{"id":809,"date":"2019-09-05T09:00:11","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T16:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2019\/09\/05\/empowering-literacy-for-everyone-with-free-microsoft-stores-workshops\/"},"modified":"2025-04-29T09:02:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T16:02:22","slug":"empowering-literacy-for-everyone-with-free-microsoft-stores-workshops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2019\/09\/empowering-literacy-for-everyone-with-free-microsoft-stores-workshops\/","title":{"rendered":"Empowering literacy for everyone with free Microsoft Stores workshops"},"content":{"rendered":"
America has a literacy crisis. More than 36 million adults in the United States<\/strong><\/a> cannot read, write, or do basic math above a third grade level. And children whose parents have low literacy levels have a 72 percent chance of being at the lowest reading levels themselves. These kids are more likely to get poor grades, display behavioral problems, have high absentee rates, repeat school years, or drop out1<\/strong><\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n In a majority of classrooms today, teachers have students reading at up to four different grade levels, trying to keep the same pace on curriculum.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why Microsoft Store and Microsoft Education<\/a> are teaming up to offer free workshops<\/a> this fall, using Microsoft Learning Tools<\/a> to create dedicated curriculum for those with literacy challenges.<\/strong><\/p>\n Workshops will be offered at different times throughout the year at all Microsoft Stores in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, so be sure to check out the local Store programming<\/strong><\/a> near you to find the right workshop for your needs. Workshops will be catered to students\u2019 age range, including:<\/p>\n Empowering students affected by Dyslexia\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Educators and parents\/caregivers working with students of any age; and children in 8th<\/sup> grade or above who are accompanied by an adult, will get hands-on experience with Microsoft applications and tools \u2013 including Learning Tools, the Ease of Access menu and accessibility and productivity features of Office 365. Teachers will be empowered to create inclusive classrooms that support students of all abilities, while parents\/caregivers will gain skills to support learners outside of the classroom.<\/p>\n The workshop covers why it\u2019s important to create an inclusive classroom, tools to empower different learning styles and abilities, and tools to support students with disabilities.<\/p>\n Boost your reading confidence and literacy skills\u00a0<\/strong>ages 8-12<\/strong><\/p>\n This workshop introduces students, with foundational literacy skills, to the Immersive Reader in the OneNote app. Participants will build confidence and improve their reading comprehension through grade-level\u2013appropriate activities with Immersive Reader features. Activities include demonstrations, playing \u201cMad-Lib\u201d style games, and building and reading stories in pairs to gain hands-on experience using the tools.<\/p>\n Literacy skills for emerging readers\u00a0<\/strong>ages 6-8<\/strong><\/p>\n This workshop introduces emerging readers to Learning Tools for OneNote via age\u2013appropriate activities with Immersive Reader features. Activities include discussions, demonstrations, and playing word and story games to gain hands-on experience using the tools. At the end, participants will share what they learned with their parent or caregiver. Throughout the workshop, participants will learn how to build confidence and improve their reading comprehension, and should leave prepared to continue using Learning Tools to further develop reading skills at home and at school.<\/p>\n With free software like Microsoft Learning Tools<\/strong><\/a> and heroic educators like Merlyne Graves<\/strong><\/a>, we are encouraged by the progress that\u2019s happening every day. More than 13 million teachers and students are already using Microsoft Learning Tools for free as part of Office 365 Education, including tools like Immersive Reader, Picture Dictionary and Dictation. These are proving to increase reading and writing skill successfully, as evidenced by the recent 3rd<\/sup> party study from RTI International, Leveling the Playing Field with Microsoft Learning Tools<\/a><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n