AI-powered tools to support educators

For educators seeking inspiring and innovative instructional strategies, Microsoft AI tools provide much needed assistance. Explore how these tools can help you save time, personalize learning, and renew your passion for teaching.

• Microsoft Copilot can help you generate engaging content and individualized suggestions, freeing up more time for direct student interaction. For added data protection, sign in using your school account. Use Copilot to create personalized content and tailored feedback based on a student’s unique learning requirements. You can also get suggestions for activities, resources, and assessments aligned with learning objectives or a rubric that you can attach to get recommendations specific to your classroom needs. Copilot is available at no cost with your school account and is accessible in Windows, Edge, and on the web.
• Copilot for Microsoft 365 gives you the power of Microsoft Copilot integrated seamlessly into the Microsoft 365 apps you use every day, like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Try generating creative writing prompts, translating languages, or summarizing complex topics in Word. It can also help streamline lesson planning by creating slides in PowerPoint on any topic or from any file, saving you valuable prep time.
• Microsoft Teams for Education is packed with AI features to help you set up your classroom for success. Streamline grading with AI-powered rubrics that adapt to student responses, allowing you to spend less time grading and more time supporting your students’ learning. You can also create comprehension questions tailored to the individual needs of your students or generate modules and descriptions for your class based on the subject, grade level, and learning objectives.

Discover more ways to use AI to support your instructional practice this school year:

• Empower your classroom with the knowledge to navigate AI responsibly by integrating the AI Classroom Toolkit into your lessons. It helps educators to teach students aged 13-15 how to use AI tools effectively through critical conversations and hands-on activities that build skills like fact-checking, data privacy, and mental wellbeing.
• Build fundamental AI skills with your learners in the engaging world of Minecraft Education. AI Foundations is a new AI literacy program that includes bite-sized animated videos that explain AI to learners ages 8 and up, free teaching materials and parent guide, and an imaginative new Minecraft world called Fantastic Fairgrounds where players solve problems and explore careers with AI (available in both Minecraft Education and Bedrock Edition on the Marketplace).
• Khanmigo for Teachers is an AI-powered tool that helps you generate fresh lesson ideas, personalizes student assignments, and explore resources so you can enhance your knowledge and stay current on content area topics. Created by Khan Academy and powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, Khanmigo for Teachers is available for free in English across more than 40 countries.
• Learn more ways to use Copilot in your classroom from the Microsoft Education blog post “Meet your AI assistant for education: Microsoft Copilot” and download the Microsoft Copilot Quick Guide to get started today.
• Explore the training course “Enhance teaching and learning with Microsoft Copilot” to learn how to use Copilot, design effective prompts, and analyze results.

Improved efficiencies for school leaders and staff

School leaders and staffs’ days are often filled with administrative tasks like responding to emails, attending meetings, and filling out paperwork. Microsoft’s AI-powered tools and resources offer support in managing day-to-day responsibilities, helping to enhance efficiency and streamline operations. Discover how these solutions can help you optimize workflows, improve communication, and focus more on fostering a positive school community.

• The Microsoft Education AI Toolkit is designed to guide school leaders through the process of integrating AI into their school’s operations and building robust plans for your organization. This toolkit offers you insights in how others are leveraging AI-powered technology, access to a collection of the latest research on AI in schools, and supports the latest information on Microsoft’s AI technology designed for education.
• Copilot for Microsoft 365 can transform how you handle time-consuming everyday tasks like emails and meetings. Use it to summarize long email threads and draft suggested replies in Microsoft Outlook. You can also use it to summarize key discussion points in Teams meetings, helping you keep track of action items and follow-ups. Try saving time by creating professional looking slides for staff meetings or board meetings.
• Copilot in Power BI offers advanced data analysis capabilities, allowing you to generate insightful reports, visualizations, and narrative summaries. Just describe your desired outcomes, and Copilot will deliver, making it simpler to track student performance, present insights, or conduct research. This intuitive tool helps you communicate data insights clearly, supporting informed decision-making and enriching the learning experience. By consolidating data into a centralized environment and leveraging Power BI’s advanced analytics, educational institutions can gain near real-time insights into student performance and operational efficiency, saving hours of manual labor through automated data processes.

Explore more ways to use AI to enhance operational efficiencies. Check out the AI learning hub on Microsoft Learn to help you skill up and use the power of AI to transform your work.

Enhanced operations and security for school IT teams

School IT teams play an important role in ensuring the smooth operations of school technology systems. Microsoft’s AI tools provide robust solutions to support IT professionals in managing security, data, and overall IT infrastructure efficiently. Learn how these tools can help you enhance cybersecurity, streamline data management, and improve IT operations.

• GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered assistant designed to help IT teams write code faster with fewer errors. It suggests code completions and generates entire code blocks, allowing you to automate repetitive tasks and focus on more complex issues. With GitHub Copilot, you can improve your development workflows, enforce code consistency, and reduce the time spent on debugging and code reviews.
• Microsoft Defender helps IT teams amplify security through advanced, comprehensive endpoint protection with AI capabilities. Defender promotes school safety by filtering harmful content and protecting sensitive data through robust encryption. School IT teams can use Microsoft Defender to increase their efficiency while securing schools at scale. Likewise, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P2 – Students extends this industry-transforming technology to student devices, neutralizing malware and phishing attempts to safeguard your school from cyberattacks. Should an attack occur, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P2 – Students’ automated response swiftly isolates compromised devices, minimizing damage and maintaining control.
• Copilot for Security further empowers IT teams with AI to help defend at machine speed. When integrated with Microsoft Sentinel, Copilot can summarize vast data signals into key insights, cutting through the noise to detect cyberthreats before they cause harm. Copilot can generate incident reports suitable for non-technical audiences, such as your school board, and identify user risks or generate access policies. This helps you respond to incidents in minutes instead of hours or days. Pricing for Copilot for Security and Sentinel is usage based and available as an add-on to Microsoft 365 academic licenses.

Learn more about how AI can support your IT teams:

• Discover how to better respond to security threats in this Microsoft Copilot for Security training module and uncover the steps to making the most of this AI-powered security analysis tool.
• Find out how to use AI to streamline your work with GitHub Copilot in this Microsoft Learn Official Collection.

Whether you’re an educator seeking innovative instructional strategies, a school leader aiming to improve efficiencies, or an IT professional focused on enhancing cybersecurity and data management, Microsoft’s AI-powered solutions are here to help. With tools like Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Teams for Education, and Copilot for Security, your school can achieve these goals and more. Equip your school with the AI tools it needs to thrive this school year, and focus on what truly matters—supporting and engaging your students, family, and staff.

The post Power your school year with AI solutions for educators, leaders, and IT teams appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

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.

One 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!

The post Seven standout moments from ISTELive 24 appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

At Reimagine Education, we announced new ways that Microsoft’s AI tools can be used to bring new opportunities to life, build secure foundations, and prepare students for the future. We’re bringing Microsoft Copilot to more education audiences, launching free AI features designed to save time for educators, and publishing an AI Toolkit. Learning Accelerators’ availability is expanding to popular learning management systems and Speaker and Math Progress are entering private previews. We also shared a new offer: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint tailored towards protecting student devices, at a discounted price. 

If you missed the event today, you can watch it on-demand and continue reading to learn more. 

Microsoft Copilot: your AI assistant for education  

Microsoft’s advancements in AI are grounded in our mission to empower every person to achieve more and are guided by Microsoft’s Responsible AI principles that are built upon decades of research.

