I was excited to be able to attend the Microsoft Partners in Learning 2012 U.S. Forum last week in Redmond where 100 educators from 25 states showcased their innovative classroom projects to vie for a spot to compete at the Partners in Learning Global Forum later this year. The event is not just a competition...

I wish I could be in two places at once, but it was physically impossible for me to be in Australia for the Worldwide Imagine Cup finals. More than 350 students from 75 countries met in Sydney last week to present their technology projects that tackle humanitarian issues including health, accessibility...

This week, I’m in Toronto for the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC). As always, it’s amazing to see this broad ecosystem of partners who support our education customers both with implementation with technology innovation, but also with industry expertise and integration. Our education...

Last week, I attended ISTE in San Diego to help celebrate the launch of Office 365 for education . There have been lots of discussions with customers, but many were initiated by school leaders and teachers directly. They are not only incredibly excited about what the product is going to offer schools...

Sharing my blog post published on The Official Microsoft Blog about our new partnership with the Smithsonian and TakingITGlobal.... Sawubona! This week I’m in Cape Town, South Africa and lucky enough to be surrounded by some of the most innovative education leaders, teachers and administrators...

Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference is always a great opportunity to connect with people who are supporting Microsoft's efforts in education. There was truly a global representation of partners from all over the world that gathered in Washington, D.C. last month who have been working with...

I’m in Poland this week to host the 2010 Education Leaders Forum (ELF) here in Warsaw. It’s an event that for the fourth year brings together education leaders from around the globe to exchange experiences and discuss the future of post-secondary education, its role as economic driver and...

I am fresh from a trip to Europe where I had a chance to see teachers from 40 different countries compete and collaborate at the Microsoft European Innovative Education Forum (IEF) in Berlin. At this regional Partners in Learning event, 80 schools applied for the competition and we awarded twelve winners...

I spent two days this week in Redmond at our 8th annual U.S. Public Sector CIO Summit . I like these annual events because they provide us with the opportunity to deeply connect with customers. I also love them because the event serves as an annual reflection point, so we can see year-over-year what...

This week, I am in Salvador, Brazil, attending the Worldwide Innovative Education Forum . The event brings together more than 400 teachers, school leaders, government officials and other education experts from around the world to celebrate and share innovation happening in the classroom that leads to...

The U.S. Education team is in Denver this week at the 2009 Annual Educause Conference . We are excited to talk to and listen to higher education institutions about how we can work together to bring new, innovative technology to lecture halls around the world to create personalized learning experiences...

When I meet with customers and speak at events, I am frequently asked, “What do you think is the secret to Microsoft’s success? And what has enabled the company to keep growing over the years?” While a lot of Microsoft employees contribute to how we scale our products (product development, marketing...

I had the pleasure of attending the National Educational Computing Conference ( NECC ) in DC earlier this month...and as I’ve said before…these big signature education events are a good occasion for me to connect with our customers and partners in one place. It’s also an opportunity to see broader industry...

I always genuinely enjoy my time talking with Ken Royal. His passion for education and enthusiasm for innovative approaches to learning, assessment and technology is inspiring. During NECC, I had an opportunity to chat with Ken for a bit and he shared a snippet of our talk on his new and recommended...

As part of the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) this week in Washington, D.C., I attended the Global Education Competitiveness Summit (GECS) . The purpose of the event was to start a dialogue about international assessments, to discuss how to get students in the US to perform better on...

I travel constantly and while I have the privilege of visiting and getting inspired by institutions all across the US every day…it makes the year pass by very quickly. That’s one of the reasons I really appreciate big education industry events, and NECC is certainly one of my favorites. In addition to...

Sorry about the geekiness of the joke in the title of this blog post…but it’s truly the case that a school's journey to deliver personalized and adaptive learning to students starts with building a strong and integrated foundation on identity. As students bounce between schools, subjects, and modalities...

When you travel as much as I do, it is sometimes helpful to have tent-pole events to mark the year and help you look back on progress made and goals for next year. For most people, holidays and birthdays fit the bill. For me (and it’s somewhat pathetic, I know), I mark my year with Microsoft’s fiscal...

Microsoft's annual U.S. Public Sector CIO Summit always provides a great opportunity to connect with a broad range of education institutions as well as representatives from across the US in state and local government and Federal agencies. This year's event was no exception and I was incredibly pleased...

I want to thank Ed Longanecker for providing a recap of the 21st Century Learning conversation that took place in Springfield, IL last week. Good opportunity to share perspectives on this important topic. Special thanks to students of the Lincoln Magnet School in Springfield, IL for their participation...

I’m attending FETC in Orlando and had the pleasure of sitting down with some great people to discuss some of the important challenges and opportunities our schools are facing in the near future. One of these great people was Ken Royal, Senior Editor of Scholastic Administrator. He publishes a terrific...