This time savings is especially significant in a profession where burnout is all too common. As St Francis College Principal John Marinucci observed, Copilot transforms education by expediting those administrative tasks that often overwhelm educators. The result? Teachers have more energy and time to focus on what brought them to education in the first place—helping students learn and grow.

Your AI assistant for education

Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is the AI chat experience you can use every day. It’s powered by broad knowledge from the web, built on the latest AI models, and designed to be safe and secure. Copilot Chat includes free, secure AI chat powered by GPT-4o, agents accessible right in the chat, and IT controls, including enterprise data protection and agent management. In addition, pay-as-you-go agents are available for Microsoft 365 education customers through Copilot Chat.

Moving forward, educational institutions will have a mix of Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot. While Copilot Chat is an excellent starting point for integrating AI into your day-to-day workflow, Microsoft 365 Copilot offers all the features of Copilot Chat and additional capabilities to transform educational experiences. Integrated into the apps you use every day, Microsoft 365 Copilot combines the power of the latest AI models with your data—documents, presentations, emails, meetings, chats, and more—plus the web to deliver relevant responses with sources.

Smart help across your apps

Unlike other AI tools, Copilot works within your Microsoft 365 environment to provide contextually relevant assistance.

• In Word, you can draft and refine documents—such as lesson plans and reports—in seconds that might otherwise take hours.
• In PowerPoint, you can transform basic content into engaging visual presentations that are tailored to your needs.
• In Excel, you can analyze data and identify patterns that inform instructional and policy decisions—without complex formula creation.
• In Outlook, you can more easily manage communications by drafting clear messages and summarizing important information from lengthy email threads.
• In Microsoft Teams, you can capture key points from meetings, organize action items, and help manage collaborative projects more efficiently.
• Copilot Chat turns your organizational content into a rich database of information and insight, enabling you to collaborate with Copilot like a partner to perform tasks in a single interface.
• Use agents to make Copilot your own. Easily build an agent right in Copilot Chat or SharePoint with agent builder and explore agents pre-built for you.

Copilot is your AI assistant that frees up time for what matters most and transforms education experiences, bringing opportunity to life through customization.

Enhancing efficiency with Copilot

Microsoft 365 Copilot helps you balance strategic vision with day-to-day operations. Copilot puts thousands of skills at your command and can reason over all your content and context to take on any task using natural language—freeing you to focus on what matters most.

Data-driven decision making

Educational leadership increasingly demands evidence-based approaches to resource allocation, program evaluation, and strategic planning. Copilot helps you analyze complex data sets, identify meaningful patterns, and communicate your findings effectively to various stakeholders.

Try these prompts:

• Analyze this attendance data spreadsheet and identify any concerning patterns or trends that might require intervention.
• Summarize the key findings from our quarterly assessment data and suggest three to five focus areas based on the results.
• Write a data-informed narrative for our school board presentation that explains our resource allocation decisions for next year.

Streamlining admin tasks and communication

Education leaders often manage extensive communications, creating and reviewing documentation, and coordinating across departments. By using Copilot to streamline these tasks, you can spend less time on paperwork and more time on the people-focused aspects of leadership.

Try these prompts:

• Create a template for our weekly staff communication that includes sections for celebrations, important dates, and professional development opportunities.
• Help me organize this folder of policy documents by creating an executive summary of each document with key points highlighted.
• Draft a grant proposal outline based on our school improvement goals and the requirements in this funding announcement.

Preparing presentations

School leaders need to process large amounts of data and present findings in clear, impactful ways to support decision-making. Copilot can transform how you analyze and communicate educational data, helping you create meaningful visualizations and distill complex information into actionable insights that drive improvement.

Try these prompts:

• Help me create a slide that clearly shows the relationship between our new reading program implementation and student achievement scores.
• Build a presentation about our school’s new academic programs and initiatives for tonight’s Alumni Donor event.
• Turn the insights I prepared in this Word document into an 8-10 slide presentation for the conference I’m attending next week.

Classroom-ready prompts for Copilot Chat

Copilot Chat helps you tackle time-consuming and repetitive tasks so you can focus on what matters most. View links to sources, generate images, summarize or analyze files, and more. Get started with Copilot Chat for free with this collection of prompts designed to help you save time by streamlining your daily tasks.

Lesson planning and curriculum development

Creating engaging, standards-aligned lesson plans often requires hours of preparation time. Copilot Chat can generate structured frameworks, differentiate existing content, and help align materials with curriculum standards—all while preserving your unique teaching approach and classroom needs.

Try these prompts:

• Create a 7th-grade science lesson plan on photosynthesis that includes a hands-on activity, digital resources, and assessment options aligned with NGSS standards.
• Transform my lecture notes on algebraic equations into an interactive lesson with think-pair-share activities and real-world application problems.

Assessments and rubrics

Developing varied assessments that accurately measure understanding across different learning levels is challenging and time intensive. Copilot Chat helps you create diverse question types, design clear rubrics, and craft personalized feedback to support student success.

Try these prompts:

• Create a rubric for assessing a persuasive essay from 10th-grade students, with criteria for argument structure, evidence quality, and mechanics.
• Draft three versions of constructive feedback for students who struggle with supporting their arguments with evidence in their history essays.

Content personalization

Educational research consistently shows that addressing different learning styles improves engagement and retention. Copilot Chat helps you transform existing materials to meet different learning needs.

Try these prompts:

• Convert this text explanation of the water cycle into a visual learning aid with minimal text for visual learners.
• Adapt this worksheet on fractions to make it more accessible for students with dyslexia, including font and layout recommendations.

Communication

Clear, consistent communication with caregivers and colleagues is essential but often time-consuming. Copilot Chat helps you craft professional messages, summarize student progress, and prepare for conferences with organized, actionable information.

Try these prompts:

• Help me organize student data from this spreadsheet into a narrative format I can use during parent-teacher conferences, highlighting strengths and growth areas.
• Create a template for weekly classroom updates that I can send to families, with sections for curriculum highlights, upcoming events, and celebration moments.

Get started with Copilot

When introducing Copilot to your institution, consider starting with a small pilot group of educators who can explore its capabilities and develop best practices before you move forward with wider implementation. This approach allows your organization to identify the most valuable use cases and identify training opportunities.

To help you and your team build competency with AI and Copilot, check out these resources:

• AI for educators training resources, a comprehensive collection of professional learning opportunities designed specifically for education professionals.
• The Microsoft Education AI Toolkit, a comprehensive resource to assess AI readiness, build strategies, and implement AI in education. 
• The Microsoft 365 Copilot Readiness Evaluation Toolkit for Education, a collection of research instruments and resources to help leaders collect insights around Copilot deployment, impact, and use cases.
• The Get started with Microsoft 365 Copilot learning path, which walks you through the basics of Copilot.

Ready to explore how you can transform your workflows with a powerful AI assistant? Get started with Copilot today.

The post Mastering Microsoft 365 Copilot in education appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

To support leaders in this journey, we continue to update the Microsoft Education AI Toolkit with emerging AI Navigators and comprehensive guidance, helping you assess your AI readiness and build sustainable and scalable strategies. The AI Navigator stories provide a roadmap to help strengthen your approach to AI and prepare students and staff for a future shaped by technology.

Empowering leaders to achieve their goals

Educators and leaders are harnessing the power of AI to help them fulfill their mission. From preparing students with skills for the future to closing equity gaps, improving motivation and engagement, and fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs, AI has become an essential tool in education. Discover how these trailblazers are using Microsoft AI solutions to innovate operations, prepare learners for new opportunities, and shape the future of education.

Auburn University: Exploring new ways of using AI

Recognizing the growing use of AI by students and faculty, Auburn University, Alabama, US, set out to explore how AI could enhance both teaching and research. They saw an opportunity to foster innovation and deepen technological understanding across campus. The university turned to Microsoft and its comprehensive, flexible solutions to develop approaches that would help them move forward and pivot as new technologies emerge. Auburn has embraced AI as part of their campus culture, encouraging students, faculty, and staff to imagine new ways of working by promoting AI literacy, accessibility, and collaboration.

• Improving AI literacy: To help faculty integrate AI confidently into their instruction, Auburn created “Teaching with Artificial Intelligence,” a course designed to improve AI literacy and provide strategies to support student learning. The university also hosted an on-campus event to spark meaningful discussions about the role of AI in education, helping both faculty and students navigate and leverage this transformative technology.
• Expanding secure access: To provide students and faculty with secure access to AI, the university offers Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat to students as an academic and professional resource. They also hosted a “build-a-bot” workshop, where attendees learned how to develop their own chatbots using Azure OpenAI Service.
• Empowering innovation: Auburn is beta testing Microsoft 365 Copilot with faculty and staff, using feedback to discover new ways to enhance learning with AI. As they continue to explore the potential of AI, Auburn is committed to experimenting with new Microsoft AI tools and finding ways to make AI an even more valuable part of campus life.