Educators around the world are already using Copilot to draft content, brainstorm new ideas, and free up their time to focus on what matters most. And we recently spoke to educators from O’Dea High School and Indiana University to hear first-hand how they now have a secure AI “scaffolding” to support them in and outside of the classroom. During the Reimagine Education event, we shared Copilot expansions to empower education institutions to harness Microsoft AI technologies. 

Microsoft Copilot with commercial data protection is built into all Microsoft 365 Education offers, including our zero-cost license. It’s already available to all faculty and higher education students ages 18 and above, and we’re starting a private preview program for younger learners this spring. 

Starting April 1, 2024, Copilot for Microsoft 365 will be available for higher education institutions to purchase as an add-on for their students aged 18+. To be eligible, students must be assigned Microsoft 365 or Office 365 A3/A5 licenses. Integration across Microsoft 365 applications provides seamless performance, so you can: 

• Stay on top of all your chats, remote classes, meetings, and calls with Microsoft Teams.
• Create, comprehend, and elevate your documents in Microsoft Word. 
• Keep up with your inbox and manage follow-ups in Microsoft Outlook.
• Turn your inspiration into stunning presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint. 
• Analyze, comprehend, and visualize data with ease in Microsoft Excel. 

Additionally, commercial academic offers of Copilot come with a Customer Copyright Commitment. This means, education customers can be confident in using our services without the concerns of copyright claims. 

Personalize learning at scale

We have exciting updates to our Learning Accelerators as well in Teams for Education to help personalize learning at scale: 

• New features in Reading Progress and Microsoft Teams for Education are coming to all educators starting later this month at no additional cost. They leverage AI to draft content like rubrics, assignment instructions, personalized reading passages, and learning objectives, all while keeping the educator in control.  
• Reading Coach now comes with enhanced AI features so students can create their stories and pick their own path as the story progresses: increasing student agency and motivation. It’s going to be available on the web, as a dedicated Windows app, and as an LMS integration. Customers interested in signing up for the preview of the LMS integrations for Reading Coaches and other Learning Tool integrations can go to aka.ms/LMSIntegrations 
• Microsoft’s teacher tool, Math Progress is now entering private preview, and Math Coach, our student tool, will follow soon. These tools leverage AI to help students identify where they’re struggling and provide real-time step-by-step coaching on mathematical problem solving. 

How AI Navigators are leveraging technology for impact    

During the event, I also had the pleasure of introducing our AI Navigators. They highlight how state departments, ministries of education, universities, and K-12 schools are leveraging Microsoft AI tools and solutions to better prepare students for their future. The stories of these navigators demonstrate how AI technology can create even more impact in the hands of great educators to make a real difference in student learning. 

Wichita Public Schools in Kansas serves 47,000 students and 5,600 educators and administrators. Microsoft Copilot gives their teachers what they want the most—time—allowing them to focus more on each student and bring a greater diversity of tailored learning experiences into the classroom.   

The University of South Florida is using Copilot for Microsoft 365 to accelerate faculty workflows and create their own solutions, such as their Help Desk Bot. Before, people had to review every help desk ticket and it would take a few hours before the IT team could respond. Now, response time is a matter of seconds. Faculty can also do more work in less time—querying and summarizing documents in seconds—leaving them more time to spend building new projects and student relationships. 

California State University San Marcos is using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights and testing Copilot to overcome data collection hurdles and support each student individually. They’re now able to centralize communications with students, staff, faculty, and external partners and use data meaningfully in personalized interactions with students.   

We also shared remarkable partner stories from PowerSchool and Anthology who are leveraging the Azure OpenAI Service. The University of Leeds uses the AI Design Assistant from Anthology to empower instructors to quickly and easily build course structure, rubrics, and more. And Colorado Springs School District 11 utilizes PowerSchool AI capabilities to free up time spent creating materials to focus on student needs and engagement.  

Engage in deeper learning experiences 

We also shared new resources to deepen engagement and increase AI literacy for leaders and educators: 

• The Microsoft Education AI Toolkit is a free resource that education leaders can use to develop AI plans for their institutions. It will help to lower the barrier of entry with examples, case studies, and getting started materials to help you evaluate and implement AI solutions.  
• Explore the AI in Education Report for the latest insights from Microsoft, partner organizations, and academia on new opportunities and challenges.  
• The Minecraft AI Prompt Lab is designed to empower educators with the skills and knowledge needed to creatively use Minecraft Education as a dynamic teaching tool, leveraging the strengths of Microsoft Copilot to enhance their teaching abilities. 

Paige Johnson discusses new Microsoft security offerings with Corey Lee, Security Chief and Technology Officer at Microsoft.

How Microsoft tools keep students and information safe

In terms of security, we are introducing the following:  

• A new Microsoft Defender for endpoint offering designed to protect student devices will be available soon to any Microsoft 365 A5 customer at a discounted price.   
• Microsoft Copilot for Security, the first and only generative AI solution that helps security and IT professionals amplify their skillsets, collaborate more, see more, and respond faster. Tune into Microsoft Secure event on March 13, 2024, to get the latest updates on Microsoft Copilot for Security.  
• Free security trainings so that school leaders, educators, students, and even families can learn how to make smart decisions when they are in an educational environment.   

These new security offerings are already being implemented in K-12 and higher education. For example, Microsoft Defender helped Fulton Country Schools to instill confidence in district leadership, staff, and students after a ransomware scare in December 2021. Similarly, Newington College has students across four campuses and protecting their data is a big issue. Microsoft 365 Education A5 gives them a holistic view of their security environment. If an account were to be compromised, tools such as Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Sentinel would help keep data, servers, and workstations safe, managed and patched. 

Paige Johnson, Vice President, Education at Microsoft with Chris Reykdal, Superintendent of Public Instruction in Washington State.

Microsoft and the changing world of work  

The latest findings from an IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Microsoft, as well as Microsoft’s own New Future of Work report confirm that the need for an AI-ready workforce has already arrived. Today’s graduates are expected to be able to use Microsoft Copilot and other AI technologies as they progress from classroom to career.  

I had a fascinating conversation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction in Washington State, Chris Reykdal, about responsible AI implementation. After recognizing the need to prepare Washington State students for the world of work with AI, a group of education leaders was assembled to reimagine several pieces of their education system, including grade-level learning expectations about AI, teacher professional development, institutional policies and practices, and curated resources for AI adoption.  

Watch Reimagine Education on-demand to hear the latest and catch up on the top announcements in this quick one-minute recap! 

Why reimagine? 

There has never been a better time to collectively reimagine education. I hope you are excited about and ready to leverage the opportunities AI can bring to education. We are inspired by the passion, persistence, and ingenuity that you demonstrate every day. Thank you for all that you do to help prepare the next generation of leaders and innovators! 

The post Reimagine Education 2024: Prepare for the future with new AI and security offers appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

This year we were thrilled to be joined by Jaime Teevan, Chief Scientist & Technical Fellow at Microsoft, to talk about her research on AI in the workplace and discuss her recommendations for the best ways to leverage AI technologies.  

And that was the perfect kickoff for Bett 2024, because AI—perhaps unsurprisingly—was the talk of the show.  

Strike a pose 

Right from the get-go, visitors to the Microsoft stand on the show floor were captivated by Microsoft Designer and the power to use AI to build their own avatars.   

For those not able to attend in person, visit aka.ms/SeeYourselfinAI to try out the prompt for yourself!  

Keynote to success

At this year’s Bett there were SO many ways to be inspired by Microsoft! Engaging product demos? Check. Expert-led sessions? Also check. The latest on AI in our Microsoft Learn Live Classroom? You got it!  

