment at first, their effect on student learning will positively impact students’ confidence and ensure their success in the classroom and beyond.

For more information on Microsoft Education tools for the classroom, visit the Microsoft Educator Community at https://education.microsoft.com.

As a former educator, I’ve always been conscious of the parent’s role – essentially as their child’s first teacher – and their unique, valuable perspective on learning. Parents remember the ways they were taught in school and often have valid questions and thoughts on the new ways children learn, and about the curriculum being taught.

With summer coming to an end and parents sending their children back to school, Microsoft wanted to understand how parents felt about technology in the classroom. What did they really think of the importance of learning digital skills? Microsoft Education partnered with YouGov and surveyed parents in the U.S. with children aged 18 and under and found most parents are hopeful about what technology will do for their kids. [Download the accompanying infographic here.]

Parents optimistic about technology

The survey asked parents how they felt about the role of technology in their child’s life as that child grows up. In reply, 60 percent said they felt “optimistic” or “hopeful.”

Understandably, parents felt differently about tech depending on where it’s being used. When asked about tech use between home and school, 63 percent of parents cited concerns about their kids spending too much time on devices at home, while 86 percent of parents believed tech in school – including computers and educational software – would be helpful to their child’s education.

When I was teaching I would often talk to parents about screen-content, not just screen-time, and whether the engagement with digital content was active (like creating an animation) or passive (viewing a movie). It’s encouraging seeing parents understand that, when used in the right way, technology can help prepare their children for the jobs of the future and help them succeed.

 

The importance of Computer Science and learning digital skills

Using technology to learn isn’t the only way to prepare children for the future, however. According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, 52 percent of job growth by the year 2020 will be in the fields of computing and mathematics, which shows a great importance in teaching Computer Science and digital skills in classrooms today.

According to the survey, half (50 percent) of parents believed coding and computer programming to be the most beneficial subject to their child’s future employability.

Another promising result: Parents felt strongly about the positive role federal and state governments can play in ensuring their children are learning these subjects. The survey sample indicated strongly that parents would like to see increased government support to help schools build kids’ digital skills.

When asked about the technology industry’s involvement, 75 percent of parents said they believe big tech companies should be involved in helping schools build kids’ digital skills. Many companies, including Microsoft and organizations like Code.org, are working to do just that. Programs like TEALS, which is supported by Microsoft Philanthropies, pairs trained Computer Science professionals from across the technology industry with classroom teachers to team-teach the subject.

Tech tips for teachers this school year

With parents seeing the importance of their children learning with technology and being taught Computer Science, coding and digital skills, the survey points to good news for teachers who work every day to ensure the children in their classrooms are prepared for the future.

Teachers work incredibly hard to bring the best and most inspiring learning opportunities to their classrooms. We celebrate and thank them.

For those teachers just starting to explore the potential of Computer Science in their classroom, I’d recommend these three simple approaches:

1. Open up the conversation with your students. What do they understand CS to mean? What jobs are unlocked with CS?
2. Take a short course and get started in Computer Science.
3. Get involved with the Hour of Code.

Happy teaching!

Survey methodology

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 3927 adults, of which 1011 were parents of children under 19. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd – 6th August 2018.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults.

America has a literacy crisis.

More than 36 million adults in the United States cannot read, write, or do basic math above a third grade level. And children whose parents have low literacy levels have a 72 percent chance of being at the lowest reading levels themselves. These kids are more likely to get poor grades, display behavioral problems, have high absentee rates, repeat school years, or drop out¹.

In a majority of classrooms today, teachers have students reading at up to four different grade levels, trying to keep the same pace on curriculum².

That’s why Microsoft Store and Microsoft Education are teaming up to offer free workshops this fall, using Microsoft Learning Tools to create dedicated curriculum for those with literacy challenges.