The Education University of Hong Kong Jockey Club Primary School: Amplifying learning potential

To boost student engagement and support teachers with innovative tools, the Education University of Hong Kong Jockey Club Primary School (EdUJCPS) partnered with Microsoft Hong Kong and its Global Training Partner, Gamenoodlesoup Ltd, to reimagine student learning. Using Azure OpenAI Service, they developed chatbots and AI assistants that personalize educational materials, making teaching and learning more interactive, efficient, and student-centered.

• Developing future-ready skills: In STEAM classes, students use generative AI chatbots and image generation tools to design a “sustainable ship,” making learning more interactive and immersive. These AI tools provide instant responses to student questions, fostering continuous dialogue and deeper engagement. By encouraging curiosity and supporting scientific inquiry, these AI-powered interactions help students develop AI literacy and critical thinking skills while sparking creativity.
• Individualizing learning: To support personalized learning, EdUJCPS integrated the “Maths AI Learning Partner” into their lessons, enabling educators to generate individualized math questions and delivering immediate feedback to both students and educators. This helps educators assess comprehension, identify areas for additional practice, and tailor their instruction to each student’s needs.

Tecnológico de Monterrey: Pioneering an AI-powered learning ecosystem

Eager to take control of their AI journey from the start, Tecnológico de Monterrey, a private university in Mexico, took a proactive approach to designing their own AI strategy. Their goal was to personalize education, improve the learning process, boost teachers’ creativity, and save time on tedious tasks. To achieve this, they created TECgpt, a generative AI-powered ecosystem built on Azure OpenAI Service, to gradually transform the learning experience for students and faculty alike.

• Personalizing user experiences: TECgpt provides tailored AI tools to meet different user needs. Some tools are accessible to all employees and students, including a natural language chat that uses internal data to answer questions related to tuition, scholarships, and campus shuttle schedules. A separate set of academic tools is used only by teachers and students, including Skill Studio, which enables professors to create teaching material, and the Academic TECbot and Librarian TECbot, which work as personalized assistants for students.
• Collaborating for efficiency: Professors at Tecnológico de Monterrey are enhancing productivity by creating and sharing “skills” with colleagues through a pre-designed prompting system. This allows faculty to create reusable prompts that save them time on planning. Their goal is to empower all students to produce their own customized prompts based on content provided by their professors.
• Prioritizing security and privacy: TECgpt prioritizes safety by using Azure AI Content Safety to detect and block harmful or inappropriate content in user prompts and AI-generated outputs. For instance, if someone tries to force the tool to generate an incorrect answer, the system is designed to generate an error message.

IU International University of Applied Sciences: Revolutionizing learning

With students studying at different times and in different locations, IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) needed a solution that would allow students to learn in a way that aligns with their individual needs and preferences. To meet this need, the university developed Syntea, an AI study buddy built on Azure OpenAI Service and designed to deliver a personalized learning experience.

• Boosting student knowledge: Syntea acts as an AI study buddy, providing personalized feedback and targeted practice based on knowledge gaps and exam preparedness. Since introducing the exam trainer, IU students have seen a 27% reduction in the average time required to complete online courses.
• Ensuring flexible learning: Available around the clock and in multiple languages, Syntea provides IU students the flexibility to learn virtually anytime, nearly anywhere. Its seamless integration with applications like IU’s myCampus learning platform and Microsoft Teams makes accessing it even easier.

Advance your AI journey

These AI Navigator stories highlight how education institutions worldwide are leading the way in creating more personalized, efficient, and secure learning environments. From enhancing student engagement to streamlining administrative tasks, these institutions demonstrate why strategic AI adoption is key to shaping the future of education.

Explore more AI Navigator stories and support your AI journey with the Microsoft Education AI Toolkit. Use this comprehensive resource to assess AI readiness, build strategies, and implement AI in education. Whether your institution is just starting out or striving to expand, you’ll find tools and resources you need to confidently advance your AI adoption.

Join the AI Navigators in shaping the future of education. Get started with these additional resources designed to help you navigate your AI journey with confidence and purpose:

• AI for educators learning path: Practical guidance on integrating AI into teaching and learning to enhance student outcomes from Microsoft Learn.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot Readiness Evaluation Toolkit for Education: A collection of research instruments and resources to help leaders collect insights around Copilot deployment, impact, and use cases.

The post AI Navigators: Exploring the power of possible appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

Around the world, the education sector is increasingly targeted by cyberthreats. In fact, education was the third-most targeted industry by cybercriminals in Q2 2024, and the second-most targeted sector by nation-state threat actors in 2024. These attacks often carry devastating consequences, from identity theft to severe breaches across education networks and systems. With the rise of digital learning and the proliferation of connected devices—alongside continually evolving threats—IT departments face a greater challenge to secure digital environments in education.

In the modern threat landscape, it’s important to consider whether your cybersecurity strategy is equipped to help you navigate these challenges. Deploying the most up-to-date devices, software, and operating systems can help close security vulnerabilities and build proactive protection. Windows 11 helps you strengthen your overall security posture, drive greater productivity, and build safer communities for learning, working, and teaching.

Unlock greater productivity while maintaining robust and comprehensive protection

Today, organizations around the world are rethinking their security approaches down to their hardware. Cybersecurity software alone is no longer enough to protect systems as bad actors leverage new technologies and tactics to bypass defenses and access critical resources.

Designed to address education’s most critical cyberthreats, Windows 11 is the most secure version of Windows to date, designed with security built into each level, including:

• Cloud
• Identity
• Application
• Operating system
• Hardware

The default security features of Windows 11 were created based on threat intelligence, global regulatory requirements, and Microsoft Security expertise. Through partnerships with original equipment manufacturers and silicon manufacturers, Windows 11 is designed for greater security starting at the chip level—enabling hardware and software to work together to shrink the organizational attack surface, protect system integrity, and secure institutional data.

To simplify deployment for IT teams, Windows 11 comes with key out-of-the-box features enabled, including:

• Credential safeguards
• Application protection
• Malware shields

It’s also designed to integrate with Microsoft Security Copilot, which leverages generative AI capabilities to provide greater insights and efficiency to help improve security at scale. Windows 11 Pro devices drive a 62% drop in reported security incidents and are shown to accelerate workflows by 50% on average, helping you and your organization achieve more with less time and effort. Let’s take a deeper look at how Windows 11 helps you tackle cybersecurity challenges across different environments.

Application safeguards help keep critical data safe

Windows 11 offers a complete platform for educational institutions to house and protect critical applications such as learning management systems (LMS), administrative software, and productivity tools. Attackers often target poorly secured applications, which is why Windows 11 provides you with built-in capabilities such as preemptive application and driver control to isolate breaches quickly. Robust application safeguards help you maintain governance of your sensitive data, including:

• Student records
• Financial information
• Access credentials
• Research data

Windows 11 is designed to support Zero Trust strategies, which play a key role in helping you strengthen application and operating system protection. This approach is centered around the principles of “verify explicitly, use least privilege access, and assume breach,” meaning that you and your team can verify each access request as though it originated from an uncontrolled network—instead of assuming that everything behind the firewall is safe.

To that end, Windows 11 enables you to more easily find and detect cyberthreats, respond to them, and prevent or block undesired events across your education institution. In the case of a presumed breach, you can combat common application attacks from the moment a device is provisioned. When it comes to network security, granting access within a trust-by-exception policy versus a trust-by-default policy helps better protect the digital security, privacy, and compliance needs of your educational community.

Deliver end-to-end protection with Windows 11 cloud-based device management

With the introduction of more tech solutions, many education institutions face new challenges in managing cybersecurity. Having more devices across school and home environments creates more access points for potential attackers. To get ahead of potential breaches, get started with proactive, end-to-end device management strategies that help protect privacy and security.

Windows 11 helps empower you and your IT team by offering comprehensive cloud services for identity, storage, and access management. Adhering to Zero Trust principles, enforcing compliance, and granting conditional access helps verify that Windows 11 devices connected to an organization’s networks are trustworthy and safe. With more than 90% of ransom-stage cyberattacks leveraging unmanaged devices in a network, interoperable cloud-based device management solutions enable you to secure the digital estate and quickly respond to threats.

Managing and enabling secure use of devices at scale can also be a challenge for IT departments at education institutions. To give you and your team greater visibility and control over their digital estate, Windows 11 offers an integrated management suite. This suite supports comprehensive endpoint management solutions such as Microsoft Intune that help secure, deploy, and manage users, apps, and devices.¹ Intune can further integrate with Microsoft Entra ID to manage security features and processes, including multifactor authentication.

Additionally, Windows Hello enables you to deploy passwordless authentication for a safer and simpler sign-in experience. Thanks to the addition of passkeys, students can enjoy even greater security and convenience by using their face, fingerprint, or PIN to sign in to websites and apps. Enhanced threat detection on Microsoft Defender for Endpoint helps shield devices against phishing and malware and empowers IT teams to thwart attacks before they cause harm.¹ By adding Security Copilot, IT staff can leverage natural language queries to get holistic insights on the security and safety of their organization, which can help drive better decision-making and strategic planning.

