We hear so much about what is wrong with the education in the U.S., but I know this week we can get beyond the debate and the dialogue to focus on celebrating teachers and how we can better support teachers so they can help students be successful. It is after all National Teacher Appreciation Week ....

Last week, I had the chance to attend the 2nd annual SXSWedu event. It was a great time for networking and learning, and I think they’ve taken the spirit and energy of the main SXSW film and music festival and applied to a more thoughtful and open dialogue for education reform. I had an opportunity...

At the recent Education World Forum in London, UNESCO’s Director General Irena Bokova created a buzz when she announced a new version of the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers . This framework identifies key competencies that enable teachers to help prepare a 21st century workforce by...

Will the year 2012 prove to be a turning point for education? There’s certainly an ever-increasing spotlight on the quality of education and an interest to help improve it from all corners of society. As I travel around the world, I see many technology companies increasing their focus and investment...

(Cross-post from the Microsoft EMEA Press Centre blog.) This week, Microsoft is taking part in the annual Education World Forum in London. For us, it’s a great opportunity to meet with education ministers from around the globe and hear about the different issues facing their countries. It’s...

During my visits I often have the great fortune of seeing best practices truly transforming schools and classrooms. I get to hear and learn from educators who are making magic happen for their students…and while I’m always inspired and energized…I am often challenged by the recognition...

UPDATED July 18th at 8:00 a.m. PT with URL to White House press release . Recognizing it will take all of us…schools, parents, guardians, foundations, governments and corporate partners to meet the challenges facing our kids today…we are honored to be invited to meet with President Obama...

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...

Sharing my blog post published today on the Microsoft On The Issues blog here ... This week, people from around the world will gather at two education events in London – the Education World Forum (EWF) and the BETT trade show – to discuss how technology can help improve the state of education...

It’s been just about a year since I first visited Japan (see earlier blog post here ). What intrigues me about Japan is that the country has a very technology rich society, but the school systems are technology resistant, especially at the K-12 level. I would put Russia and France in the same category...

I am excited to see what the new year brings to Mendez High School in East Los Angeles. We recently adopted the Engineering & Technology and Math & Science schools on the campus and gave them over $1 million to buy new software and hardware to provide them with the means to create a replicable...

There’s certainly lots of controversy surrounding the movie " Waiting for ‘Superman’ "… some debate around the value of charter schools, the impact of unions and criticism of teachers. However, some things no one can deny… one, we have to celebrate and encourage great...

As someone who grew up in the Bronx, I am very excited about our first customer win as a result of our partnership with ePals. New York City Schools has chosen ePals SchoolMail service to bring an email learning solution to about two million students and parents…and Live@edu will be used on the...

On Microsoft’s On The Issues blog today, I wrote about how we, as a society, cannot accept the current and alarming rate of high school dropouts. Students need not only a high school diploma but further education to be able to compete and succeed in today’s increasingly challenging global...

I think we can all recognize the greatness and the magic that happens with our students is driven typically by the hard work, the commitment, and the talent of teachers around the world. Therefore, it's critical we find a way to capture their successes, share them broadly and scale that kind of impact...

I wanted to share my blog post appearing on the “Microsoft On The Issues” blog…it’s about infusing service-learning and technology in the classroom and a new initiative we launched called the Service & Technology Academic Resource Team (START). I am very excited about this milestone as a result...