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...

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...

It’s a fact of life that students increasingly are looking to the Web to consume information about their world, connect with friends, to gather information and research for school work and more. As students' digital appetite continues to grow, parents and schools need to be much more mindful of...

I’m back in the office after a quick trip to Las Vegas for CES . I love to walk the show floor each year to see all the new gadgets, not just because it’s fun to tinker with new technology, but because I like to get a first look at the new innovations that could be most useful when applied...

I’m delighted to officially announce the launch of our revamped Partners in Learning Network here at the BETT Show in London. Originally launched in 2009, the new community site is now open to teachers and school leaders in over 115 countries, and has been enhanced with many new features and resources...

One of the things I love about the Bing toolbar is the translation service that uses Microsoft Translator technology to provide online automatic translation of text and web pages. In my worldwide role, I am increasingly traveling to countries I’ve never visited before and communicating with folks...

Technology is having a transformative impact around the world. I wanted to share another great story, this time from the Abu Dhabi Center for Autism in the United Arab Emirates , where children with autism are benefitting from new technology form factors and user interfaces in assistive learning scenarios...

In just about two weeks, more than 400 students from 70 countries will travel to New York City to compete at this year’s Imagine Cup 2011 Worldwide Finals. I'm starting to get inspired by all the projects created by students that not only enhance the way technology is making a difference in education...

I’ve previously talked about my excitement over games-based learning and natural user interface , and how increasingly Microsoft has invested in exploring how these areas can make a difference in education. Since its release, there has been tremendous enthusiasm and fascination about Kinect...

One of my favorite things that Microsoft has created is Ribbon Hero . This free download and tool provides a game-like environment for students and teachers, and really anyone, to get more comfortable with the features and resources within Microsoft Office…and especially learn how to navigate...

We know math is a universal need in education...and also a major source of frustration for students. In fact, 73% of parents and 77% of teachers say math is the most difficult homework subject for their students, while only 36 percent of parents say they are prepared to help their children with math...

In my blog, I like to share and reflect on technologies that I think represent exciting new potential for the future, are relevant to education ICT integration, or provide tangible examples of larger trends. Montage, a tech preview from Microsoft’s Fuse Labs …does all three. Certainly...

In many ways, I feel like I am part of the “technology transition generation.” I’m surprised more hasn’t been written or discussed on this. What this means is I’m am part of a generation old enough to know a time before technology and appreciate how far we’ve progressed...

If you haven’t already checked out the new Internet Explorer 9 beta…first off, I encourage you to go to http://www.beautyoftheweb.com/ to explore the potential for the new web browser. I've often talked about the potential for technology in reading, and we've seen the potential for digital...

I am really excited about the Imagine Cup 2011 competition…not only because the worldwide finals will be held in my hometown of New York City…but because we are launching a new program called Imagine Cup Solve This to provide students with a marketplace of real-world problems that global...

I spent some time recently with teachers and students at the FUSE Lab's Kodu Kamp in Redmond, Wa. I've blogged a lot about technology and students' appetite for technology as it relates to gaming, how content can come alive and students can get more excited about learning via gaming. Kodu represents...

I am excited about the upcoming launch of Kinect for Xbox 360 this November and the potential to push the envelope to create new experiences for the classroom and virtual learning environments. Not only does Kinect (formerly known as “Project Natal”) represent an exciting new platform...

If you haven’t checked out Office 2010 by now, you really should play with it yourself to see how it can change teaching and learning and enable students and staff to be more productive and collaborative. Download the free trial here . Here is my top 5 list of what I think is cool for education...

One of my favorite new learning tools for teachers and kids on the Web this week is Interrobang . It’s a great example of not only connecting service learning and social responsibility to education but a way to connect students in project-based, team-based, and game-like environments. Interrobang...

I love playing with new technologies and gadgets. I recently installed Microsoft Pivot , a cool new technology…it’s almost like an Excel pivot table with Web image search. Pivot is a research experiment from Live Labs that allows people to visualize data and then sort, organize and categorize it dynamically...

The thing I think is exciting about Bing is that it’s becoming more than just a place to find information and search…it’s really about how to apply search to experiences and productivity scenarios you would use inside a classroom. So not only being able to search on information but the ability to apply...

I love this new add-in for Office 2007 and Office 2010! This week Microsoft released a new concept test prototype for Office called Ribbon Hero . Ribbon Hero explores a new approach to Office training that’s designed to deliver a fun, engaging experience to help people explore the features available...

If you haven’t heard of the Imagine Cup…or read my previous blogs about it…I really would like to share it with you. It’s one of the things I’m most proud to be involved with and one of the most exciting events around that helps to empower students to use their creativity to change the world. The...

I know the day will come when I read about the growing numbers of students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) instead of always seeing stories about the current education crisis . There are many ideas out there for how education leaders worldwide can make sure their...