Start preparing now for future security protections

In planning your security approach, your institution has an opportunity to adopt modern, secure, and highly efficient computing solutions that help your organization tackle the cybersecurity challenges of today and tomorrow. Windows 11 offers powerful, hardware-backed protection that provides a foundation for implementing new technology solutions as they’re developed, such as AI that helps accelerate workflows and supercharge efficiency of operations.

Now is the time to identify devices in your organization that are due for upgrades and start improving your institution’s security and your IT team’s efficiency today. Get started with these resources:

• Evaluate which of your devices are eligible for updates by reviewing the Windows 11 hardware requirements.
• Join the Windows Insider Program for Business to evaluate your readiness and explore new features.
• Start developing a plan for your organization’s upgrade to Windows 11.

¹ Sold separately from Windows 11

The post Building resilient digital security in education with Windows 11 appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

As AI technologies advance, a new world of possibilities emerges in K-12 and higher education. Educators and administrators around the world who attended Bett UK in London this year learned firsthand about these advancements, particularly the transformative power of agents. Designed to work alongside you, agents will have a particular expertise in areas such as instructional design or individual student preferences. And they can leverage institutional data to offer relevant insights for educators and administrators in real-time.

At Microsoft, we’re excited to help faculty, staff, and students achieve greater impact with AI and agents through our recently announced Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat—the chat experience you can use every day—powered by broad knowledge from the web, built on the latest AI models, and designed to be safe and secure.

Understanding the impact of AI in education to empower educators and students

Understanding how the use of generative AI impacts learning outcomes is key to creating effective guidelines for and usage of AI in education. Our latest insights emphasize the need to position AI as a complement, not a substitute for established practices that are essential for learning. By integrating AI thoughtfully with traditional methods, we may achieve enhanced learning outcomes that neither approach can deliver alone.

A study conducted by the World Bank with students using AI at Edo Boys High School in Nigeria saw remarkable learning gains in their after-school program with preliminary findings improving learning by “about 0.3 standard deviations, equivalent to nearly two years of typical learning in just six weeks,” illustrating the potential for AI. We look forward to sharing the full report and continuing to understand the long-term effects, role of educators, benefits extended to other disciplines, and more.

Microsoft Research and Cambridge University Press & Assessment conducted one of the first large-scale investigations into the impact of large language models (LLMs) on the foundations of learning: understanding and retaining information. The preliminary research findings reveal the continued importance of traditional learning approaches. They also demonstrate the benefits of combining AI with traditional learning resources over AI alone and point to the AI skills that students need to maximize those benefits.

Through a “snapshot in time” study of AI in higher education, Microsoft Research sought to understand how practices and norms are developing around practical and policy realities. Both students and educators prefer AI to be further integrated as a complement to other learning methods, but to do so they need training. The study suggests involving students and educators in guidance and development, empowering students to use AI to support learning, providing training with exposures to errors in AI output, and encouraging collaboration between students and educators.

Defending at the speed of AI

As educational institutions harness the power of AI, it’s essential campus environments remain secure, reliable, and compliant. Designing a strategy that balances innovation and security with policies and practices to support AI is critical. Microsoft principles of Responsible AI—fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability—help institutions prepare for AI implementation. A robust framework of tools from Microsoft can guide you through successful implementation. World class security tools like Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Entra, Microsoft Defender, and Microsoft Intune, can play an important role in protecting sensitive data and securing AI applications.

Planning your implementation with the AI Toolkit

Start your AI journey with the Microsoft Education AI Toolkit, a comprehensive guide for educational organizations to plan AI implementations. The toolkit introduces a variety of technologies—Copilot Chat, Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot, and more—and showcases successful implementations through AI Navigators—institutions leading the way with research, experimentation, testing, and deployment of generative AI solutions. It’s easy to implement these tools with step-by-step instructions to offer educators, technology coordinators, and policy makers practical guidance to support deployment, usage, and best practices.

Teaming up with Pearson on AI workforce skilling

The demand for training in AI-based skills has never been higher according to a global IDC study. To help meet this demand, Microsoft is teaming up with Pearson to bring world-class learning and assessment expertise with cutting-edge AI and cloud technologies. Microsoft Cloud and Office certifications are now more accessible to help organizations realize the full value of AI through reskilling.

Learn more about the advancements in AI

Don’t miss out on the latest announcements to learn about new AI-powered products and features designed to support your educational organization. We’re thrilled to announce these new AI solutions:

• Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat – a new offering that adds pay-as-you-go agents to our existing free chat experience for Microsoft 365 education customers.
• Copilot+ PCs – the fastest, most intelligent and secure Windows PCs ever, featuring enhanced security, optimized performance, and AI-integrated experiences. Now with code name Project Spark—our first education-focused Windows 11 app for Copilot+ PC—to bring on-device intelligence to your classroom.
• Microsoft Education AI Toolkit – designed for education leaders, access these updated tools and support you need for your institution’s AI implementation.
• Khanmigo for Teachers – offers over 20 free, AI-powered tools to help streamline class prep with no prompting required. Learn how to get started.
• Khanmigo Writing Coach – designed by educators, using AI to make essay writing dynamic, interactive experience and provide students with step-by-step guidance from outline to final draft without ever writing a word for them. 
• Learning Accelerators – new tools like Reading Coach and Math Progress bring personalized learning to students and are available in over 80 languages.
• Minecraft Education – the newly expanded AI skills program, AI Foundations, offers a new student credentialing pathway in AI offered through Prodigy Learning. Educators can also use the free AI-powered Lesson Crafter tool to build new Minecraft lessons and practice prompting.²

Follow me on LinkedIn to stay up to date with new ways to use Copilot Chat in education through my “Prompt of the Week”.

¹ IDC InfoBrief: Sponsored by Microsoft, 2024 Business Opportunity of AI, IDC# US52699124, November 2024

² Requires sign in with a faculty account from your school.

The post Advancing education with AI to prepare the workforce of tomorrow appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

Unlock the value of your data with Fabric

Fabric gives your teams the AI-powered tools they need for innovative data-informed decision-making and reporting projects. Fabric has many key features that help you get the most value from your organizational data.

With Fabric you can:

• Govern and protect seamlessly
• Bring your institution’s data together
• Empower everyone with access to valuable insights
• Fuel your AI innovation

Fabric not only enables innovation but also saves money. A Forrester Total Economic Impact™ Study commissioned by Microsoft in 2024 highlights the cost savings and financial benefits of Fabric:

• 379% return on investment
• Payback in less than 6 months
• 25% increase in data engineering productivity
• 90% reduction in data engineering time related to searching, integrating, and debugging

Learn how Fabric can provide additional data insights and contribute to cost savings.

Govern and protect your data

The effectiveness of your AI relies on responsibly managing and securing a wide range of data, including educational records, financial information, and research data. Schools need a unified solution to govern and protect their entire data estate while unlocking its full potential. Fabric, seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Purview, provides comprehensive data governance and protection. It simplifies management, secures sensitive information with role-based access controls, and ensures compliance with privacy regulations. By unifying governance and security, institutions can protect personally identifiable information (PII), prevent data loss, and share insights securely and compliantly.

Play the video to learn how Fabric provides you with an end-to-end analytics platform.

Ensuring compliance is a pivotal step in becoming AI-ready. As you grow and expand your school’s AI innovation, it’s essential to design a strategy that strikes a balance between fueling paths to innovation and addressing pressing security priorities.

Auburn University turned to Microsoft and its comprehensive, flexible tools to develop approaches that would help them move forward and pivot as new technologies emerge. With tools like Microsoft Purview and Microsoft Sentinel providing security, Auburn developed more ways for people to explore AI’s possibilities safely.

Read more about how Auburn University is exploring new ways of using AI.

Additionally, Coquitlam School District faced challenges with data compliance and privacy, especially with unstructured data from teachers. To address these challenges, Coquitlam implemented Fabric and Microsoft Purview. These platforms transformed the district’s data management systems, turning unstructured data into actionable insights. Play this video to learn more about how Coquitlam School District’s achieved their goals around security and educational, operational, and organizational excellence.

Read Coquitlam’s full story and play the video to explore how this district is building a more secure infrastructure and enhancing data insights.

Bring your institution’s data together

Data management is most effective when it’s unified, governed, and compliant. As modern data platforms evolve with generative AI, the potential for data-driven decisions and operational optimizations grows. Fabric and OneLake unify your data and analytics to streamline transformation, deepen insights, and drive AI innovation. OneLake acts as a hub to build AI apps powered by your data, making it easy to virtualize and aggregate data from any source.

Fabric works with OneLake to centralize data, enabling seamless integration and improving data quality. Your institution can take your data from storage to Fabric and then to Azure AI Foundry portal, where you can build custom AI apps.

Play the video to learn how Fabric and OneLake simplify data management and reduce data duplication.