As I mentioned earlier, kicking things off for Microsoft was Jaime Teevan, with her Thrive with AI: Lead like a scientist keynote. She provided her expert perspective around AI and the fundamental shifts it will bring to learning.  

Citing the LinkedIn Future of Work Report, Jaime shared that—though more than half of a teacher’s job involves specialized skills that need to be performed by humans—nearly half of teacher skills support tasks where AI could enable greater productivity (such as lesson planning and curriculum development). What everyone wants to know is: can AI really help with these challenges? Will it transform work and how?  

Early research with Microsoft Copilot says yes, with 72% of initial users agreeing that Microsoft Copilot helped them spend less mental effort on mundane or repetitive tasks, 68% saying it improved the quality of their work, and 77% saying they don’t want to give it up! I want you all to imagine, what could you do with that time back? How might this allow for more focus on what matters most, like spending time with your students?

Jaime cited an important new study—Math Education with Large Language Models: Peril or Promise?—that revealed the learning benefits of LLMs (Large Language Models).  

In one of the first randomized experiments on LLMs and education, Microsoft Research and Harsh Kumar from the University of Toronto found that LLM-based explanations positively impacted learning relative to seeing only correct answers. This is largely due to the intention they built this experiment around and the design choices they made, to have LLMs serve as a coach, to act as tutors that don’t just provide answers, but are specifically pre-prompted with customized instructions. And what is so exciting about all of this is that we already have incredible tools today that will only be further enhanced by generative AI.

Achieving more with Microsoft Education 

Some other exciting Microsoft Education announcements at Bett included:   

• Microsoft Copilot with commercial data protection will be available to all faculty and higher education students ages 18 and above when signed into their school accounts starting later this week. There are so many ways educators can use Copilot to save time and energy! 
• Reading Coach is now powered by generative AI to fuel student agency and motivation with dynamically created stories that adapt to their reading level and individual challenges. It’s also available as a standalone app, providing personalized reading fluency practice for free as a Windows application and a web app to use in the classroom or at home with a Microsoft account. 
• Microsoft Teams for Education updates include things such as the ability to use generative AI to create rubrics and instructions in Assignments. The educator always has the choice and can generate different options, and—after the content is created—can always make further edits and updates to the content. 
• You can also use generative AI to create modules in Classwork. Now educators can get assistance creating a course outline and drafting modules and descriptions based on the subject, student grade level, and class learning objectives. 
• Microsoft Loop—a flexible, AI-powered collaboration app that can help you think, plan, and create together—is now available for Education customers.  

Buddy up to PowerBuddy™

PowerSchool—the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America—announced the launch of PowerSchool PowerBuddy™, powered by the Azure OpenAI Service. With PowerBuddy, students receive on-demand assistance and tailored pathways. Teachers can generate lesson plans and personalize homework at scale. Parents can inquire about their child’s academic performance. And administrators can democratize information for decision-making.  

“PowerBuddy helps each child cultivate a genuine passion for learning, driven by the intentional design of safe, supportive, inspiring, and tailored experiences using AI,” said Shivani Stumpf, Chief Product and Innovation Officer at PowerSchool. PowerBuddy is being piloted now and will be available for the 2024-2025 school year. Watch the video PowerSchool PowerBuddy™, An AI Assistant for Everyone in Education to learn more.  

Kahoot! had its own AI-related announcement: the PDF-to-kahoot generator! This tool leverages the Azure OpenAI Service to transform static PDFs into high-quality interactive kahoots, injecting excitement into each student’s learning experience and helping them to foster a deeper understanding of the curriculum-aligned material. The collaborative nature of Kahoot! also adds an element of friendly competition to the learning process!  

Jornea Armant, Head of Community Engagement for Microsoft Flip, was also on hand to discuss what assessment means in this era of generative AI, focusing on the power of Flip—a no-cost video assessment tool—and Microsoft Copilot, as tools for adapting assessment practices for future-ready classrooms.  

Re-imagine the possibilities!

To build upon all this Bett excitement, be sure to join us for Reimagine Education on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, to learn more about how AI is transforming the world of education. Select the time that works best for you and save it to your calendar—either 9:00 AM PT (UTC-8) or 6:00 PM PT (UTC-8)—and join us for insights from global education innovators who will share best practices on education equity, security, and workforce readiness in the era of AI. At Microsoft, we are committed to making sure AI systems are developed responsibly and that equitable opportunities are created for all students, in the classroom and beyond! 

The post The best Bett yet appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

Last year, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) dedicated International Day of Education to the girls and women in Afghanistan: the only country in the world where girls and women currently don’t have access to education.    

And 2024’s International Day of Education theme is just as vital, and—unfortunately—all too relevant: learning for lasting peace.  

Using education for peace 

As emphasized in the UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development, learning for lasting peace must be transformative: empowering learners to become active agents of peace in the world.   

It’s so easy these days to be overwhelmed by news of conflict that pervades our digital landscape and our world. 2023’s Global Peace Index had the average level of global peacefulness deteriorating for the 13th time in the last 15 years, with 2022 deemed the deadliest year since 1994. C’mon: our species can do so, so much better. In my opinion—no surprise here—the key is education.  

Education builds empathy, the surest way to bring about compassion and understanding for the multiple perspectives and contexts crowding our world. In the shadows of ignorance, hate is allowed to fester. This is why a commitment to peace is more urgent than ever. 

Education is a basic human right. And—as outlined in the UNESCO Global Futures of Education report—inclusive and equitable quality education—and lifelong opportunities for all—require a rebalancing of our relationships with one another, with nature, and with technology. And when there is a foundation of participatory governance, respectful dialogue, and cooperation, a sustainable peace can flourish.  

A resolve to resolve 

The UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development calls for “education for peace” to be at the core of new social contracts for education. In addition to advocating that everyone has the right to an education, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights advocates for free and obligatory primary education to be made available to all students. Education helps prevent marginalization and conflict from erupting in the first place and brings about post-conflict healing and reconciliation. 

But there is still plenty of work to do. 

According to UNESCO, 250 million children all over the world are failing to acquire basic literacy skills and 1.5 billion students and youth are or have been affected by school and university closures. The United Nations estimates that nearly two thirds of the children falling behind reading targets live in Central and Southern Asia and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia. 

While over 90% of teachers think it’s important to teach Global Citizenship Education, only 1 in 5 teachers have resources available on how to teach global citizenship education. And becoming a respectful human being starts with tolerance. Social media connects us in many wonderful ways, yet it can also amplify dehumanizing hate speech. 

UNESCO offers a number of Global Citizenship Education and Hate Speech resources to help teachers address the root causes of intolerance and foster respect and a shared sense of belonging. 

Let’s use education for peace on International Day of Education 

We are living in challenging times—to say the least—and the impact of the world on students is profound. Meaningful learning experiences simply can’t take root amidst emotional and physical turmoil. 

By partnering with schools and districts and developing collaborative relationships with school leaders and teachers, we instill a deep commitment to the power of education in bringing about a more peaceful and equitable world. 

All learners deserve access to a high-quality education regardless of their ability, income, language, or location fueled by inclusively designed technologies to better prepare students for the future. Microsoft empowers every teacher and student to accelerate learning through experiences, feedback, and analytics while enabling organizations to innovate and meet their educational and operational goals. 

So, during this year’s International Day of Education, let’s put our differences aside and, instead, come together to show the important relationship between education and peace—on both a global and local level—and initiate frank, respectful discussions with one another. 

Let’s talk about how to improve education as a public good. 

Let’s talk about our priorities and challenges for education amidst global crises and conflicts. 