Workshops will be offered at different times throughout the year at all Microsoft Stores in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, so be sure to check out the local Store programming near you to find the right workshop for your needs. Workshops will be catered to students’ age range, including:

Empowering students affected by Dyslexia

Educators and parents/caregivers working with students of any age; and children in 8^th grade or above who are accompanied by an adult, will get hands-on experience with Microsoft applications and tools – including Learning Tools, the Ease of Access menu and accessibility and productivity features of Office 365. Teachers will be empowered to create inclusive classrooms that support students of all abilities, while parents/caregivers will gain skills to support learners outside of the classroom.

The workshop covers why it’s important to create an inclusive classroom, tools to empower different learning styles and abilities, and tools to support students with disabilities.

Boost your reading confidence and literacy skills ages 8-12

This workshop introduces students, with foundational literacy skills, to the Immersive Reader in the OneNote app. Participants will build confidence and improve their reading comprehension through grade-level–appropriate activities with Immersive Reader features. Activities include demonstrations, playing “Mad-Lib” style games, and building and reading stories in pairs to gain hands-on experience using the tools.

Literacy skills for emerging readers ages 6-8

This workshop introduces emerging readers to Learning Tools for OneNote via age–appropriate activities with Immersive Reader features. Activities include discussions, demonstrations, and playing word and story games to gain hands-on experience using the tools. At the end, participants will share what they learned with their parent or caregiver. Throughout the workshop, participants will learn how to build confidence and improve their reading comprehension, and should leave prepared to continue using Learning Tools to further develop reading skills at home and at school.

With free software like Microsoft Learning Tools and heroic educators like Merlyne Graves, we are encouraged by the progress that’s happening every day. More than 13 million teachers and students are already using Microsoft Learning Tools for free as part of Office 365 Education, including tools like Immersive Reader, Picture Dictionary and Dictation. These are proving to increase reading and writing skill successfully, as evidenced by the recent 3^rd party study from RTI International, Leveling the Playing Field with Microsoft Learning Tools.

Through these workshops, we hope to give anyone who may have challenges with reading and writing skills the tools they need to feel empowered and to personalize their learning experience, especially those in underserved communities, or with learning differences like ADHD, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia or Autism.

Decoding Dyslexia, a parent-led movement to raise awareness around Dyslexia, is partnering with Microsoft on these workshops. “We need to get technology like Learning Tools into the hands of more students with Dyslexia and other learning differences before they fall behind,” said Rachel Berger, CEO of Decoding Dyslexia, “so I’m excited about the reach Microsoft Stores will have this fall. It’s truly empowering software that can make any classroom more inclusive.”

To kick off the program, Microsoft recently hosted more than 400 students, parents and teachers from across Washington and Oregon to be the first to try the new workshops. The event also included a keynote from former NFL cornerback Robert Tate, who shared his experience with dyslexia at a young age. “My friends didn’t know I had dyslexia,” Robert said. “I would hide within myself and make sure I wasn’t the one putting my hand up to ask questions or the one reading in class. You just have to keep moving forward and never go backwards.”

Ales Holecek, corporate vice president at Microsoft who helped spark discussions that led to Learning Tools, also spoke to the group, telling the audience of parents, teachers and students about his reading comprehension issues that started at a young age and continue today. “I take a long time to read anything and hate emails. I tell my team to send short emails; or better still, come speak to me in person,” said Holecek. For Ales, the turning point came in coding, which he felt operated on a simpler vocabulary.

To learn more and find the right workshop for you or your student, check out your local Store programming.

¹ National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

² https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED562664.pdf

Microsoft Education has undertaken a new study with researchers at Digital Promise to investigate how teachers around the world are using Microsoft Forms to drive learning. Providing feedback to students on their learning progress is one of the most powerful pedagogical approaches and education research has repeatedly shown that formative feedback has a tremendous impact on learning outcomes.

In this study, we found that teachers use Microsoft Forms not only for formative assessment, but for many other pedagogical activities. Teachers value the ease of use and clear reporting of Microsoft Forms.

