Graphic from UK Office 365 for Education Partner Novotronix
Work better together! We are really excited that Microsoft Office 365 is available for FREE for education. Office 365 will help transform the way students and educators work in real time on assignments and group projects. Easily share information, view and edit documents in a browser or in Office. Check out this video that shows 21st century collaboration at it's best...
To demonstrate how teachers are utilising Office 365 in the classroom we are creating ‘Teaching in the Cloud’ innovids (tutorials) that will help show you how to get started with your very own Office 365 experience. Today’s post will explore how teachers are using Office 365 SharePoint in their classroom.
Teachers have used the class and group site features of Sharepoint 2012 to deliver lessons to students of different abilities. The class discussion tool is often used as a starter activity to get all students contributing to questions and ideas that shape the basis of the lesson. Wiki pages are used to help deliver differentiated learning resources, and students are given opportunities to work in real time on assignments and group projects using the office web apps.
Check out the 2 minute Innovid tutorials below that have been created by teachers to show how easy it is to start teaching in the cloud with Office 365 SharePoint.
Look out for future posts that will explore other key tools and features of Office 365, however more Office 365 Sharepoint innovids and resources can be found on the Partners in Learning Network – Join for free today.
It’s hard to believe that teacher’s have already completed a third of the academic year, and after what we hope has been a great Christmas break, are now ready to start the spring term with a renewed energy.
If in this term you are looking for some great advice, examples and best practice in the use of Microsoft technologies and programmes; then our school partners might be able to help you!
Schools across the UK are hosting a series of training events, please see below for this term’s offerings. All events are FREE to attend, please contact the school directly or by the email contacts listed here.
We have had a great year at Microsoft Partners in Learning, the highlight coming from Laura Ispsen, WWPS CVP, and Anthony Salcito, WWPS Education VP who announced that Partners in Learning will be funded a further $250 million with a five-year renewal, that reaffirms its commitment to education.
With this in mind, I thought it would be great to reflect on some of the Partners in Learning 2012 highlights:
We will be blogging again in the New Year, look out for news on the Microsoft Expert Educator Program which recognises an exclusive roster of our best educators. Another first-have is the Microsoft Innovative Schools World Tour. Via the Tour, education leaders and industry policymakers are able to visit schools and learn from them while using Microsoft tools and technology such as Windows8 and Office365 and don't forget we will have news on Bett 2013, it can’t get better than that!
Here’s to a great Christmas break and a fabulous New Year. We hope that our readers are enjoying the festive period and making the most of the ‘season to be jolly.’
Sir Ranulph Fiennes is leading a team of explorers to conquer the last great polar challenge: crossing Antarctica in winter. The 2000-mile journey across the continent has for many years been considered too perilous to try and the expedition's six-man "Ice Team" will have to overcome one of earth's most hostile environments if they are to succeed, exposing themselves to temperatures dropping close to -90c and operating in near permanent darkness.
Their remarkable attempt aims to raise $10m for Seeing is Believing with match-funding from Standard Chartered, provide crucial scientific data and form the basis of an invaluable education programme.
The expedition offers an unprecedented opportunity to generate diverse, engaging, real-time educational content for schools that will galvanise children's interest in a host of subjects. From physics and maths to geography and meteorology, The Coldest Journey will be the backdrop and inspiration for a wealth of resources available to children across the Commonwealth and reach up to a hundred-thousand schools.
Educational materials to match curriculum needs from Early Years to post-16 will be made available and cover topics from environmental sciences, history, geography, initiative and team workshops, to the fundamental questions concerning the aspirations of mankind.
An interactive map will enable students to identify the current position of the ship and the expedition team, and over the coming months there will be live feeds from Antarctica, including interviews with Sir Ranulph and the crew, and real science data collected on the expedition ship and traverse.
Microsoft has been working in partnership with the Commonwealth Foundation to develop the password-protected platform, which will be continually updated and managed using cloud technology during the expedition. For a modest fee, this education sub-site will be accessible to more than 43,000 schools in the UK and a further 57,000 across the Commonwealth's 54 nations. All proceeds from the subscription go directly to making the expedition possible, with any surplus paid to Seeing is Believing.
Add a Shout badge to your Microsoft profile:
The Partners in Learning Network would love to know how you have used the coldest journey.org educational resources in your classroom. Share your practice and experiences in our Shout community and upload a ‘Water-Matters’ learning activity to www.pil-network.com to qualify for the badge.