Let’s talk about how to lead digital transformation to make education more equitable and accessible. 

Let’s talk about how to support teachers and unlock the potential in every student. 

Let’s talk about how to make education the center of our national and global peacebuilding efforts. 

Let’s talk. 

The post Peace together: International Day of Education 2024 appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

During November at Microsoft, we focus on innovation, AI, and the cloud at one of our biggest events of the year: the Microsoft Ignite conference. It is free to join online from anywhere November 15 and 16, 2023, so anyone can learn about how Microsoft is innovating in ways that will impact teaching, learning, and the future of work. This year, a large focus of Ignite will be how Microsoft Azure brings your data together securely and privately to analyze your information and leverage other applications to provide enhanced learning, collaboration, and security. With secure access to your data on prem, in the cloud, or in a hybrid implementation, utilizing innovative education solutions with embedded AI and harnessing analytics in your career and technical education (CTE) classroom becomes easier than ever before. 

Empowering educators with the latest cloud services and AI tools

Tools like Azure OpenAI Service, Bing Chat, and Bing Chat Enterprise for faculty (now available in paid academic plans) can save you time and personalize learning experiences by leveraging the power of large language models with enhanced cloud security. Since Ignite is free to attend virtually, you and other members of your IT or instructional team can join to learn more at sessions such as: 

• The Future of Security with AI 
• Maximizing Microsoft Teams for Learning 
• AI transformations with the Microsoft Cloud 
• Making End to End Security Real 
• Inside Microsoft’s AI Innovations 
• Implement a Generative AI Solution with Azure OpenAI Service 
• Q&A for exploring AI-powered chat – let’s talk Bing Chat Enterprise 
• Visual Content Creation for Everyone: Clipchamp and Designer 
• Empowering Inclusive Innovation with Azure AI Studio Q&A
• Boost Productivity with Bing Chat Enterprise and Edge for Business 

Register for Microsoft Ignite to take part in the experience!

Leveraging cloud services and Microsoft AI tools on your CTE classroom experience

Microsoft is committed to transforming education through the use of innovative developments such as AI. Our cloud services securely gather and analyze data, embedding it into AI-powered applications to enhance learning, collaboration, productivity, and security. This is a key point. To truly get the benefits of many of our developments with AI, you need to have your data in the cloud, not locked away in an out-of-date on-prem server or data warehouse. This requirement is just as important for CTE classrooms and programs as it is for entire school districts. 

When considering the integration of cloud services and Microsoft AI tools into your CTE classroom experience, it’s essential to understand how to utilize these tools to enhance student career and technical skills. Microsoft takes some of the pressure off you when it comes to managing security to safeguard your data and student information. This delegation of certain security responsibilities not only frees up your resources for other essential classroom activities that utilize the power of responsible AI, but also leverages the inherent security features of the cloud to bolster your overall security stance.

Explore how to use Microsoft AI tools to enhance your CTE classroom experience.

If you want to learn more about how to support teaching and learning in your classroom using Microsoft’s cloud services and AI tools check out these solutions:

• Generate instant learning and visual engagement: Get information to help answer to student questions and support learning with visual aids with Bing Chat and Bing Chat Enterprise. These tools give you access to AI-powered web chat (with added commercial data protection in Bing Chat Enterprise) that is grounded in data from the public web and provides complete, verifiable answers, along with visual responses that include graphs and charts. Use Bing Chat Enterprise with confidence knowing that Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) ensures secure access to Bing Chat Enterprise, protecting your user data and preserving chat privacy. Consider using these tools to quickly get responses with links to content sources during collaborative class discussions to dig deeper or generate visuals to explain complex concepts to students with Bing Image Creator.
• Elevate educational resources: Gather ideas and learning recommendations by incorporating tools that leverage the latest models from OpenAI. Microsoft Copilot in Windows 11, Bing and Microsoft Edge, and Microsoft 365 allows you to incorporate your own organization’s data. You can also integrate Azure OpenAI Service into your applications to ensure that staff have what they need tailored to your organization’s goals and their students’ data. For instance, you can personalize supplementary materials based on each student’s learning needs and interests or streamline tasks like writing engaging lessons or drafting assessments using standards and objectives that are tailored to your district and/or curricula. 
• Customize learning solutions: For educational systems that want to harness the power of AI by building their own tools and services, Azure OpenAI Service offers a way to harness the scale and security of Azure with OpenAI’s generative AI model capabilities. Using this service, your staff will receive more detailed information when you build an application that is sourced from data you add and manage using a no-code approach. Plus, Microsoft offers the ability to detect and mitigate harmful use with built-in responsible AI and enterprise-grade security. For example, if you’re looking for ways to simulate CTE programs that involve potentially hazardous activities, you can create a chatbot using the chat playground in Azure OpenAI Studio that allows students to practice specific safety protocols and emergency procedures in a controlled virtual environment. You could also track the career progress of your program’s alumni by collecting their trajectories and success stories to showcase program outcomes and refine your curricula to align with industry standards. 
• Open creative career pathways: Tap into the power of creative tools like Microsoft Designer, Bing Image Creator, Clipchamp, and Paint, all which are enhanced by generative AI. Designer produces an immediate visual draft of almost anything with a few simple prompts that can help learners brainstorm and iterate. These tools can provide you with innovative resources to engage students in career-specific design projects, multimedia assignments, and visual storytelling. 
• Enhance productivity:Power Platform enables you to create low-to-no-code apps and chatbots, with no formal coding experience needed, that are specific to your classroom and student needs. From tracking student submissions to auto-sending notifications and calendar events, the options are limitless. Solutions can be as simple as a flow that notifies an educator when a student completes an assessment or project, or when augmented by Azure’s AI capabilities, as advanced as an AI-infused chatbot that leverages Azure machine learning to create personalized career pathway guidance. Power BI also quickly visualizes key metrics and trends from across your institution, such as CTE program enrollment, budgets, job placement rates, student demographic information, and more. This helps provide predictive insights in accessible dashboards to inform instructional changes and program decision-making. 

Microsoft is leading the charge in bringing the power of cloud technology and AI to education. Our cloud services, particularly Microsoft Azure, are designed to enhance learning, collaboration, productivity, and security. Powerful, useful AI experiences come together in Microsoft solutions—simply, securely, and responsibly—into the products you use most. We invite you to join the Microsoft Ignite conference online for free from November 15 and 16, 2023, to discover cutting-edge AI tools like Azure OpenAI Service and Bing Chat Enterprise for faculty that can transform your educational institution. Embracing these innovations and exploring how they impact teaching and learning within your CTE program can help you revolutionize education.

Ready to take Microsoft cloud services and AI tools to the next level? Explore these resources to continue to innovate for education: 

• Support aspiring student developers in gaining skills to jump-start their careers. 
• Build your own chatbot with no coding required in Microsoft Power Platform. 
• Put your AI skills to the test by using these challenges to build innovative solutions. 

To help you make the most of these capabilities and build AI literacy, Microsoft offers free training on Microsoft Learn. Boost your confidence and explore the potential of AI in education: 

• Skill up with the latest in AI, Microsoft 365, Windows, and security in education 
• Empower educators to explore the potential of AI
• Enhance teaching and learning with Bing Chat

The post Microsoft Ignite: Bringing the innovations of the cloud to your CTE classroom appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

The school year has begun and we’re here to help! Microsoft offers a range of teaching, learning, and work solutions with built-in AI that can help you and your students thrive this year. We are committed to designing, developing, and deploying responsible AI solutions that are fair, reliable, secure, inclusive, and transparent to support educational settings.

