Deirdre Quarnstrom, Author at Microsoft Education Blog http://approjects.co.za/?big=en-us/education/blog Wed, 21 Jan 2026 19:05:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 Designing Microsoft 365 Copilot to empower educators, students, and staff http://approjects.co.za/?big=en-us/education/blog/2025/10/designing-microsoft-365-copilot-to-empower-educators-students-and-staff/ Wed, 15 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000 http://approjects.co.za/?big=en-us/education/blog/?p=9636 Explore new AI-powered experiences at no additional cost for educators and students—plus an academic offering for Microsoft 365 Copilot. Learn more.

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Educators shape curriculum, advocate for students, innovate on the frontlines, and more—all at the same time. Students face their own balancing act as they’re asked to absorb knowledge, build confidence and find their voice, and prepare for an ever-evolving future. And often behind the scenes, staff and leaders work to align systems, respond to shifting demands, and chart the path forward for everyone to thrive.

While over 80% of respondents in the 2025 AI in Education Report have already used AI for school, we believe there are significant opportunities to design AI that can better serve each of their needs and broaden access to the latest innovation.1

That’s why today, we’re announcing AI-powered experiences built for teaching and learning at no additional cost, new integrations in Microsoft 365 apps and Learning Management Systems, and an academic offering for Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Introducing AI-powered teaching and learning

Empowering educators with Teach

We’re introducing Teach to help streamline class prep and adapt AI to support educators’ teaching expertise with intuitive and customizable features. In one place, educators can easily access AI-powered teaching tools to create lesson plans, draft materials like quizzes and rubrics, and quickly make modifications to language, reading level, length, difficulty, alignment to relevant standards, and more.

Teach is rolling out in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app starting today at no additional cost for education customers with more functionality, including Learning Management System (LMS) integration, coming soon. Many of these features are also available in the daily flow of educators using apps like Microsoft Teams and OneNote.

Supporting students with Study and Learn Agent

By creating AI experiences grounded in learning science, we can more effectively support the process of learning for students and shift focus on the use of AI for quick content generation to nurturing the growth of skills over time. We’re bringing Study and Learn, an advanced agent, to students to provide adaptive experiences and help foster critical and reflective thinking. They can choose to work on their understanding, practice with exercises, study a specific topic, or simply chat and select from engaging built-in activities like flashcards, matching, fill-in-the-blank, or quizzes as they go. Study and Learn is coming to preview in November 2025 and will be available at no additional cost.

Learn more about all the latest updates in today’s Education Tech Community blog post.

New integrations in everyday apps for education

Millions of educators, staff, and students ages 13 and older are using Copilot Chat to personalize learning, enhance instruction, and reimagine administrative tasks. In Fulton County Schools, it’s helping to increase student agency and engagement and at Babson College it’s accelerating time to market for the next generation of entrepreneurs. Copilot Chat is included at no additional cost with Microsoft 365 and now available in apps like Outlook and PowerPoint to provide secure AI chat powered by GPT-5 with enterprise data protection and IT controls. Plus, coming to preview in December 2025, it will be accessible in LMSs such as Canvas, Schoology, Brightspace, Blackboard, and Moodle™ through the Microsoft 365 LTI.

Broadening access to the latest AI innovation

We’re excited to introduce an academic offering for Microsoft 365 Copilot in education at $18 (USD) per user per month for educators, staff, and students ages 13 and older starting in December 2025.2 Deeply integrated into apps used every day, Microsoft 365 Copilot combines the power of AI with your data—documents, presentations, emails, meetings, chats, institutional knowledge, and more—plus the web to deliver relevant responses with sources. It also delivers cutting-edge capabilities like comprehensive agent access including Researcher and AnalystCopilot Tuning for increased customization, and the Copilot Control System to protect institutional data.

Microsoft 365 Copilot has helped save significant time for our educators and staff, empowering them to focus on the reason they came into education—supporting student learning and personalizing education in ways that weren’t possible before.

Leigh Williams, CIO, Brisbane Catholic Education

At Brisbane Catholic Education, participating educators saved over 9 hours per week in administrative and planning tasks, allowing more time for enhancing student experiences and wellbeing. Eighty-four percent of users—including students—at the University of South Carolina reported saving between one and five hours per week, with 8 in 10 users reporting satisfaction with Copilot. Professors reported time savings and improved quality in academic output, allowing more focus on higher-value research and mentoring. Meanwhile, administrators reported reduced meeting prep time and improved decision-making through faster data synthesis, and communication teams increased their creative output without sacrificing quality.

Transforming education experiences with agents

Institutions are deepening the use of AI to advance their mission and prepare students for the future while also beginning to demonstrate the potential of agents to transform experiences across teaching, learning, research, and operations. Whether you’re looking to use pre-built solutions, quickly build your own, or develop advanced systems, we’ve made it easy to take the power of generative AI a step further with agents. Simply use natural language to create instructions and select relevant content to begin transforming experiences and processes with customized agents.