As your institution introduces dynamic data tools like Fabric and OneLake, you’ll be able to transition to an end-user, self-service model, empowering staff members to access the data they need when they need it, fostering a culture of data literacy.

The University of South Florida (USF) has accelerated data-driven decision-making by empowering its teams to access information and enriched business insights through a self-service approach. By preparing client technologists to do self-service analysis, USF has taken an important step on its ambitious digital transformation journey.

Read more about how USF is empowering employees to derive insights in minutes.

Empower everyone with access to valuable insights

Access to actionable insights is critical for driving meaningful change and improving decision-making across educational institutions. However, when data remains inaccessible to non-technical users, opportunities for innovation are often lost. Faculty and staff need intuitive tools to transform raw data into insights that support collaboration and institutional growth.

Fabric addresses these challenges by democratizing data access. Seamlessly integrated into Microsoft 365, it allows staff to create reports with drag-and-drop tools and leverage AI to uncover trends and opportunities. Securely connected and certified datasets ensure trusted insights, while centralized databases enable leaders to drive growth and support strategic initiatives.

Politecnico di Milano exemplifies this transformation by leveraging Microsoft Graph Data Connect and Power BI to uncover objective workforce sentiment insights that surpass the limitations of traditional surveys. By accessing near real-time sentiment data, organizations can make quicker, more informed decisions, fostering collaboration and creating supportive work environments—all while maintaining data privacy. This innovative approach highlights how modern tools can revolutionize data accessibility and empower institutions to derive actionable insights at scale.

Read more about how Politecnico di Milano is redefining data-driven collaboration and innovation.

Enhance your AI innovation

Leveraging generative AI streamlines productivity, improves quality, and increases value. Fabric, the data platform for the AI era, empowers your data professionals to unify data and build AI models on a single foundation. You can even use Copilot in Fabric to automate data insights, uncovering trends and enabling faster interventions. This improves everything from academic outcomes to resource management, all within a transparent and trustworthy AI platform.

Using machine learning to generate actionable insights has enabled Broward College to respond to students’ needs more quickly. The technology allows the team to process data in minutes that would previously take days to complete—and to isolate complicating or potentially misleading factors, like the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student retention.

Read more about how Broward College uses Microsoft data tools to identify and respond to students’ needs.

Fabric is more than a tool—it’s a powerful platform to unlock new possibilities. By centralizing and securing your data, you can drive better outcomes for students, faculty, and your entire educational community.

Ready to start innovating? Begin your data innovation journey and achieve cost-savings by signing up for a free 60-day Fabric trial.

Explore the “Make your data AI ready” training plan to master Microsoft Fabric. Learn to ingest, transform, and store data, and use Power BI to unlock insights for smarter decisions and better educational outcomes.

The post Microsoft Fabric: The data platform for the AI era appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

The principles of Trustworthy AI—fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability—are central to Microsoft Security’s approach. Security teams can use these principles to prepare for AI implementation. Watch the video to learn how Microsoft Security builds a trustworthy foundation for developing and using AI.

Microsoft runs on trust, and trust must be earned and maintained. Our pledge to our customers and our community is to prioritize your cyber safety above all else.

Charlie Bell, Executive Vice President Security, Microsoft

Gain visibility into AI usage and find associated risks

Introducing generative AI into educational institutions offers tremendous opportunities to transform the way students learn. With that comes potential risks, such as sensitive data exposure and improper AI interactions. Purview offers comprehensive insights into user activities within Microsoft Copilot. Here’s how Purview helps you manage these risks:

• Cloud native: Manage and deliver protection in Microsoft 365 apps, services, and Windows endpoints.
• Unified: Enforce policy controls and manage policies from a single location.
• Integrated: Classify roles, apply data loss prevention (DLP) policies, and incorporate incident management.
• Simplified: Get started quickly with pre-built policies and migration tools.

Microsoft Purview Data Security Posture Management for AI (DSPM for AI) offers a centralized platform to efficiently secure data used in AI applications and proactively monitor AI usage. This service includes Microsoft 365 Copilot, other Microsoft copilots, and third-party AI applications. DSPM for AI provides features designed to help you safely adopt AI while maintaining productivity or protection:

• Gain insights and analytics into AI activity within your organization.
• Use ready-to-implement policies to protect data and prevent loss in AI interactions.
• Conduct data assessments to identify, remediate, and monitor potential data oversharing.
• Apply compliance controls for optimal data handling and storage practices.

Purview offers real-time AI activity monitoring, enabling quick resolution of security concerns.

Protect your institution’s sensitive data

Educational institutions are trusted with vast amounts of sensitive data. To maintain trust, they must overcome several unique challenges, including managing sensitive student and staff data and retaining historical records for alumni and former employees. These complexities increase the risk of cyberthreats, making a data lifecycle management plan critical.

Microsoft Entra ID enables you to control access to sensitive information. For instance, if an unauthorized user attempts to retrieve sensitive data, Copilot will block access, safeguarding student and staff data. Here are key features that help protect your data:

• Understand and govern data: Manage visibility and governance of data assets across your environment.
• Safeguard data, wherever it lives: Protect sensitive data across clouds, apps, and devices.
• Improve risk and compliance posture: Identify data risks and meet regulatory compliance requirements.

Microsoft Entra Conditional Access is integral to this process to safeguard data by ensuring only authorized users access the information they need. With Microsoft Entra Conditional Access, you can create policies for generative AI apps like Copilot or ChatGPT, allowing access only to users on compliant devices who accept the Terms of Use.

Implement Zero Trust for AI security

In the AI era, Zero Trust is essential for protecting employees, devices, and data by minimizing threats. This security framework requires that all users—inside or outside your network—are authenticated, authorized, and continuously validated before accessing applications and data. Enforcing security policies at the endpoint is key to implementing Zero Trust across your organization. A strong endpoint management strategy enhances AI language models and improves security and productivity.

Before you introduce Microsoft 365 Copilot into your environment, Microsoft recommends that you build a strong foundation of security. Fortunately, guidance for a strong security foundation exists in the form of Zero Trust. The Zero Trust security strategy treats each connection and resource request as though it originated from an uncontrolled network and a bad actor. Regardless of where the request originates or what resource it accesses, Zero Trust teaches us to “never trust, always verify.”

Read “How do I apply Zero Trust principles to Microsoft 365 Copilot” for steps to apply the principles of Zero Trust security to prepare your environment for Copilot.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint work together to give you visibility and control of your data and devices. These tools let you block or warn users about risky cloud apps. Unsanctioned apps are automatically synced and blocked across endpoint devices through Microsoft Defender Antivirus within the Network Protection service level agreement (SLA). Key features include:

• Triage and investigation – Gain detailed alert descriptions and context, investigate device activity with full timelines, and access robust data and analysis tools to expand the breach scope.
• Incident narrative – Reconstruct the broader attack story by merging relevant alerts, reducing investigative effort, and improving incident scope and fidelity.
• Threat analytics – Monitor your threat posture with interactive reports, identify unprotected systems in real-time, and receive actionable guidance to enhance security resilience and address emerging threats.

Using Microsoft Intune, you can restrict the use of work apps like Microsoft 365 Copilot on personal devices or implement app protection policies to prevent data leakage and limit actions such as saving files to unsecured apps. All work content, including that generated by Copilot, can be wiped if the device is lost or disassociated from the company, with these measures running in the background requiring only user logon.

Assess your AI readiness

Evaluating your readiness for AI transformation can be complex. Taking a strategic approach helps you evaluate your capabilities, identify areas for improvement, and align with your priorities to maximum value.

The AI Readiness Wizard is designed to guide you through this process. Use the assessment to:

• Evaluate your current state.
• Identify gaps in your AI strategy.
• Plan actionable next steps.

This structured assessment helps you reflect on your current practices and identify key areas to prioritize as you shape your strategy. You’ll also find resources at every stage to help you advance and support your progress.

As your AI program evolves, prioritizing security and compliance from the start is essential. Microsoft tools such as Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Entra, Microsoft Defender, and Microsoft Intune help ensure your AI applications and data are innovative, secure, and trustworthy by design. Get started with the next step in securing your AI future by using the AI Readiness Wizard to evaluate your current preparedness and develop a strategy for successful AI implementation. Get started with Microsoft Security to build a secure, trustworthy AI program that empowers your students and staff.

The post Get ready for AI: How education institutions can secure and govern AI appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

A July 2024 Forrester report commissioned by Microsoft found that education institutions using Azure OpenAI Service saw improved student outcomes, streamlined operations, and increased access to technology. By Year 3, they are expected to boost content generation efficiency by 30% to 60% and improve chatbot resolution rates by 20% to 50%, driving positive impacts on graduation and employment rates.

As AI adoption accelerates, institutions must also prioritize trust by focusing on scalable security, data privacy, and governance measures. Microsoft supports this transition with AI solutions that integrate built-in protections, addressing risks such as prompt injections and bias, while maintaining data privacy and compliance to safeguard institutions.