From Learning Accelerators to the time-saving capabilities of Bing Chat Enterprise, our solutions personalize learning, engage learners, analyze data, and automate routine tasks.

Use AI to save time and accelerate learning

To help you gear up for the new school year, we’ve identified some creative ways you can extend the impact of Microsoft solutions designed in line with our AI principles.

Student learning

• Personalize literacy learning: Passage generation will soon be available in Reading Progress (currently in initial private preview) and leverages the power of Azure OpenAI Service by reviewing data from Education Insights to create personalized reading passages based on words or phonics rules a class or specific student found most challenging. Easily customize the passage for students by selecting suggested practice words, generating options, and then publishing the passage as a new reading assignment. Then generate comprehension questions based on the reading passage. You can choose the number of questions, review them, make any necessary edits, and publish them to your students.
• Accelerate math problem solving: Math Assistant in OneNote supports both assignment creation for you and helpful solution guides for your students. Simply enter an example problem and Math Assistant can generate a practice quiz that students can use to practice on their own. You can also use practice quizzes to simplify assignment creation or differentiation materials. Use the step-by-step solution guides to provide additional support when solving problems. These guides can be turned off during times when students need to show understanding without added supports.

Student engagement

• Prioritize inclusive and accessible learning: Ensure all students have access to learning by using one of the many Microsoft solutions with built-in accessibility features, including Immersive Reader. Immersive Reader supports students in all content areas. Whether a student needs Immersive Reader to read at a slower pace, provide picture clues without narration, or translate individual words or full text, you can customize the learning experience and provide specific accommodations for your students with ease.
• Build confidence and communication: Speaker Coach uses AI to provide personalized feedback on presentation skills in Teams for Education meetings or PowerPoint presentations. Students practice and build their confidence towards public speaking in a non-stigmatizing way. AI analyzes speech to give tips about repetitive and inclusive language, filler words, pace, and intonation. In Teams meetings, AI can also identify and notify the speaker when they have spoken for a long period of time without input from others.

The rehearsal report in Speaker Coach includes focused feedback on metrics known to influence how an audience perceives a presentation.

Data-based decision making

• Simplify data collection and analysis: Education Insights uses AI technology to analyze data across a variety of solutions, like Learning Accelerators and the Microsoft 365 Graph, to provide a more holistic view of each student at the individual, class, grade, school, and organization level. From analyzing student engagement to making recommendations for Reading Progress assignments, you can quickly capitalize on the power of AI in Education Insights to quickly identify student, classroom, school, and district needs.
• Advance data monitoring: Simplify how you monitor cohort data, enrollment trends, and demographic aggregations with Power BI. Power BI uses predictive analysis to provide data, analytics, and visualizations about student performance and wellbeing. Use the built-in AI to illuminate hidden patterns, opportunities, and anomalies in your data without needing to create your own custom AI models. Read more about how Forsyth County Schools used Power BI to improve graduation rates and student success.

Administrative support

• Enhance lesson planning: Using well-crafted prompts, you can leverage Edge and Bing’s AI chat functionality to generate lesson plans or give you ideas to try in your classroom. Bing Chat Enterprise ensures that your data is protected and will not leak outside of your education organization. While all materials and suggestions should be reviewed by the expert, you, prior to use, you can use the suggestions to help you brainstorm, synthesize information, or organize content. To get more targeted responses, identify yourself as a teacher in the prompt and identify your grade level, subject area, specific standards being taught, and any class parameters like time, number of students, and instructional preferences.
• Improve communication: Simplify when and how you communicate with students or families by scheduling your Microsoft Teams posts and announcements automatically with Power Automate. You can create reoccurring posts that link to your ongoing weekly schedule, frequently used resources, or newsletter. Check out some Power Automate flow templates that can help save you time on administrative tasks.

Family involvement

• Engage stakeholders: Whether you’re looking for feedback on a new school policy or seeking family volunteers, you can use Power Automate to create an automatic system for gathering and collecting information using Microsoft Forms and SharePoint. Just create a Form with the information you need, develop the automated flow, and let it run! All the information you need will be available in one place that you can use to collaborate with other staff.
• Include all voices: Microsoft Translator helps bridge communication barriers, supporting accessible and inclusive family communication and classroom learning with live captioning and multilingual translations. This feature can help you translate a parent-teacher conference, an email to a student’s family, or a live parent-teacher organization meeting quickly.

Subtitle Settings in PowerPoint. Microsoft Translator can help create a more inclusive classroom with live translation and captions.

So, it’s time to ready… set… teach! This year, make use of Microsoft’s AI-powered solutions, designed to personalize learning, engage students, and streamline workflows. We are committed to enhancing the educational experience of you and your students. Check out the self-paced AI for Educators module available on the Microsoft Learn Educator Center to explore the potential of AI in education.

The post Gear up for the school year with Microsoft’s AI-powered solutions appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

When we announced Learning Accelerators in February at our digital event “Reimagine Education”, we were already looking forward to bringing them to Bett UK and inviting the global education community to try them out in person. Bett is the largest education technology conference in the world, and every year it seems to grow. You’ve probably heard the popular saying, “If you know, you know.” Or “IYKYK” for the social media savvy. Well, if you’ve been to Bett, you know that it’s packed with somewhere around 40 thousand educators, education leaders, and edtech providers, all of whom want to find new and innovative ways to help students get the most out of learning. That’s where Reimagining Education, and the Learning Accelerators come in.

Learning Accelerators are a new category of inclusive tools powered by AI and built into Microsoft 365 for Education. They help to streamline the creation, review, and analysis of practice assignments and provide real-time coaching for students that can help them catch up, keep up, and get ahead, and unlock their full potential.

At Bett, our bustling booth area had a section dedicated to the Learning Accelerators where you could get a hands-on look at them, and for those who wanted more information, there were educator-led sessions in our Microsoft Learn Theatre, and even deeper-dives in our filled-to-capacity Teachers Academy Workshops. Over the course of the conference, thousands of educators stopped by to check them out, and joined the theatre sessions to hear first-hand how teachers are using these tools in the classroom.

Another high point of the week was the keynote in the fabulous Bett Arena. The topic was “Reimagine: Esports, Education, Employability”, and it was presented by several impressive and inspiring people who represented some of the different aspects of the gaming and Esports world. James Fraser-Murison, a teacher and Director of Learning for Esports at Queen Mary’s College, Basingstoke shared his experience of starting the esports program at his school. James brought along three of his students who talked about how they’ve grown and developed skills like confidence, strategic thinking, leadership, and entrepreneurship since joining the esports program. Next, India, a professional esports competitor and member of the Rocket League Women’s Team, reigning Commonwealth champions, stepped up. She talked about how competing and being part of a team has helped her overcome challenges, and develop a strong sense of responsibility. Finally, Apurva, a software engineer on the Minecraft team at Microsoft shared via video how she discovered gaming at a very young age, and now has turned her love of games and storytelling through code into a career! And one of the best parts, they all got their own Minecraft characters!

Speaking of Minecraft, the Minecraft team took over the Esports @ Bett area on Friday, and hosted a fun competition where students raced to build innovative and sustainable solutions for the city of London to combat climate-related issues. It was incredible to see all of the new ideas and energy they brought to the challenge, and truly illustrated the power of engaging young people in activities that stimulate their creativity, increase their empathy, and expose them to the concepts and tools that will help them live productive and fulfilling lives.