The University of South Florida is driving a comprehensive approach across the spectrum of agents. The IT team has built agents to enhance campus experiences and support for topics like travel policy, the IT help desk, or events such as student commencement. They’ve worked with the library, athletics, and are partnering with the College of Medicine to create custom solutions including an advanced accreditation system and interactive student handbooks.

Student Ambassadors built agents for several departments resulting in decreased manual reporting time, expedited inventory analysis, and improved content creation workflows. Their Microsoft 365 Copilot users are also already seeing efficiency gains with Researcher and Analyst to support tasks like annual report development, procurement, billing evaluation, and budget reviews. Next, they’re piloting the use of autonomous agents to drive IT process automation and an agent-driven contact center.

At Broward County Public Schools, academic leaders are creating innovative agents such as an interactive quiz engine to enhance student engagement, a resume and job description analyzer to support career readiness initiatives. They’re also exploring agent use cases like professional development planning, recruitment assistance, newsletter and report drafting, and more. To streamline operations, Broward is building agents to facilitate contract management and improve access to support information for users of their Student Information System.

More ways to get started on your AI journey

No matter where you are on your AI journey, we offer a place to get started, including many options at no additional cost. Educators can take advantage of our Learning Accelerators like Reading Coach to receive immediate feedback and insights powered by AI, Minecraft AI Foundations to build AI literacy in engaging ways with students and families, as well as Khanmigo for Teachers for a suite of standards-aligned tools with no prompting required and Khanmigo Writing Coach for students. GitHub Copilot Pro is available to educators and students for free plus access to dozens of learning resources in the Student Developer Pack.

Many students are not only starting to use AI tools in the classroom, but also at home and for purposes outside of schoolwork like trip or meal planning, shopping, and side hustles. Microsoft 365 Personal is available for use of productivity apps and credits for new AI features. Eligible college students can receive a 50% discount on Microsoft 365 Personal and can sign up for a free 12-month trial for a limited time.


1 Survey Data – 2025 AI in Education Report

2 All prices are in US dollars and accurate as of December 2025. Regional prices will vary based on foreign exchange rates at the moment of ordering SKUs.

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Empowering educators with AI innovation and insights http://approjects.co.za/?big=en-us/education/blog/2025/06/empowering-educators-with-ai-innovation-and-insights/ Wed, 25 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000 Learn about AI features for educators coming to Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Chat for teens, and insights from the 2025 AI in Education Report.

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We’re announcing new AI features for educators coming to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot+ PCs, general availability of Copilot Chat for teen students, our 2025 AI in Education Report, and more.

We’re inspired by innovative teaching, leading, and learning and excited to share new insights, features for educators and students, and resources to help you get started. Join us in-person at ISTELive 25 and ASCD Annual 25, June 29 – July 2, 2025, in San Antonio, Texas to explore the latest from Microsoft Education with solutions that spark joyful learning and equip educators with AI skills.

Insights from the 2025 AI in Education Report

In times of change and innovation, the need for insights and examples of impact becomes increasingly important. That’s why we’re sharing the 2025 AI in Education Report which highlights key findings across AI usage, concerns, and opportunities alongside learnings and progress from global institutions.

According to the report, AI in education is advancing daily with over 80% of surveyed educators using AI this year, up 21 points from last year as its role expands from just an assistant to a thought partner and force multiplier. At the same time, approximately one in three surveyed United States K-12 educators still lack confidence in using AI effectively and responsibly and more than half of surveyed students report that they have not received AI training.1

It’s critical to engage with students, educators, and all community stakeholders to address challenges, learn together, and co-develop the path forward. Further, we need to collectively prepare for an AI-powered future and support students in building relevant AI skills as every industry and discipline evolves. Read the report for an overview and explore the detailed survey data for even more insights.

Teachers are saying, ‘I need training, it needs to be high quality, relevant, and job-embedded…’ In reality, people require guidance and that means teachers and administrators going through professional development.

Pat Yongpradit, Chief Academic Officer of Code.org and Lead of TeachAI

Enhancing instruction with Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Learning Zone

Microsoft 365 Copilot delivers the latest AI innovations whether through reasoning agents like Researcher and Analyst, or advanced functionality like Copilot Tuning. Institutions such as Brisbane Catholic Education and Miami Dade College are saving time to reinvest into meaningful work and beginning to explore new capabilities like agents. We’re also collaborating with Learning Management System (LMS) providers like Canvas and Moodle to take the power of agents a step further by supporting integration with Copilot through open-source, customizable samples.

We told our staff: you have permission to try, and permission to fail. That opened the door for teachers to test Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat without fear of judgment or wasted time. And guess what? Most of the time, those experiments don’t fail—they spark new ways of thinking.