Join us as we explore five key use cases of generative AI in higher education, along with examples of institutions that have successfully implemented AI to deliver more equitable and personalized student experiences.

1. Around-the-clock real-time campus support

As student expectations evolve, meeting their demand for around-the-clock support has become a critical factor in student satisfaction and institutional efficiency. For example, Tecnológico de Monterrey’s TECgpt is an AI platform that offers quick access to information like tuition, scholarships, and campus services, allowing users to retrieve personal details, such as scholarship status, within minutes.

Similarly, the University of South Florida improved response times and reduced staff workloads by automating IT ticketing with Azure OpenAI, launching an AI-powered Help Desk in just one week. The University of Hong Kong has also deployed several Azure OpenAI-powered chatbots to handle IT queries, administrative tasks, and course selection, freeing staff to focus on more complex issues. Education leaders are automating routine tasks and delivering personalized academic assistance at scale, boosting retention and accelerating graduation rates while streamlining operations.

I can invest more time in people now that I don’t have to worry about those recurring repetitive tasks because people are what it’s all about. It is revolutionizing all our workflows, our teaching, and our learning spaces quite rapidly. With Copilot, we’re able to do things bigger, better, but also equitably across the university space. It’s changing the way we do everything, and that is a big deal.

Tim Henkel, Assistant Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, University of South Florida (USF)

AI innovations are reshaping how institutions engage with students by offering around-the-clock support for inquiries about housing, student life, and campus services, significantly enhancing the overall student experience. These AI tools also provide personalized academic and career guidance, helping students select courses, optimize degree plans, and receive tailored advising.

Additionally, AI-powered virtual assistants streamline the financial aid process, guiding students through eligibility requirements, deadlines, and submissions, ensuring timely completion. Through AI integration, institutions can deliver responsive, student-centered services while improving operational efficiency, ultimately enriching the campus experience.

2. Personalize learning experiences at scale

In an environment where institutional success depends on student engagement and outcomes, personalized learning is becoming a strategic priority. With Data Science in Microsoft Fabric and Azure AI Services, institutions can integrate real-time data analysis from their LMS, leveraging AI to customize lessons, content, and pacing based on student performance.  AI tutors provide personalized, instant feedback, helping students make continuous progress and tackle challenging tasks with confidence. These tools empower institutions to deliver adaptive learning tailored to each student’s needs.

The Azure OpenAI Service provided remarkably high-quality hints generated by GPT-4 from a robust and scalable API that reliably handled heavy loads from hundreds of students working simultaneously near homework deadlines.

John DeNero, Faculty Director and Associate Teaching Professor, UC Berkeley

Universities around the world are leveraging AI to improve student outcomes and streamline administrative tasks. At the University of Sydney, the Cogniti platform utilizes AI teaching assistants to tailor feedback and adjust learning paths, boosting student engagement and academic success. IU International University of Applied Sciences in Germany offers an AI study buddy, Syntea, with always-available multilingual support and enhanced student engagement through personalized feedback. It also reduces course completion times by 27%, all while seamlessly integrating across platforms like myCampus and Microsoft Teams.

Similarly, UC Berkeley’s 61A-Bot, a specialized AI assistant powered by Azure OpenAI Service, has significantly enhanced student learning by providing real-time support and reducing homework completion times in their computer science courses. As institutions worldwide adopt AI-driven solutions, education leaders are transforming both learning personalization and operational efficiency, driving significant improvements in student success.

3. Accelerate learning for all with multi-language support

AI improves educational access by offering multi-language support through real-time translation, note-taking, and content delivery, enabling all students to engage fully in their preferred language. Flexible learning options allow students to review materials at their own pace, while chatbots offer seamless language transitions and targeted support to enhance comprehension and engagement.

By utilizing the advanced language models in Azure OpenAI Service, Cool English is taking an innovative step for English education in Taiwan, helping students reach their learning goals and overcome the challenges of limited opportunities for real-life conversational and writing practice.

Dr. Hao-Jan Howard Chen, Professor, Department of English at National Taiwan Normal University

This potential is already being realized through initiatives like National Taiwan Normal University’s “Cool English” platform, powered by Azure OpenAI, which has helped over 1.4 million students enhance their English skills through adaptive, conversational practice. Similarly, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) developed a multilingual chatbot to help EFL students write essays in English, offering seamless language switching and personalized guidance outside class hours. Powered by Azure OpenAI’s advanced models, the chatbot provides feedback and answers questions to help students improve their writing without generating essays for them. AI-powered language tools help create inclusive learning environments, enhance student outcomes, and attract a diverse international student body.

4. Accelerate academic research

AI is transforming academic research by accelerating discovery and innovation, and automating tasks like literature reviews, data analysis, and report generation. In April 2023, Microsoft Research launched the Accelerating Foundation Models Research (AFMR) initiative to accelerate the use of large-scale AI models in academia. Through Azure AI Services, AFMR provides universities with access to powerful foundation models, supporting research in fields such as healthcare, scientific discovery, and multicultural empowerment. With over 200 projects in 15 countries, AFMR is building a global AI research community.

If you have a really good idea, it’s very hard to just search the literature and try to find everything. This is sort of like having a super adviser, a brilliant astronomer with an encyclopedic memory who can say, ‘Well, that could be a very good idea and here’s why,’ or ‘That’s likely a bad idea and here’s why.’

Alyssa Goodman, Robert Wheeler Wilson Professor of Applied Astronomy, Harvard University

Universities are harnessing foundation models to accelerate scientific discovery and hypothesis generation. A collaboration between astronomers at Harvard University and The Australian National University has led to the development of an astronomy-focused chat application that utilizes GPT-4. This tool draws from over 300,000 astronomy papers, helping researchers extract key information and analyze data to develop new theories.

At Georgia Tech, researchers are utilizing Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service to analyze global EV charging data, uncovering insights for policy development and improving infrastructure reliability to support sustainable and equitable EV adoption. With AI solutions like Azure OpenAI Service, higher education institutions can automate repetitive tasks, improve collaboration, and scale research efforts, all while ensuring data security and focusing on high-impact academic work.

5. Trustworthy AI for education

There is a critical need for organizations to deploy AI responsibly. As AI transforms education, decision makers must ensure these systems are secure, private, and fair. A key strategy is to choose AI platforms with built-in safeguards, like content filtering and bias detection. For example, South Australia’s Department for Education successfully piloted EdChat, an AI chatbot powered by Azure AI, which protects 1,500 students across eight schools from harmful content while empower educators to focus on the benefits.

Equally important is the protection of sensitive student information. With built-in features to safeguard text content, including moderation and groundedness detection, institutions can ensure responsible AI deployment while protecting student data with enterprise-grade security and robust privacy measures to prevent breaches.

Key principles of trustworthy AI:

• Security: AI systems must be resilient against threats.
• Safety: AI must operate reliably in sensitive environments like classrooms.
• Privacy: Protecting personal data is essential to maintain trust.

AI is not just a tool—it’s the catalyst for a new era in education. By enhancing student support, personalizing learning, and accelerating academic research, AI empowers institutions to break down barriers, expand access, and create more inclusive and innovative learning environments. Those who embrace AI today will lead the future of education, building adaptable, forward-thinking institutions focused on student success.

The question is no longer if AI should be integrated, but how quickly it can be implemented to unlock its full potential. The future of education is here—is your institution ready to lead it?

Ready to transform your institution with AI? Partner with Microsoft to unlock new possibilities and drive educational success:

• Explore how AI can empower your institution.
• Download the Microsoft Education AI Toolkit.
• Use this Microsoft Learn Collection to explore, build, and deploy AI solutions with Azure AI Studio.

The post How higher education is reimagining student experiences with Azure OpenAI Service appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

As an IT professional, your role is vital in protecting sensitive school data, securing devices, and maintaining safe learning environments. Microsoft cybersecurity solutions like passwordless multifactor authentication (MFA), Defender for Endpoint P2-Students, and Copilot for Security are designed to help you defend your school’s devices and data. Additionally, information from the latest Cyber Signals report can assist in creating a secure environment that persists through any cybersecurity challenges that might arise.

Assessing the cyber signals in K-20 education

The latest edition of Microsoft’s Cyber Signals report covers cybersecurity challenges facing classrooms and campuses everywhere and the urgent need for robust defenses and proactive security measures. The digital footprint made by schools, colleges, and universities has multiplied exponentially—from virtual classes to classified research stored in the cloud—requiring IT professionals to remain vigilant and focused on emerging cyberthreats.

Education continues to be one of the most targeted industries for cyberattacks and social engineering exploits that trick people into disclosing personally identifiable information (PII). According to the report:

• Education was the third most targeted industry for cybercriminals over the past three months. The US had the greatest threat activity.
• Over 15,000 phishing messages with malicious QR codes were sent each day to people in the education sector.
• Higher education institutions encounter an average of 2,507 cyberattacks each week.