Some of the special events and activities that attendees really seemed to appreciate were the Teachers Academy Workshops, where they could get in-depth info about using Learning Accelerators, creating an inclusive classroom with Microsoft Accessibility tools, and fostering well-being with Reflect. Another popular area was the Microsoft Certifications Testing lab, in partnership with Prodigy Learning. Here, teachers could get in some professional development, and take as many Microsoft Certifications Fundamentals exams as they wished.

Ahead by Bett was a special higher education section, designed for the higher education community to gather and tackle challenges that face that sector. Microsoft presented several sessions, including “Bringing the student experience together with Viva Connections for Education.” This was the first time Viva Connections, a powerful experience platform within M365 that brings together many functions and tasks has had functionality for education. The education applications of this tool include enhancing Teams assignments and classes, as well as bringing functions like tuition, payments, profiles, and more together in one platform. Learn more about Viva Connections for education in the Tech Community blog.

All together, the many events and sessions at Bett were an invitation to explore and innovate with tools like the Learning Accelerators, Minecraft Education, and many more. Thank you to the organizers and staff of Bett, and to all of those who visited our Microsoft area, and attended our sessions. I hope you’ve returned to your classrooms and schools with new ideas to make the most of your edtech, and look forward to seeing you all in London next year.

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Today at our annual Microsoft Reimagine Education event, we’re introducing Learning Accelerators – a new category of learning tools that help support and streamline the creation, review, and analysis of student progress and development across academic subjects. Learning Accelerators include both Coach tools and Progress tools. The Coach tools provide students real-time coaching and opportunities for self-directed learning. The Progress tools are designed to help teachers personalize assignments as well as feedback and instruction assisted by actionable insights. The tools help schools unlock the full potential of every student in a secure and inclusive environment.

By building products, features, and experiences that foster productivity and creativity, our ambition is to open doors to students everywhere.”

– Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO

Let’s dive into the announcement of new updates and tools included in the Learning Accelerators.

Fluency and Comprehension Updates Coming to Reading Coach and Reading Progress

In addition to including Reading Progress and Reading Coach in our new category of Learning Accelerators, we’re also introducing new updates that will be available later this year. These updates include the addition of comprehension questions in Reading Progress, Reading Coach coming to Immersive Reader soon, and more.

Reading Coach will now be built into Immersive Reader across Word Online, OneNote, Microsoft Teams Assignments, Minecraft Education, Flip, and more. The integration provides all students opportunities for reading fluency practice and real-time feedback, helping them fully engage as readers on the web and across Microsoft 365 apps that support Immersive Reader.

We continue to evolve our tools to help improve literacy and critical thinking in every classroom. Now, teachers can assign comprehension questions to their students in Reading Progress.

Reading Progress and Reading Coach are accessible to all learners, available in over 116 languages, and include features that have been inclusively designed. You can learn more about the tools and new updates by visiting the Tech Community Education Blog.

An Easier Way to Build Information Literacy Skills with Search Coach and Search Progress

Studies show that fewer than 1 in 10 students in grade 7 or higher can distinguish between fact and opinion.¹ Teachers need technology that better supports information literacy instruction and provides easier ways to verify where and how students found their sources. Search Coach and Search Progress are learning tools that empower students to think critically, search with confidence in the classroom, and build stronger information literacy skills. The tools provide real-time coaching to students on forming effective queries and reviewing reliable sources in an ad-free online environment. Teachers also have access to powerful insights on how students are leveraging search in the classroom and developing their information literacy skills, helping to further personalize instruction and assignments. 

Microsoft Bing SafeSearch is enabled by default, so students only see sites that go through a filter that blocks adult content from search results. Students can practice concepts and work on building their information literacy skills in a secure, educational environment.

Introducing Search Coach in Microsoft Teams

It can be challenging for students to filter search results effectively to find relevant information. Built with feedback from leading experts, librarians and teachers, Search Coach provides the following features:

• Real-time coaching to students on forming effective queries as well as identifying and reviewing reliable sources. 
• Daily search tips and targeted tips included on the results page, filter options that help students find relevant sources, and much more.
• Customizable filters that teachers can easily set for personalized lessons and students can use to make their searches more specific for additional independent practice on certain concepts.
• Optional filters like a Fact Check button that can be enabled by the teacher to encourage students to review sources with some of the top fact checking websites and an option for teachers to create their own list of sites for students to use.

Search Coach supports teachers in personalizing instruction for students of all ages and at varying stages of mastery. Whether a student is a second grader doing her first research project or a student new to high school, Search Coach innovatively provides an accessible, secure, and supportive learning experience.

We want to teach students their computer is a tool, something they can use in every subject. The students who have learned how to search can now work out what it is they want to know and find an answer. For me, that is the difference. I am turning out students that have digital literacy, students that finally know how to do online research.”

 – John Stapley, Head of Digital Technology, Napier Boys’ High School

Search Progress allows teachers within Teams for Education to guide student learning and track progress by creating, reviewing, and analyzing practice assignments for individual students, small groups, and entire classrooms – all in less time and supported by actionable insights. The tool is designed with features that support the following:

• Students can complete personalized assignments, collect and turn in sources, and show their work and reasoning behind their approach before submitting an assignment for teacher feedback.
• Teachers can customize a required number of sources for assignments and access additional insights over time like never before, helping to more easily track and review progress and trends. So, teachers can track if students are only selecting the first site on the results page, are leveraging the integrated NewsGuard button and other filters to review sources, and which searches they found most effective and why.
• Provide opportunities for students to regularly practice communicating their reasoning, which is key for helping students further develop critical thinking skills.

Search Progress provides an easy, personalized experience for helping to accelerate information literacy and critical thinking skills. As Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President shared at today’s event: 

I think these Learning Accelerators really enable us to be even more impactful in doing what we’re striving to do – namely, equip faculty and teachers and reach students with better ways to learn. We do this at a scale, frankly, that few others do in the world.”

Search Coach is currently built into Teams for Education and available globally. Search Progress will be available in preview later this year.² Both tools will be supported in over 50 languages. You can learn more by visiting the Microsoft Stories Blog and Tech Community Education Blog.

Developing Confident Speakers and Presenters with Speaker Coach and Speaker Progress

The ability for students to think critically, develop their thoughts, and present ideas more clearly is fundamental in today’s world. Speaker Progress and Speaker Coach are tools that can help improve student speaking and presentation skills. The tools allow students to practice independently and provide real-time coaching to assist in improving and building their confidence as presenters. Speaker Coach is built into Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams, and LinkedIn. Speaker Progress will be available in Microsoft Teams Assignments.

Many students say they don’t receive enough feedback on their speaking or presentation skills. Speaker Coach evaluates and provides real-time feedback on student pacing and pitch, inclusiveness, use of filler words, and more. Speaker Coach allows students to practice privately and provides tips on developing a persuasive presentation, helping to build confidence, ease presentation anxiety, and utilize critical thinking skills. Speaker Progress is a new tool that saves teachers time by streamlining the process of creating, reviewing, and analyzing speaking and presentation assignments for students, groups, and classrooms. Teachers and students can see a summary of key presentation skill areas and areas for improvement. Teachers can also review automatically uploaded student recordings, track progress, and identify student needs through Education Insights in less time and on-demand. 

Speaker Coach is currently available in English within Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams and LinkedIn. Speaker Progress will be available in preview within Teams for Education the 2023-2024 school year.³

Accelerating Math Fluency and Literacy with Math Coach and Math Progress

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NAEP), the pandemic has resulted in math achievement falling across every percentile, even for the highest performers.⁴ Students need more practice with problems tailored to help accelerate their math literacy. Regularly analyzing which concepts are the most difficult for each student, tracking progress and trends, and personalizing instruction for all types of learners takes an incredible amount of time. Math Progress and Math Coach provide students with additional practice, real-time feedback, and helpful tips as well as help teachers create assignments and streamline the review process for individual students and classrooms.

