Summer is here in the US and it’s time to relax, reconnect with colleagues, and to share experiences and be inspired by what’s new. That’s exactly what over 15,000 K-12 educators, librarians, school administrators, instructional coaches, and edtech leaders did in Denver, Colorado at ISTELive 24!
More than two thousand presenters crowded the Colorado Convention Center, with hundreds of sessions, workshops, and keynotes covering a wide range of topics. The predominant theme was, perhaps unsurprisingly, AI and strategies for using it in the classroom. The real-world examples of AI and authentic stories of schools solving their own problems utilizing AI-enabled tools was inspiring, and I’d like to share a few things that I learned.
Exploring AI in education with Microsoft
Our team from Microsoft Education was on hand to share how AI can enhance learning experiences with exciting updates to our powerful tools, including Microsoft Copilot which helps educators save time and inspire creativity. We were also proud to announce the latest updates to the Microsoft Education AI Toolkit!
Explore my seven standout moments from ISTELive24:
1. AI-powered tools for schools
Microsoft booth 1300 was abuzz with presentations and conversations detailing over 20 Microsoft-related updates and resources and we were able to show them in action! They included enhancements to Copilot for Microsoft 365, a new Minecraft Education Lesson Crafter, Learning Accelerators and Microsoft Teams for Education news, free access to Figma through our new partnership, and more value coming to Microsoft Education.
Some of the new AI-powered features coming to Copilot for Microsoft 365 allow educators to:
- Create assignments, lesson plans, and presentations using guided content generation.
- Generate quizzes with answer keys and step-by-step solutions for students.
- Receive suggested feedback on student work based on rubrics and instructions.
- Utilize data from Microsoft Teams for Education for a more personalized experience.
Discover student-centered solutions
Explore Microsoft 365 EducationOne of the exciting new pieces of value coming to Microsoft 365 A3 and A5 users is Clipchamp, a video editing tool that makes creation easy for learners and educators. Whether you’re recording experiments or producing awesome multimedia projects, Clipchamp is a great way to enhance student engagement!
2. Impact of Microsoft Education solutions
We were able to showcase the evidence and research that highlights the impact many of our tools are having on teachers and students. This included Microsoft Teams for Education being awarded the ISTE Seal for usability, pedagogy, and alignment to the ISTE Standards. De Wereldreiziger (The world Traveler), a primary school in Antwerp, Belgium saw its students make significant progress after starting to use Reading Progress. “Children are much more motivated to read, we can give much more feedback and the teacher can help 15-16 children at a time. For example, we see that children catch up on reading for six months or a year in 3 weeks, and some even for a year and a half,” says Jef Groffen, Principal of De Wereldreiziger. Congratulations to principal Groffen for recently winning the first EU AI in Education award.
3. Advancing AI in Teacher Preparation Programs with ISTE
I was thrilled to see the press release from ISTE on our new work together to support pre-service teachers through the Transforming Teacher Preparation initiative. Our goal is to help equip future teachers to effectively use new AI tools to ultimately enhance student and community impact. We’ll be working with ISTE to create a scalable AI module to reach thousands of pre-service teachers and hundreds of faculty members teaching in Education Preparation Programs. As a result, hundreds of thousands of elementary and secondary students around the world will benefit from the higher quality of instruction and learning experiences, as their teachers gain a deeper understanding of how to effectively use AI in their classrooms.
4. Khanmigo for Teachers, now free in the US
We recently announced an exciting new partnership with Khan Academy to bring Khanmigo for Teachers—an array of AI-powered teaching tools with no prompting required—to all US educators for free. It was great to see educators getting hands-on with these tools throughout the Khan Academy sessions at our booth, and to hear that availability is expanding soon. Learn more and get started with our Khanmigo for Teachers Quick Guide.
5. A toolkit for effective AI implementation and inspiration
We were proud to announce many updates to our Microsoft Education AI Toolkit. These revisions and updates make the toolkit easier to use and even more indispensable. These updates include:
- New AI Navigators and customer stories.
- New implementation guides.
- Additional research reports and information.
- Improved accessibility throughout.
- A new “Quick Wins” section to help education leaders get started and be successful with AI.
To me, the most exciting aspect of ISTELive 24 was hearing from school systems and their forward-looking educators who are harnessing the power and potential of Microsoft Education tools and putting them to practical use in real classrooms. At ISTELive 24, we highlighted some of these Microsoft AI Navigators including the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and Wichita Public Schools with panels on “Accelerate and personalize learning experiences at scale with AI” and “The road to implementation: Navigating AI.”
6. Esports, AI, and big updates from Minecraft Education
Minecraft Education made a big blocky splash at ISTELive 24. There were coding sessions, cyber safety workshops, AI demos and—for the very first time—a special “Battle in the Rocks” esports showcase on the ISTE main stage that featured four teams of students in a live Minecraft build battle. The team previewed Minecraft Lesson Crafter (an AI powered lesson generator), GameCode (a new Computer Science curriculum) and accredited AP Computer Science Principles course, and showcased AI literacy resources for teaching and learning. ICYMI (in case you missed it) Minecraft Education also just launched cloud storage in OneDrive, a new credentialing partnership with Prodigy Learning, and an esports playbook!
7. Entirely new and powerful AI experiences
Last month, Microsoft also unveiled Copilot+ PCs: the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built. With access to the most advanced AI models, Copilot+ PCs enable educators to do things they simply can’t on any other PC. We had a lot of interesting conversations with district leaders about the potential of Copilots in PCs, and—as these tools become more readily available in the market—we look forward to seeing how schools leverage them to better support educators and leaders in their organizations.
ISTELive 24 is just further confirmation of the potential for AI to bring opportunity to life in education: especially with these edu-relevant advancements! Enjoy your summer and we will see you soon with more ways to help all students to reach their highest potential. Be sure to learn more about all of Microsoft’s exciting announcements for education, coming to classrooms soon!