These signals reinforce what you already know: the education community is the “tip of the spear” for cybercriminals because of its data-rich environments, legacy infrastructure, and the security risks created by people who are often extremely busy. Despite these hurdles, there are steps you can take to strengthen your institution’s security posture. Discover a few tips that you can implement today.

1. Secure all accounts with passwordless MFA

K-12 schools, colleges, and universities are increasingly adopting passwordless MFA as a more secure way to protect accounts when people like young students don’t have a phone or secondary device. The solution uses MFA techniques and a temporary access pass (TAP) for verification, eliminating the chance of a weak, overused password becoming compromised.

Passwordless authentication also helps create efficiencies and saves you time. Your students, faculty, and staff don’t have to remember complex passwords, and you spend less time resetting passwords when they are forgotten.

PII, such as social security numbers (SSNs) in the US, are attractive for cybercriminals to steal from K-12 school districts because the relatively little-used SSNs of a child might be usable for widespread fraud well before the identity theft is detected.

Cyber Signals Issue 8, October 2024

Microsoft Entra ID can enable passwordless MFA for everyone at all education levels using device-bound services like Windows Hello that aren’t transmitted or stored on outside platforms. This type of MFA involves sharing a TAP that onboards students to passwordless sign-in methods. Even if a cybercriminal steals a TAP, they can’t access the account on another device because of the device-bound requirements.

By adopting passwordless MFA, your school or institution can enhance overall security and also meet the stringent requirements for cyber insurance. K-12 schools can also take advantage of funding opportunities like the FCC’s $200 million Cybersecurity Pilot Program for schools in the US.

To get started using passwordless MFA for students, check out these resources:

• Empowering secure and seamless learning: Learn more about using MFA without a smartphone and leveraging passwordless device access instead.
• Passwordless authentication options: Explore the different methods available for Microsoft Entra ID.

2. Secure student devices with Defender for Endpoint P2-Students

Students face cyberthreats when they use a connected device, browse the Internet, or check their messages—even if the cyberthreats aren’t apparent to them. Cybercriminals are pivoting to new attack methods like using QR codes to deliver malware through email and even campus fliers. This opens new security loopholes because QR codes are often scanned with unprotected personal devices.

Recently the United States Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer alert on the rising threat of malicious QR codes being used to steal log-in credentials or deliver malware.

Cyber Signals Issue 8, October 2024

You can ensure secure learning experiences with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P2-Students. This highly discounted, comprehensive solution secures endpoint devices with industry-leading, multiplatform threat detection and response. It works in concert with Microsoft 365 to stop phishing, ransomware, and malware even if the attacks originate from a nontraditional method like a QR code image. With Defender for Endpoint P2-Students, you’ll be able to:

• Detect and prevent threats.
• Disrupt attacks automatically.
• Offer more secure web browsing.
• Encrypt device data and protect privacy.
• Maintain security with continuous updates.

By implementing Defender for Endpoint P2-Students, your school can significantly enhance its cybersecurity posture while giving students the protection they need to learn in a safe digital environment.

Explore this tool in more depth in Defend against threats with Microsoft 365, a learning path designed to help you use Microsoft Defender to the fullest.

3. Extend your threat-fighting capabilities with Copilot for Security

Cybercriminals often target sensitive financial, health, and personal data stored by schools and institutions alike. The consequences of a data breach in higher education are particularly worrisome—many universities handle federally funded research and sensitive intellectual property that’s valuable to nation-state actors. Unauthorized access not only puts institutional security and reputation at risk, but it also can have implications for our nation’s security when the data is part of a defense contract or when the research involves intellectual property from a company sponsor.

The types of threats that we’re seeing, the types of events that are occurring in higher education, are much more aggressive by cyber adversaries.

David McMorries, Chief Information Security Officer at Oregon State University

Copilot for Security can help you discover, analyze, detect, and remediate your organization’s cyberthreats. Simply ask Copilot a question, and it will return an actionable response in seconds that helps you tackle common security tasks. Copilot for Security allows you to effortlessly and seamlessly:

• Analyze threats.
• Learn about security incidents.
• Generate profiles of threat actors.
• Summarize threat intelligence.
• Create policies and configure devices.
• Discover users who might be at risk for data exploitation.

By integrating Copilot for Security into your daily operations, you receive customized guidance based on signals from each of your security tools and Microsoft’s industry-leading threat intelligence. It also minimizes much of the research and legwork that goes into investigating and remediating cybersecurity issues which saves you time so that you can focus on other IT responsibilities.

Use the Get started with Microsoft Copilot for Security learning path on Microsoft Learn to discover how Copilot for Security helps IT professionals address end-to-end cybersecurity scenarios. Looking for ways to empower your student-led security operations center (SOC) with security AI? Check out these best practices for maximizing the potential of your student-led SOC with Copilot for Security.

For Cybersecurity Month 2024, explore Microsoft solutions like passwordless MFA, Defender for Endpoint P2-Students, and Copilot for Security to help you stay ahead of emerging threats. To build practical skills, dive into learning paths for IT professionals to gain in-depth knowledge about all of our cybersecurity, compliance, and identity solutions. These tools and resources can support you in securing your school’s digital infrastructure and creating a safer learning environment one step at a time.

The post Three tips for IT professionals for Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2024 appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

Dyslexia Awareness Month 2024 offers an opportunity to recognize the strengths that come with dyslexia and to empower those valuable skills in classrooms. Join us as we honor the unique strengths and power of Dyslexic Thinking.

Understanding Dyslexic Thinking

Of the more than 7 billion people on earth today, 1 in 5 are dyslexic. This genetic difference in an individual’s ability to learn and process information gives dyslexics a pattern of valuable strengths, referred to as Dyslexic Thinking skills. Dyslexic Thinking is an approach to problem solving, assessing information, and learning that involves:

• Pattern recognition
• Spatial reasoning
• Lateral thinking
• Interpersonal communication

Understanding how to nurture and empower Dyslexic Thinking is fundamental to the fabric of the future.

Rethinking human intelligence

Studies show that dyslexic thinkers are highly sought after by employers, especially as we enter the fifth Industrial Revolution, a phase of industrialization where humans can use AI to create more sustainable, human-centric solutions. Dyslexics excel in creative thinking, complex problem solving, and effective communication, making them ideal contributors in this era.

Made By Dyslexia have made it their mission to teach the world the brilliance of Dyslexic Thinking and to empower it in every home, every school, and every workplace. Their ground-breaking report, “Intelligence 5.0: A new school of thought rethinking the intelligence needed in Industry 5.0,”concludes that today’s world needs a different kind of intelligence focused on human skills such as complex problem solving, adaptability, resilience, communication, and creative thinking. These are skills dyslexics naturally possess but aren’t measured by traditional education and workplace tests which instead focus on dyslexic challenges.

In this report, Made By Dyslexia advocates for a shift in how we define intelligence. This new paradigm, Intelligence 5.0, emphasizes skills frequently found in dyslexic thinkers, like leadership, creativity, and problem-solving, which are increasingly in demand in the modern workplace.

We all need to rethink the human intelligence needed in the 5.0 world. Creativity, problem-solving, and communication are the most sought-after skills in every job, in every sector, worldwide. And these skills are inherent to dyslexics.

Kate Griggs, Founder & CEO, Made By Dyslexia

Key findings from the report

Dyslexics have the intelligence the world now needs. The headline research from the report reveals that one of the world’s largest recruitment firms, Randstad Enterprise, finds that Dyslexic Thinking skills are the most in-demand skills in every job, across all sectors, globally. Yet, despite this, outdated views on intelligence remain.

In the same report, global research with YouGov found that although 73% of people recognize that problem-solving is a good indicator of intelligence, nearly half still believe that accuracy of reading, spelling, punctuation, and grammar are also key signifiers of intelligence. Traditional assessments typically disadvantage dyslexic thinkers, whose strengths areas aren’t well-measured by standardized tests.

Interestingly, just 6% of global respondents believed that scoring highly in exams was the best indicator of intelligence, with only 5% believing high scores on psychometric tests are a strong indication of intelligence.

In this report, Made By Dyslexia sets out four key steps that schools and workplaces can take to better recognize and amplify Dyslexic Thinking skills.

1. Define dyslexia as a valuable skill.
2. Offer support and adjustments so Dyslexic Thinking can thrive.
3. Tailor testing and exams (or recruitment processes) for Dyslexic Thinking.
4. Offer support and community through employee resource groups (ERGs) in the workplace.

Intelligence 5.0 calls for a new way of thinking that prioritizes human skills, especially those inherent in Dyslexic Thinking. By recognizing and empowering these abilities, we can create a more inclusive, equitable, and innovative future, one where dyslexic thinkers are celebrated and empowered to lead the way.