“I actually say to teachers, ‘I think Forms is the most underrated piece of software in the suite because of the time that it saves you in terms of data-driven outcomes and the data collection that goes on with schools now.’”  

– Instructional Technology Coach

We are delighted to share this new report, which highlights the variety of creative ways teachers are using Forms.

Teachers are using Microsoft Forms in pedagogically substantive ways to improve student outcomes:

• Formative Assessment
• Differentiating Instruction
• Peer Collaboration (students creating their own Forms in groups)
• Social and Emotional Learning (see this teacher’s video on how she leverages Forms for SEL)
• Increasing Student Engagement

Teachers also used Microsoft Forms for professional learning and to increase their efficiency with administrative and routine teaching tasks, such as:

• Communicating with Parents
• Professional Development through Reflective Practice
• Increasing Teaching Efficiency by incorporating lunch choices, applications, and locker assignments into Forms

We also explored some of the best practices school and education-system leaders are using to grow adoption and use of Microsoft Forms. Some implementation strategies to get teachers to use Forms:

• The most essential strategy is simply making teachers aware that Microsoft Forms is available and how it can be used. Follow the Quick Start guide to try out Microsoft Forms.
• Training on how to use Forms is the second step and most coaches believed this training should be undertaken on its own (not as part of training on other apps). Check out Microsoft’s own training course, Microsoft Forms: Creating Authentic Assessments.

Coaches used the following strategies:

• Using a Form with teachers directly to show its simplicity of use and to get them familiar with the tool
• Understanding their teacher audiences and designing training for those audiences (e.g. ‘savvy explorer’ or ‘cautious adopter’)
• Describing the time-saving element of Microsoft Forms use, especially enabling teachers to give students instant feedback; and how Microsoft Forms enables data-driven approaches to pedagogy with the immediate capture of data to Microsoft Excel.

Forms is an ideal tool for helping teachers incorporate more data-driven approaches to understanding what is working in their teaching practices, because it makes the collection (and much of the analysis) of student-learning data automatic. Results from a mood survey, a math quiz, or an exit ticket Form, are instantly available to both students and teachers. Such data helps teachers to build stronger learning relationships with their students, because they know where each student is at in their learning progress.

“There was that magical moment when getting the data happened. Oh my gosh, we’re getting this data in Forms in real time and that was unheard of before. Now within a matter of minutes I know where my students stand on the concepts that we’re going to cover that day.”

– 3^rd Grade Teacher

Getting Started with Microsoft Forms

Microsoft Forms is an online quiz and survey application included with Microsoft Office 365. Forms was designed using direct feedback from educators looking for a simple way to formatively assess student learning and monitor learning progress on an ongoing basis.

Forms is part of the Office 365 suite of tools. If your school already has Office 365, you can log in at www.office.com and begin using Forms as one of the many apps included in the suite. Teachers and students can also Download Office 365 for free using a valid school email address. The resources below will help you get started on your journey to using Microsoft Forms.

Skype in the Classroom has always been one of my favorite resources for engaging students in real-life, relevant learning experiences. I recently learned that using Skype in the Classroom has become even easier for teachers with the addition of FREE activity plans! These are activity plans written by educators for educators.

5 Reasons to get excited about the launch of these helpful new resources:

Teachers always have a long to-do list. Want to engage your students with a Skype in the Classroom experience but short on time? These activity plans will help make it happen! The plans are free and easy to download in just a few seconds. Each one includes objectives (GREAT to share with parents and administrators), activities to activate background knowledge, research, brainstorming, preparing students for the call, assessment, reflection and more.

• Easy to adapt

Each activity plan can be followed step-by-step or easily adjusted to best fit your students’ needs. Once you download, each plan is fully editable, making any adjustments quick, seamless and easy. This is also a great way to save any changes after the Skype experience, so you will be able to remember how you adapted the lesson for the next time you use it with students.