One of the most challenging aspects of math for many learners is understanding the steps to go from equation to solution. Math Coach breaks down each part of a problem – with text explanations for each step and operation in more detail – to help students think more critically through how and why they arrived at a particular solution. Math Progress assists teachers in generating practice questions, identifying which concepts challenged students, and providing feedback and personalized support more efficiently. The tools work in tandem, as Math Coach generates additional practice problems for students based on teacher input and insights gathered from their previous Math Progress assignments. Schools can also leverage math fluency data to help track trends and progress as well as improve outcomes.

Both Math Progress and Math Coach will be available within Microsoft Teams for Education in preview in the 2023-2024 school year.⁵

Updates to Education Insights Premium and Windows 11

Additionally, we’re excited to share that Education Insights Premium is now included in all versions of Microsoft 365 Education including our no-cost Office 365 A1 license. Education Insights Premium enables education leaders to monitor student academic progress and wellbeing across their organization to help improve learning outcomes with actionable insights. Built with student safety, privacy, and security in mind, it helps schools support students while maintaining compliance with industry standards. 

Also, there are some updates coming to Windows 11. Students can sign in quickly and easily to their devices with third-party identity providers, such as Clever and Google, through the simple sign-in feature expected to be available later this month for Windows 11 Pro Education.

As education continues to evolve rapidly, we’ll continue to empower schools to innovate their approach to preparing all students for their futures. The new Learning Accelerators further round out our literacy-focused tools and help us work together with teachers, schools, and districts on reimagining how to accelerate learning in the classroom. Additionally, Microsoft has provided software and services grants supporting over 200M students, faculty, and staff around the world. We’re committed to helping schools around the world better support teachers in personalizing instruction, provide secure learning experiences backed by impactful insights, and meet the diverse needs of every learner in every classroom.

¹ Publications – PISA (oecd.org)

² Northern Hemisphere only 

³ Northern Hemisphere only

⁴ National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2021 School Survey, Institute of Education Sciences

⁵ Northern Hemisphere only

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The United Nations General Assembly declared an International Day of Education five years ago to celebrate the role of education in building opportunities for peace and development, and to spread awareness that transforming learning systems can help to build a more sustainable, inclusive and peaceful future.

In 2023, it’s more important than ever to celebrate the value of education, and to encourage public and private institutions and individuals to prioritize it. We know that the disruptions and challenges of the past few years, ranging from a public health crisis to economic instability and conflict, have exacerbated the existing inequities in education and disrupted formal learning for over a billion students. UNESCO¹ reports that approximately 244 million children and youth, especially girls, remain out of school.

Yet there is much progress to celebrate. All over the world, leaders in education, government, and public and private sectors have made investments in time, skills, and funding to accelerate learning and close gaps. These are examples of system-wide innovations that create more opportunities for students, expand access to education technology, and support educators in preparing every student to learn, explore, and reach their potential.

Microsoft is strongly committed to supporting more equitable education, and we support UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 to, “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”² That goal is reflected in our mission – to empower every learner on the planet to achieve more.

To us, that mission is more than words. It’s a description of the guiding principles that are at the root of what we do. When you break it down into individual statements, we can see how each element drives toward the mission.

By “every learner”, we mean regardless of ability, disability, mobility, income, location or identity. By “empower” we mean with foundational skills like literacy, numeracy, communication, and higher order skills including computational thinking, creativity and analytical reasoning, plus social-emotional skills including self-awareness, regulation and responsible decision making. By “achieve more”, we mean for students to reach their potential, to contribute positively and purposefully in learning, work, and life.

To further this mission, next month we’ll be hosting a digital event, “Reimagine Education”, where we’ll be showcasing stories of K-12 schools and educators around the globe. We’ll hear from talented people who are improving reading, writing, math, and communication skills using technology, to prepare their students for the future. Top Microsoft leaders, including CEO Satya Nadella, will share their insights about the future of education, and how innovative learning tools can empower schools and teachers to create learning experiences that work for every learner.

Education unlocks the potential in everyone, so everyone should have access to it. In a statement³ in support of this year’s Day of Education theme, UNESCO makes the point that, “Only lifelong education starting in the earliest years in life can break the cycle of poverty, improve health outcomes, prepare people for decent jobs with opportunities to reskill and upskill, and mitigate the climate crisis.” The message continues, pointing out that, “to ensure inclusive, safe, and healthy learning environments [we must] empower teachers, harness the digital revolution for the benefit of public education and invest more equitably and efficiently.”

I hope you’ll join me in celebrating the transformational power of education today, and that you’ll tune in on February 9 for Reimagine Education.

_{1 UNESCO International Day of Education: https://www.unesco.org/en/days/education}

_{2 UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 : https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal4}

_{3 UNESCO day of Education 2023 Concept Statement: https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/education_day_2023-cn-en.pdf}

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Microsoft presented more than 65 sessions, trainings, interactive demonstrations, and educator-led presentations—all focused on the ways that Microsoft devices and software support schools in enabling equity and driving literacy. Many of the topics in the Microsoft Learn Educator Theater were live adaptations of some of the material available in the Microsoft Learn Educator Center, and ISTE attendees were especially excited to see resources like Reading Coach, Reading Progress, Minecraft, and Flip in action.

One popular session led by resident expert Mike Tholfsen, called “Improve reading fluency: Reading Progress and Reading Coach in Microsoft Teams,” focused on how these built-in tools can help all students practice and build confidence with reading and provide additional reading support for those who need it.

Education Insights, another key feature built into Teams, was also highlighted in the session: “Powerful insights made simple with Education Insights for Microsoft Teams.” This presentation explored how Education Insights empowers educators with actionable data and analytics about student engagement, well-being, performance, and more.

Minecraft made a huge splash with “League of Literacy: Challenge students and inspire learning with Minecraft Education.” Presenters Laylah Bulman and Bryan Bonham shared how the new build challenge game, based on the first official Minecraft novel “Minecraft: The Island,” supports literacy by encouraging exploration. The game and supporting curriculum are offered in partnership with Random House and supported by the National Literacy Trust.

“Foster inclusive classrooms with Microsoft 365,” by presenter Rachel Berger explored specific ways to increase equity with an in-depth discussion of how Microsoft 365 tools can expand inclusivity and support special education needs in reading, writing, math & communication.  A session called “Enable equitable learning: New Microsoft education solutions” built on this topic by sharing how new windows solutions including Windows SE broaden access to tech, maximize budget, and enable successful learning from anywhere.

When we discuss “enabling equity,” that doesn’t just mean putting a computer in every student’s hand. Rather, it’s a broader opportunity to enable all students to have equitable access to great learning experiences. Part of closing the equity gap is ensuring that learning environments are inclusive by design, providing resources that make it possible for all learners to benefit from high-quality learning solutions and technologies regardless of their ability, income, language, location, or mobility. To help schools achieve these goals, technology needs to accelerate learning in a way that’s safe and secure, fosters well-being, and is inclusively designed.

The Microsoft booth in action

The four pillars of equity served as the model for how we shared Microsoft’s message in our booth. There were distinct areas where visitors could experience software and devices that demonstrated the concepts of safety and security; accelerating learning; fostering well-being, and inclusive design.

For example, in the “Foster Well-Being” section, attendees were able to explore how the “Feelings Monsters” and Education Insights in Teams can help educators gauge the emotional well-being of students. Then, in the “Accelerate Learning” section, they could see how data from tools like Insights can help educators make the most of their resources and better understand where teachers and students need support.