Tools and resources to support and celebrate Dyslexic Thinking

Microsoft digital learning tools

Educators and families can support the unique needs of dyslexic thinkers with Microsoft’s digital learning tools. These tools, integrated into familiar Microsoft Education products, offer a range of benefits, including:

• Personalized practice: Tools like Reading Coach and Math Assistant in OneNote help students develop essential skills in reading, writing, and math through tailored practice and feedback. These tools empower students to practice independently while helping increase engagement and confidence.
• Real-time feedback: Educators can monitor student progress and offer personalized support with Education Insights. This tool provides valuable data and analytics to help educators make data-informed decisions to support each student’s unique abilities.
• Accessibility features: Tools like Immersive Reader and Dictation are specifically designed to support students with learning differences, creating an inclusive environment where all students can thrive.

Learn more and get started with tools to support Dyslexic Thinking using these handy quick guide PDFs:

• Digital tools for dyslexia quick guide
• Reading Coach with AI stories quick guide
• Reading Coach in Immersive Reader quick guide
• Immersive Reader quick guide
• Speech to Text (Dictate) quick guide

In addition, watch the video to discover how the dynamic partnership between Microsoft and The Prince Couple’s Foundation in Sweden offers non-stigmatizing technologies to help all students reach their full potential in school and beyond.

Dyslexia training, in partnership with Made By Dyslexia

Learning differences call for different teaching approaches. In partnership with Microsoft, Made By Dyslexia offers a series of free, transformative modules on Microsoft Learn that help educators explore how to support and celebrate Dyslexic Thinking in their classrooms. These training courses, led by expert educators from schools known for their innovative dyslexic strategies, are designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge to support dyslexic thinkers:

• Dyslexia Awareness, Parts 1 and 2: Learn how to spot, support, and empower every dyslexic learner with essential strategies to identify and nurture their strengths.
• Dyslexia Teaching, Parts 1, 2, and 3: Deepen your understanding of dyslexia with specialist strategies showing you what to teach, why it helps, and how to apply skills and proven approaches to support dyslexic learners in your classroom.
• Dyslexia and technology: Explore the challenges dyslexic learners face and discover technology tools from Microsoft to support them.
• Empower Dyslexic Thinking in Schools: Learn about the seven archetypes of Dyslexic Thinking in kids with practical tips and instructional guidance.

For Dyslexia Awareness Month 2024, join us in celebrating the unique strengths of Dyslexic Thinking. Create inclusive classrooms where every student can thrive and explore the ways to support dyslexic learners in your classroom with help from Microsoft and Made By Dyslexia.

The post Celebrate the strengths of Dyslexic Thinking appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

Over the last few years, schools underwent tremendous change by adopting hybrid learning and new tech tools for teaching, learning, and working. However, schools face increasing challenges with outdated software and ever-increasing cyberattacks that threaten the security of sensitive and important data, targeting student personal information, login credentials, school operational data, and more. It’s a daunting security landscape as the education sector is the third-most attacked industry and second-most targeted by nation-state threat actors.

Let’s take a deep dive into some of the real-life challenges that primary and secondary education institutions have faced and learn how they solved them.

Harnessing secure AI tools to transform education

Bad actors are constantly testing the fences of educational IT networks looking for vulnerabilities. Because of this, the Fulton County school district in Georgia, US, put plans in place to monitor, detect, and mitigate these potential cybersecurity threats. The district also wanted to modernize data collection to showcase student performance and operational efficiency data in near real time.

The district’s plans involved advanced Microsoft security features through a Microsoft 365 A5 educational license, which gave them the tools to address cybersecurity risks. They also transformed their data-driven decision-making with dynamic analytic insights using Microsoft Power BI. Additionally, the district maximized its existing Microsoft licenses and migrated to an end-to-end platform that spans on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments, which suited the institution’s complex needs.  

Newington College, a primary and secondary-level boarding school in Australia, experienced a cybersecurity incident that catalyzed their need to improve the security and management of education technology while revolutionizing the way students and teachers engage and collaborate. For Newington, the greatest success lay in the efficiencies gained and benefits realized across the Microsoft stack by simplifying the deployment and support model across the environment. This process has become a catalyst for enhanced engagement, collaboration, and student success—helping the IT team stay on the front foot of opportunities.

Many school districts are embracing technologies they deem beneficial for educating students and supporting how faculty work. In fact, 68% of educators and 95% of education leaders have already used AI for school-related purposes. Wichita Public Schools in the US is one such example. Because no two students learn in precisely the same way, Wichita Public Schools started looking into the many ways Microsoft Copilot with enterprise data protection can help educators bring a greater diversity of tailored learning experiences into the classroom.

Students are also using AI-powered tools to enhance their learning and literacy. The Stour Academy Trust, located in Southeast England, tested two powerful Microsoft Education tools—Reading Progress and Reading Coach—to boost literacy and help readers succeed. Features in Reading Progress leverage AI to generate and personalize reading passages and assessments, which significantly reduces an educator’s workload while addressing student’s specific needs.

The Stour Academy Trust beta-tested AI-enabled Reading Coach to further enhance student reading fluency. When added to Reading Progress assignments, Reading Coach identifies words that are most challenging for each student and gives them a supported opportunity to practice the words again. One of the most exciting features of Reading Coach is the ability for learners to co-create their own personalized reading experiences utilizing responsible AI. Due to their success, Reading Coach and Reading Progress continue to be introduced across the Stour Academy Trust so that all educators can see how these tools fit into their classroom practices.

Our final case study takes us back to Australia, where the South Australia Department for Education is empowering students and teachers with responsible AI in the classroom. The Department has harnessed the power of AI to build and trial a chatbot that has been designed specifically for teaching and learning. ‘EdChat’ is the first chatbot of its kind in Australia and one of the first in the world to be introduced in an educational setting.

The chatbot was designed in partnership with Microsoft and uses Azure OpenAI Service, powered by the same technology as ChatGPT. Students can enter prompts to get information on a topic, ask for creative suggestions or analyze complex ideas. EdChat proved extremely helpful in allowing students to access vast amounts of information quickly, and have this information synthesized into simple, easy-to-understand language.

These are just a few real-life examples of how specific Microsoft products have helped in primary and secondary education. However, there’s something even bigger that Microsoft offers that every school should consider for meeting their needs.

The most comprehensive value for education

The Microsoft 365 A5 license offers a comprehensive solution tailored for schools, blending essential security, management, productivity, and learning tools. There are three highlights that separate Microsoft 365 A5 from others. The first is the ability to implement a Zero Trust approach across your entire digital estate with Microsoft’s suite of security products. The second is simplified endpoint management that gives you the power to deploy endpoints from the cloud and streamline support of student devices. The third is that Microsoft 365 A5 offers AI-powered instructional tools and advanced accessibility features, enabling new patterns of working and learning in today’s environment.

In a Forrester report from 2023, the composite education organization using Microsoft 365 A5 licenses saw a 118% return on investment or $4.2M over 3 years, $1.7 million reduced downtime for educators and IT staff, and a 30% reduction in licensing costs with vendor consolidation.

Microsoft 365 A5 empowers you to support your school community—from enhanced security and access control, comprehensive cyber threat protection, and streamlined data governance and security, to efficient classroom management and collaboration. Microsoft 365 A5 is one of the best choices that every school should consider when looking to enable secure teaching, learning, and working for all.

Reimagine education with AI

Microsoft is committed to security, privacy, and compliance across everything we do, and our approach to AI is no different. Microsoft’s approach to Responsible AI is grounded in a set of core principles and practices that we believe should guide AI development and use. With that in mind, perhaps the most exciting application currently is Microsoft Copilot, allowing you to leverage AI to provide personalized suggestions, accelerate routine tasks, offer real-time feedback, and more. Additionally, Copilot also offers enterprise data protection to help safeguard your information. Simply tell Copilot what you want to create, and it will help you generate new content in seconds.

Additionally, Microsoft Teams for Education leverages AI to enhance learning outcomes and streamline collaboration. Educators can leverage AI to help draft rubrics, assignment instructions, learning objectives, and more. With Reading Coach—a popular Learning Accelerator available in and outside of Microsoft Teams—learners can create unique AI-generated stories by choosing characters and settings from a curated collection of options.

There are additional ways that Microsoft can help meet your school’s needs. You can protect against student endpoints through the recently released student Defender for Endpoint. You can also step up your security by leveraging AI and machine learning to provide real-time threat detection and response with Microsoft Sentinel.

Overall, from productivity and learning to security, Microsoft is ready to help provide the most value to you and help you realize transformative benefits for your school.

Now is the time to transform your school

Microsoft 365 Education is a significant step toward meeting the demands of your school and empowering students and teachers to do more. By leveraging Microsoft’s robust tools and resources, educational institutions can create more secure and connected learning environment.

• For an overview on Microsoft 365 licensing, see the Microsoft product licensing page.
• Visit the Microsoft Education Cybersecurity solutions page to learn how our solutions help protect your school’s information.
• Empower everyone in your organization to be a cybersecurity champion with cybersecurity awareness resources and training.
• Learn how you can get started with free AI tools from Microsoft Education.
• Reference the Microsoft Education AI Toolkit to deploy and implement Microsoft AI Solutions.
• Learn more about Microsoft Copilot and ways you can use it to save time and energy.
• Explore cybersecurity resources and training to help keep your school and data safe with Microsoft Security solutions.