Shane Tooley, Assistant Principal Curriculum, St. Peter Claver College, Brisbane Catholic Education

We recently introduced the updated Microsoft 365 Copilot app, your hub for the latest functionality and later this year in preview, for AI-powered features for educators. In one place, educators will be able to easily create lesson plans, draft materials like quizzes and rubrics, and quickly make modifications like translation, adjusted reading levels, length, difficulty, alignment to relevant standards, and more.

We’re announcing Microsoft Learning Zone, a free, AI-powered learning app and the first Copilot+ PC experience purpose built for educators to create personalized, adaptive learning activities.2 Formerly known as the code name Project Spark, the experience will launch in public preview later this summer on Copilot+ PCs, including Microsoft Surface, and across the Windows ecosystem. It’s powered by new AI innovation, learning science, educator input, and features like lesson creation, customizable tools to meet learning goals, and data-driven insights.

Microsoft Learning Zone is built on collaborations with organizations such as NASA, The Economist Educational Foundation, PBS NewsHour, Figma, and Minecraft Education to bring real-world relevance into the classroom. It also includes integration with Kahoot! to generate interactive games and OpenStax for content from vetted open educational resources.

Using Microsoft Learning Zone in the classroom has been an exciting opportunity to explore innovative ways to engage students. I was impressed by the app’s intuitive layout and how easily I could edit and share content with my class. While still in its early stages, Learning Zone shows great potential for helping teachers create AI-driven educational resources.

Terry Borko, Teacher of Social Studies and Media, Red Deer Lake School

Preparing students for academic and career success

Students at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and University of South Carolina are already seeing academic and career preparedness gains with Microsoft 365 Copilot. Copilot Notebooks are now included, and we’re looking forward to bringing even more value with a study guide experience, in preview later this year. Study guide creation is designed to help students, or educators, turn scattered materials into an organized study space with engaging learning activities and content like podcasts instantly. It will include flashcards, fill in the blanks, matching exercises, quizzes, and the ability to review progress.

In some job interviews recently, I’ve actually been asked about my experience with AI and if I know how to use it efficiently to help manage workflows. Copilot will really help students stay at the forefront of today’s changing world and make them more marketable.

Emma Ernst, Public Relations Student, University of South Carolina

In May 2025, we announced that teen student availability for Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot would be coming this summer. We’re now sharing that general availability is expected in late July 2025. To prepare, administrators should review guidance to enable Copilot Chat for students and help ensure appropriate access.

Copilot Chat is included with Microsoft 365 at no additional cost and offers secure AI chat powered by GPT-4o with the ability to maintain IT control through enterprise data protection and management. It also includes features like file upload, image generation, Copilot Pages, and agents. We’re optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead to help students increase their agency and build skills to prepare for future success. Read more about use cases, reflections, and advice from our global private preview educators and students in the announcement blog and from Johns Creek High School in the following video.

We’re looking forward to continuing to add education value to Microsoft 365 Copilot and you can review the details, learn about additional updates like the Microsoft 365 Education Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI®), and join our preview communities through the Education Tech Community blog.

As AI usage and innovation increases, so does the need for training resources that empower educators and students alike. We’re continuing to provide opportunities to build essential skills—from immersive activities in Minecraft Education AI Foundations, to equipping preservice educators with ISTE+ASCD, providing hands-on cybersecurity experience for students, and offering GitHub Certifications on Microsoft Learn and Pearson VUE.

We’ll also continue highlighting new evidence of impact such as the recent World Bank study in Nigeria, where a pilot program deployed Copilot, which stated that a “cost-effectiveness analysis revealed substantial learning gains, equating to 1.5 to years of ‘business as usual’ schooling, situating the intervention among some of the most cost-effective programs to improve learning outcomes.”

Additional resources

  • Microsoft Education AI Toolkit – Designed to guide school leaders through the process of planning for and integrating AI across the institution.
  • 2025 AI in Education Report – Learn more about the latest insights on AI in Education from Microsoft.
  • AI strategies from the frontlines of higher education – Read the recent IDC White Paper, sponsored by Microsoft and explore perspectives from academic and IT leaders.
  • AI Classroom Toolkit – Try this creative resource to introduce AI to teen students that blends engaging narrative stories with instructional information for an immersive and informative learning experience.
  • Copilot Chat Adoption Kit – Review the collection of resources for IT, educators, and parents and caregivers to get started with Copilot Chat.
  • Minecraft Education AI Foundations – Build AI literacy with Agent and Chicken! AI Foundations offers accessible on-ramps with lessons, immersive content, parent resources, and fun animated videos. Stay tuned for new content coming later this year and join the training cohort to learn more.

Learning from others


1 Survey Data – 2025 AI in Education Report

2 Microsoft Learning Zone is available with a Copilot+ PC and Microsoft Education license (A1, A3, A5). Initial availability will be English only.

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