• Aligned to ISTE Standards

Not only are objectives listed for each activity, they are also aligned to ISTE standards. This is a nice way to keep the big picture in mind. It’s a valuable resource to share with students, parents, administrators and colleagues.

• Help other teachers

Do you know other teachers who are curious about using Skype in the Classroom with their students but are unsure how or where to start? This handy resource will give them a step-by-step guide, including question prompts, research and assessment ideas, and more.

• Deep(er) learning

Each activity plan includes ideas to launch the lesson, research, prepare students, reflect and assess. These ideas help teachers plan intentionally for each aspect of the learning experience and provide a framework of ideas for before, during and after the Skype experience.

Whether you are looking to launch a new school year with an exciting Skype call, planning for Skype experiences throughout the year, dreaming of Skype-a-Thon connections, or whatever your Skype in the Classroom goals may be, be sure to check out and download the free activity plans to support and enhance the experience for you and your students.

With the new school year fast approaching for the Western Hemisphere, we thought it would be useful to look at some of the most recently released apps on the Microsoft Store for Education. These apps work seamlessly within the Microsoft Education ecosystem to enable us all to empower every student to achieve more.

 

	Cashtivity is passionately focused on preparing students for success, in college, career and beyond. It’s this focus that drives them every day. They recently released Mindsets Learning – a digital library of inquiry based, real-world lessons for K12 math, science and STEM. Students collaborate, predict, analyze and apply their math skills to solve a real-world challenge using design thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset. Educators are able to mentor & monitor students using real time data and facilitation tools provided in the app.
	Music lessons will never be the same again with Flute Master from Classplash, a company founded by an educator with a passion for creating sustainable digital content for music education. With Flute Master, students will learn how to play the soprano recorder! It’s easy and a lot of fun! They play a real recorder, and the sound will be recognized through the microphone. Flute Master presents an immersive story, lovely animations and includes 30 original music tracks that gradually teach each note on the recorder. Besides learning how to play a real instrument, they will improve their music, fine motor skills and make progression in sight-reading by using the sheet music play-along for each track.
	In Rhythmic Village you’ll discover the crazy and happy music notes named “Rhythmiacs.” In this adventure you’ll learn the basics of sheet music reading, play percussion instruments and improve your sense of rhythm. Use your device and start right away in the app.
	Shape robotics journey started in 2011 just outside of Copenhagen, at the Technical University of Denmark. Moises Pacheco and David Johan Christensen, an Associate Professor and Robot Researcher respectively, shared the same vision: to develop a robot system that was extremely easy-to-use, even for younger school pupils. This resulted in the launch of the Fable Robotics System, a modular robot that allows you to build advanced custom robots in seconds. Fable Blockly is the official programming Windows 10 app that enables Fable to become a walking Fable, a social Fable, Fable as a snake, and even an industrial Fable who can perform tasks such as sort colors.
	Many teachers teach using text ,but 65 percent of students learn by visuals. Squigl solves this problem. Squigl is software that utilizes AI to allow teachers and students the ability to transform their text into animated visual presentations in minutes. A user inputs text into Squigl, and with a couple of clicks, an animated video is produced. Squigl allows anyone to make animated videos in minutes with ease. A student enters text into Squigl or through Word, and within a couple of clicks an animated video is produced. Squigl generates a full package that includes an MP4, sound file, a specially formatted PDF document, and the digital assets used in the project for consumption in other systems.
	Vidigami is a collaborative, private and secure media management platform designed exclusively for schools. It is a cloud-based, members-only application available on web and mobile that allows staff, faculty, families, and students to crowdsource authentic school memories. Photos and videos of everything from sporting events and field trips to class projects and artwork can be easily captured, centralized in on place, intelligently organized, and finally, privately shared with other members of the community, so they can be easily archived and transformed into incredible content for engagement, education and more.

To learn more about these solutions and thousands of other apps that could support you, please visit the Microsoft Store for Education.