The post Transforming education in the age of AI with a unified solution appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

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.

• 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 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.

“That’s one of the best uses for AI in an academic setting,” Evans says, “because sometimes you can read a paragraph five times and still not understand until the concept is explained in a different way.” 

Generative AI is opening up all sorts of new avenues for learning, from personalized tutoring to study guides. But as with any technology, it’s helpful to know its strengths and limitations before diving in.  

We talked with some students, parents and educators who’ve embraced the new tools for tips on how to use AI responsibly at every level to enhance learning and avoid potential pitfalls.   

“The key,” says Matt Hall, a professor in Texas, “is two words: Use it. And once you’re done using it, use it again. Use it as early as possible, and learn to become a good prompt writer. Using AI is a basic life skill now, and if you’re not using it, you’ll be at a competitive disadvantage.”   

Younger learners

Elementary school-aged students can benefit from AI-powered programs to help learn the fundamentals such as reading and math.

Elementary school-aged students can benefit from programs that are powered by AI as they focus on building foundational skills. Aren Uzun, a 12-year-old seventh-grader in California, uses Reading Coach after school to help him practice reading and speaking — and says he is getting higher grades as a result.  

Ava Gerlach, a 10-year-old fifth-grader in Florida, is learning about AI in Minecraft Education to get more comfortable with the new technology and the ways it can help her learn in the future. 

What AI can help students do

Tools like Reading Coach—part of Learning Accelerators—can help kids boost their confidence by practicing skills with a less intimidating audience, such as before reading out loud in front of the whole class, says Aren’s mom, Cigdem Patlak Uzun. Aren is more comfortable presenting to others and is more willing to take the risk of sharing ideas now that he can test the waters first with secure AI coaches built for learning, she says. 

“For some of my presentations I got lower grades, so I wanted to see exactly what I was doing wrong,” Aren says. Reading Coach showed “that I was speaking too fast and said some words incorrectly, so it helped me fix that.” 

There’s value in learning how to learn and how to constantly grow with these new tools.

James Evans

Ava says she was first introduced to the concept of AI through Minecraft Education’s Hour of Code last year, and now she can spout off an explanation at the drop of a hat: “AI is basically a human-made technology that helps people with real-world problems,” she says. 

“I will probably use it as a fifth-grader to help me with research, studying and understanding the steps to math equations,” Ava says. “Especially going back to school now, I’m going to need a refresher on long division.”

Tips for using AI in learning

Kids need to learn the fundamentals first and focus on ways to build their skills with AI tools, Aren says. “You shouldn’t be using AI to figure out how to do the beginning of something,” he says. “Like, if you’re learning what 1+1 is, and AI tells you the answer is 2 but you don’t know why, then later there could be a test on what is 198+275 and you wouldn’t know how to calculate it. It’s better to use it for something that will help you forever, like how to improve your writing skills and do research for new ideas.” 

The personalized guidance in Reading Coach helps keep students engaged — “almost like getting a personal tutor with one-on-one instruction,” Patlak Uzun says. Aren urges fellow students not to share personal information, such as an age or address, online and says younger kids generally should use AI alongside an adult. A recent 4H study backs that up, showing that 72% of the kids surveyed are seeking support from adults in learning how to use these new tools correctly and with confidence. 

Minecraft Education has given Ava a way “to explore things in a safe context,” says Ava’s mom, Holly Gerlach. “And she’s learning about the principles of creating with AI and thinking about inclusivity, privacy and security.” 

High school years

Teens can benefit from AI tools that help build skills such as information literacy and how to validate sources.

As kids get more involved with technology and start using AI, tools such as Search Coach can help by teaching information literacy and how to validate sources. Those are foundational skills students need now, says Isabelle Armstrong, a 16-year-old high school student near Perth, Australia. 

What AI can help students do

Isabelle says Search Coach has helped her narrow down her prompts to be more specific, so now she gets more relevant and trustworthy answers from AI. That, in turn, has taught her how to be more concise and precise with the essays she writes for English classes. “I’m a bit of a rambler,” she says, “so this is helping me get more clear with what I’m saying and get to the point.” 

AI tools can help generate ideas and assist with research, Isabelle says. “It helps kickstart the process and guide me so I’m not looking at the wrong things,” she says. 

“Using AI to brainstorm can help the students work smarter, not harder,” says Kylie Kingdon, who teaches remote classes for kids spread out all over Western Australia, including Isabelle’s modern history class. Kingdon uses Copilot in class to show students various prompts and responses and help them ascertain “what’s good and what’s not. They can see what my prompts are and the answer that’s come out, and that prepares them for the future.”  

The skill of learning how to use AI effectively is helpful throughout a student’s education, Kingdon says — such as realizing that if you only ask for information about “President Roosevelt” for the U.S. history class she teaches, you could get back an answer about Theodore when you meant Franklin. 

AI is basically a human-made technology that helps people with real-world problems.

Ava Gerlach

Search Coach also instructs students in how to evaluate sources, Isabelle says, to get more reliable and less biased information. “We learned the difference between .com and .org and other different domains,” she says. “It’s good to see your searching habits and where you can improve and maybe branch out to different websites or domains, or change what words you use to get different answers. It helps to see your patterns. 

“That’s helped me refine what I’m looking for to get better results.”

Tips for using AI in learning

Use AI as an aid to help learn subjects, but not to produce final coursework, the student and teacher both say. “You need to utilize it in a way that helps you build the skills, not just to get the work done,” Isabelle says.  

AI tools won’t be available in every setting, such as exams, so it’s important to know how to do assignments yourself, she says. “Don’t rely on it as a crutch.” 

It’s all about the process for her students, Kingdon adds. “It’s no longer the final result that’s important,” she says, “but giving them the tools to do all of this.”

Higher education

Older students can benefit from AI’s help with the more intense courseloads—as well as with life skills such as meal planning.

College and university students will find that AI can help them both in and out of the classroom, as they’re hit with intense courseloads as well as the complexity of stepping out of the childhood nest into adulthood, says Evans, the 21-year-old student from Florida who’s moving to Pennsylvania to start on a master’s degree in business analytics. 

What AI can help students do

In addition to reframing complicated concepts to help him better grasp them, Evans uses AI to help create study guides or practice tests, to brainstorm essay ideas and the best structures for presentations, and to research topics. 

Students now need to synthesize massive amounts of data in short periods of time, says Hall, the professor in Texas. Using Copilot for Microsoft 365—with permission from everyone participating—to record, transcribe and summarize classes and meetings can be a huge help with that, he says. It’s also worth asking Copilot to condense reports that might be hundreds of pages long into the key points, to see if the information is relevant to a study topic and worth spending the time to fully read. 

AI tools can help students learn the language of unfamiliar subjects and industries, such as helping Evans talk about warehouses, shipping and logistics for a business class. And that, along with knowing how to use new technology in general, could be valuable in landing an internship or that first job, he says. 

For school projects that require creativity, Copilot can be “a pull-start lawnmower to get you going,” Hall says.  

Using AI is a basic life skill now, and if you’re not using it, you’ll be at a competitive disadvantage.

Matt Hall

Evans says AI is helpful outside the classroom, too—especially for university students living away from their parents and “trying to figure out the logistics of life,” including activities like meal planning.  

“One of the biggest things you hear everywhere is, ‘never stop learning; always be learning something new,’” Evans says. “There’s value in learning how to learn and how to constantly grow with these new tools, because we’re on the precipice and seeing this major change with technology.”  

Tips for using AI in learning

Don’t use AI to write your schoolwork, Evans and Hall advise. Even though AI can write, it won’t have your voice or style, Evans says, and those are important to put out in the world. “We view AI as a co-creator or referential tool,” Hall says. “Don’t cheat yourself out of the learning journey.” 

Evans recommends learning how to do something yourself before getting AI to help with it, to make sure you can assess if the final product is accurate and good. 

Trust but verify, they both say. Use tools such as Copilot that provide sources and citations along with their answers, Hall says, to help with veracity checks. “At the end of the day, I’m the one who needs to make sure the information in my presentation is right,” Evans says. “And I need to learn these lessons before I get to the corporate world.” 

Learn how to talk with other students about AI as well, Evans says. Some will be more comfortable than others using it for help with group projects. 

Most importantly: how students use AI in the classroom will probably continue to evolve as quickly as technology itself. “Next semester my answers could change,” Evans says, “because we’re still learning it, and learning how to use it, and it’s changing with us.”

Photos, from top to bottom: Aren Uzun at Meadow Park Elementary School in Irvine, California (photo by Earnie Grafton); Ava Gerlach (photo courtesy of Holly Gerlach); Isabelle Armstrong (photo courtesy of Armstrong); James Evans (photo courtesy of Evans)

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