In the “Inclusively Designed” area, there were demonstrations of how Microsoft’s solutions can help personalize learning so every student can learn in ways that work for them. The exhibits in “Safe and Secure IT” demonstrated the ease with which schools can set up, manage, and protect devices.

Throughout those sections, demonstrations also highlighted the importance of fostering literacy. New and updated non-stigmatizing tools like Reading Progress, Reading Coach, and Immersive Reader made a huge impact on the thousands of teachers and educators who visited, and many people shared their excitement about embedding these tools more deeply in their classrooms.

Attending booth exhibits and learning sessions weren’t the only things to do in the convention hall. I was especially honored to be part of Dell’s “Defining What’s Possible for Reinvented Learning“ think tank with a panel of knowledgeable educators and edtech leaders.

Dell Think Tank Panel: ”Defining what’s possible for reinvented learning”. Picture by Dell Technologies

During the panel, we started with the broad question: “What is the purpose of school, and what are we trying to achieve?” The group immediately focused on the importance of increasing equity. We agreed that one of the primary functions of schools is to fulfill the promise to help develop all students to be productive citizens and to find ways to achieve their goals. This was an inspiring discussion, and I learned a great deal from my fellow panelists as they shared their hopes for their schools and students, and debated which steps to take to deliver on the vision of more equitable, inclusive education.

FlipFest recap video

FlipFest was another incredible experience, with lots of fun, inspiring stories from the community. There, Microsoft launched the big announcement that Flipgrid is now Microsoft Flip. It was definitely one of the highlights of the week, so make sure to watch the recap video!

After five days of listening, learning, meeting, connecting, and smiling a lot, I feel energized and encouraged. Attending ISTE 2022 reminded me that teachers, school leaders, and edtech partners all come from different perspectives and have different areas of expertise, yet share a common goal: to help every student catch up, keep up, explore their world, and contribute to a bright future.

Stay up to date with the latest in educator training and professional development, visit the Microsoft Learn Educator Center, where you’ll find product information, ideas to make classrooms more inclusive, tips for using Minecraft to engage students, and much, much more.

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Last week, we announced continued investments in accessible technology tools including the newly expanded Inclusive Tech Lab. Today, in celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we’re building on that work to share new research that speaks to the accessibility needs of today’s classrooms. We surveyed K-12 teachers of different ages and years of experience across the United States to understand how teaching and learning is evolving in today’s education landscape. The data reveals interesting findings on the gaps between what teachers want and need for instruction versus what they have, the broadening of accessibility needs, the pandemic’s widespread impact on teaching, learning challenges and mental health, and how teachers think about accessibility.

Here are the key trends and findings that emerged from the Microsoft Teacher Survey and what we’re doing differently at Microsoft to better support this shift in K-12 education:  

Accessible technology allows for more inclusive classrooms for everyone  

Accessible technology in the classroom is no longer perceived as only supporting a specific group of students. The data shows that 84 percent of teachers say it’s impossible to achieve equity in education without accessible learning tools. Additionally, 87 percent of teachers agree that accessible technology can help not only level the playing field for students with disabilities but also generate insights that help teachers better understand and support all their students. Thoughtful use of and investments in technology can help to bridge these gaps and make more inclusive learning in classrooms possible for everyone. This makes tools like Microsoft’s Immersive Reader a game changer. The free tool not only supports text decoding for students with learning differences, such as dyslexia, but also enhances reading and comprehension for all learners. Immersive Reader is great for any learner who needs help with reading, built right into the Microsoft 365 apps and Microsoft Edge browser, and is available to any EdTech company that builds products on Microsoft Azure. 

Pandemic effects on classrooms are more widespread than we think  

The pandemic has brought into sharp focus the complex challenges impacting the classroom. More than half of teachers, 52 percent, have noticed an increase in the number of students who have fallen behind in reading in the past two years and 39 percent have noticed the same in math. Additionally, 59 percent of teachers say that 25 percent of their students are two or more grade levels below in reading or math. Although the pandemic has had a massive impact on schools, responsibly designed accessible learning tools can support our students in getting back on track. Microsoft is committed to empowering students and providing supportive, accessible technology that helps teachers leverage insights with tools like our student support spotlight card. The new student support spotlight card in Education Insights helps teachers make sense of student engagement signals and identify which of their students may require additional support based on early disengagement. The feature is supported by pedagogical research showing that early intervention of decreased engagement can help students overcome learning obstacles and reduce the risk of falling behind.  

Teachers need support to do what they do best  

Our world has changed forever, and classroom instruction isn’t exempt from the long-term impacts of the pandemic. The fundamental tools and support needed for teachers to do their best work with students facing obstacles—both academically and emotionally—have drastically changed. We found that four in ten (41 percent) teachers have seen an increase in mental and/or emotional issues among their students. 75 percent of these teachers say there is a great or moderate need to adapt their teaching style to accommodate this challenge. Further, the research shows students with disabilities are at an increased risk of experiencing mental health difficulties. The percentage of teachers saying they have seen an increase in mental and/or emotional issues rises from 41 percent to 63 percent when 10 percent or more of a teachers’ student body has an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Additionally, research shows, teachers note that focusing on student well-being can have a positive effect on academic and life success, workforce readiness, and more.³ Digital tools, like Microsoft’s Reflect, help both teachers monitoring student well-being and students working to identify their own feelings. Regular check-ins give teachers insight into what engages their classes, where individualized support is needed, and highlight how to best provide additional interventions. 

Teaching is more demanding than ever before, and we are working to support teachers with tools and opportunities to learn how to leverage accessible technology in meaningful and effective ways. We’ve learned that companies can miss the mark in building accessible technology without also providing manageable, diverse, and easily accessed training for teachers. Nearly half of teachers—46 percent—say they aren’t given enough training to learn how to use technology in the classroom. This need is why we launched the Microsoft Learn Educator Center for Resources and Professional Development. This is a centralized platform provides free support for teachers with training on Microsoft technologies, instructional methods, and more. 

School systems need support in designing accessible learning environments  

Differentiating instruction for students in both engaging and sustainable ways is difficult. While 70 percent of schools have made an additional investment in technology in the past two years, 70 percent of teachers feel there’s a moderate or massive gap between the resources they need for instruction and what they have, revealing a disconnect and clear sign that technology investments must be intentional. The need for additional support in cultivating accessible learning environments is a pressing issue in classrooms nationwide. Responsibly designed technology can help to bridge this gap. As part of our continued commitment to equitable and accessible learning, Microsoft’s Inclusive Tech Lab created a special classroom to show what’s possible when we normalize accessible technology for every student. This collaboration space provides an opportunity for us, education groups, and other companies to learn and get feedback on making technology more accessible. Additionally, teachers can get comprehensive feedback and recommendations to make their content more accessible for all students, in just three clicks, using Microsoft’s Accessibility Checker available online or offline and built into tools like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook. 

You can learn more about updates and new solutions coming to our portfolio of learning tools by visiting the Microsoft Education Blog.  

This shift in accessible and inclusive learning is about expanding our understanding of how accessibility shows up in our classrooms, school districts, and beyond. All types of learners benefit when technology is designed with accessibility and inclusion in mind, setting up all students and teachers for success.⁴ Let’s help to unlock the possibilities for every student. 

¹ Microsoft Teacher Survey

² CDC: 1 in 4 US adults live with a disability | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC

³ The-Case-for-SEL-CASEL

⁴ Effects of inclusion on the academic achievement and adaptive behaviour of children with intellectual disabilities 

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