{"id":1154,"date":"2020-09-30T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-30T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2020\/09\/30\/global-leaders-reimagine-education\/"},"modified":"2024-06-03T10:03:12","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T17:03:12","slug":"global-leaders-reimagine-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2020\/09\/global-leaders-reimagine-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Global leaders reimagine education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
On September 23, Microsoft Education held our third Education Transformation Summit, where education leaders shared best practices from the acceleration of digital learning due to the global pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To facilitate this conversation, we brought together 200 education system leaders in two Microsoft Teams live sessions to reflect on progress and talk about their goals and vision for the future. Invited panelists came from across the globe\u2014from Finland to the Philippines, from Canada to Costa Rica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though each leader\u2019s perspective was unique and based on their specific experience, we\u2019ve identified five key factors that are universally relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s critical that the constituents are bought in to the vision. And we need a vision that’s more sustainable and longer term than just purchasing and deploying the technology.” \u2013 @AnthonySalcito VP #MicrosoftEdu at ETS Summit<\/a>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The disruption of education by COVID-19 can be seen as a catalyst, an invitation not to simply strive to minimize the negative effects of the change, but to improve education models for the future. One of the biggest hurdles for leaders with this goal has been balancing short-term decisions with making longer-term sustainable investments that will impact how students and teachers learn using technology for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When wrapping up the panel discussions, Microsoft Vice President of Education Barbara Holzapfel said, \u201cIt\u2019s clear that with continued public-private partnership, education systems around the world will continue to advance the goal of creating personalized, equitable learning enabled by the intentional integration of pedagogy and technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With leaders such as all of those who joined the events as contributors and participants working toward these goals, the transformation of education around the world is underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To hear all of the insights and ideas discussed, you can watch the recording of the full Education Transformation Summit<\/a><\/strong>, which includes more resources and links to research that was discussed at the summit. Continue the conversation throughout October by joining the Sustainable Strategies for Hybrid Learning webinar series<\/a><\/strong>, and identify your school\u2019s next steps in the Education Transformation Framework and Assessment<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read on below for a more in-depth recap of the key points, with quotes and examples from the contributors and panelists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, the back-to-school season has been unlike any other year. For students, teachers, parents, and education system leaders, getting used to the new normal in a COVID-19 world is an enormous challenge. At the same time, we\u2019ve seen incredible creativity\u2014and speed\u2014in deploying remote and hybrid learning. Here are some of the key learnings from the contributors and panelists who joined us for the Fall 2020 Education Transformation Summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Visions for digital transformation at scale should be grounded in a unified technology strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Education institutions that already had a strong focus on long-term digital transformation have been more resilient during COVID-19, as they have accelerated existing projects and driven wider adoption rather than having to start from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A major factor in the strategy is the mindset of the project, according to Anthony Salcito, Vice President for Education at Microsoft. \u201cIt\u2019s super critical that the constituents are bought in to the vision. And we need a vision that\u2019s more sustainable and longer term than just purchasing and deploying the technology,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Emily Bell, Chief Information Officer for Georgia\u2019s Fulton County School District in the US, illustrated how her district engaged in a consultation strategy to bring everyone along. \u201cWe surveyed parents and asked them what they liked and what they don\u2019t like. We had families with children in multiple schools, and they complained that there were too many software tools to learn. So, we moved to standardized approaches and offered a menu of applications including Office 365 and Teams for schools to use. Since then, we surveyed parents and 80 percent told us they were satisfied with our technology. The remaining 20 percent just wanted their kids back in school,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, some education systems are thinking about how to simplify technology provisions for teachers and schools by providing services centrally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe implemented Teams nationally and created more than one million accounts in two weeks. We created a call center to help,\u201d said Paula Villalta Olivares, Vice Minister of Institutional Planning and Regional Coordination at the Ministry of Public Education of Costa Rica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unified approaches like these take the burden off local IT admin staff to support teachers, students, and parents in using the platform, rather than having to set up a platform in each individual school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Ensuring all learners have access to appropriate devices and learning platforms is priority number one<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The need to move learning online quickly highlighted existing challenges, such as access and equity, and any plan for future success includes striving to level the field for all students. As Borhene Chakroun, UNESCO Director, Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems, stated during the panel discussion, \u201cThe master principle is leaving no one behind. COVID-19 has increased the divides that existed prior to the crisis. We need to be focused on inclusiveness, equity, and reaching out to the most disadvantaged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Access to dedicated and reliable devices is an issue in many areas, and there are many different approaches to getting devices in the hands of learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gaby Rowe, Founding Principal at GROW Associates, noted that as the state of Texas worked to provide devices to students, the communities that were hardest hit by the virus were also those that were the most under-resourced. \u201cAs we started Operation Connectivity, there was a real focus on how we ensure that as we get devices out there and we provide connectivity, that we\u2019re really making sure it goes into the neighborhoods, the households, the students\u2019 hands, the schools, and the teachers who need it the most\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nicole Dezen, Microsoft Vice President of Device Partner Sales, in the opening fireside chat with Anthony Salcito, mentioned this challenge as well. \u201cWe have seen a flurry of buying, but we are still seeing a lot of institutions still struggling to get devices needed by students and faculty to support their needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keith Kruger, CEO of the US-based Consortium for School Networking who represents CIOs from more than 1,000 school districts, highlighted the importance of careful consideration of the total cost of ownership, and noted that oftentimes, a cheaper device is more expensive in the long run if it isn\u2019t the right device for the student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Integrating technology with pedagogy enables social-emotional learning and student well-being<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nThe Education Transformation Summit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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