Windows 8 also sees the availability of Windows to Go – think of Windows to Go as a snapshot of your computing environment that you carry with you wherever you go and on whatever computer you are using.
Using Windows To Go, users can travel light without sacrificing productivity, schools can enable new “Bring Your Own PC” scenarios, and staff can get up and running faster with more security.
Windows To Go enables IT administrators to provide users with a standard school Windows image that can include frequently used apps, settings, and school data on a compatible USB storage device. Users can boot and operate Windows To Go from any school or personal PC (Windows 7 or Windows 8 logo-certified), and continue to get a rich and consistent Windows 8 experience.
Here’s a great 2 minute overview of Windows 8 To Go by Mark Reynolds, Schools Business Manager (South), providing some ways it might be used in schools:
Blog posts in this series:
All information and resources can be found on the Partners in Learning Network – Join for free today.
Last month, we were quite excited to have Bill Gates join Anthony Salcito on Daily Adventures. Gates revealed a genuine sincerity towards improving teaching and learning and specifically a need for a personalised approach to technology in education. His interview was clear in concept and direction, highlighting the challenge and opportunity for PiL is to continue to be a learning organisation as it works to empower educators and their students.
Here’s an extract from the full interview:
ANTHONY SALCITO: You helped launch Partners in Learning 10 years ago. Do you remember what your early goals were for the program?
BILL GATES: As a leader in the technology industry, we were thinking quite a bit in the late 1990s and early 2000s about how we could improve education on a global level. We knew education was the cornerstone of social and economic opportunity. We understood from previous initiatives that just giving away software or offering computer training courses wouldn’t enable the kind of changes needed. We also recognized that a one-size-fits-all approach wouldn’t work with a global initiative. So the goal with Partners in Learning was to create an integrated set of resources that could be tailored locally to increase technology access for schools, encourage innovative approaches to pedagogy and professional development for teachers, and provide education leaders with the tools to envision, implement, and manage change.
ANTHONY SALCITO: Microsoft was founded on what was at the time a bold vision for a PC in every home and on every desk. We’re still working to make this a reality globally…but projects are growing broadly in education with rise of tablets and 1:1 computing. What are you most excited about regarding impact on learning with this trend?
BILL GATES: When done right, technology can definitely help teachers be more effective and make learning more interesting. We’re seeing an explosion in the use of the Internet to broadcast and post teacher lectures and curriculum. The next step is teasing out the best of that. There are huge opportunities to create more engaging and interactive ways of learning, including personalized learning that gives students and teachers important real-time feedback. “Blended learning” that combines the best parts of classroom teaching and online learning is still a work-in-progress, but an important and exciting one. And we’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to the use of social networks to increase collaboration among and between teachers and students. We are in an extraordinary period of change in education. My hope and expectation is that PiL will continue to push the frontier over the next five years as it has over the last decade.
So, are you a partner in learning?
Check out this innovid created by Angie Gardner, from Hull City Learning Centre, who demonstrates how easy it is to join more than 4 million teachers, in 119 countries on www.pil-network.com
As you may be aware we have been running PiL camps all over the UK and I can now announce that the next stop for the bus will be the Midlands. We will be running two ‘Windows in the Classroom’ sessions with the Learning Technologies Team in Wolverhampton.
What’s the session about?
Find out how to make the most of your Windows experience with the latest free software from Microsoft. Maximize the potential of Office and be introduced to our best kept secret the Learning Suite. It’s all free and it’s stuff you can use straight away in your classroom the very next day!
Not only that, but we have found there is a lot of interest around Windows 8 and how it can be used in the classroom; so there will be an opportunity to see Windows 8 in action with a live demo.
How do I apply?
To apply for this free event simply email A.Walker@wolverhamptoncyp.org.uk before the closing date: January 31st 2013, who will send through registration details to secure your place. Please include details of your school, subject expertise and pupil age range and how many places you want. Places will allocated on a first come first served basis.
This is free CPD at it’s best.
I am not an ICT teacher is it worth me applying?
Absolutely, this is event is targeted at all primary and secondary educators in and around the Midlands, who are interested in teaching and learning, and how technology can support that, rather than the technology itself. This event is for ALL subject specialists including, Special school settings. The only criteria we have is a willingness to learn!
What will I need to bring?
We expect you to bring some of the tools you are using already:-
- A laptop running Windows Vista or Windows 7
- A headset with a microphone or Headphones and a Microphone (if you have one)
- Office 2007 or 2010 (not essential)
We will send you a list of free tools to download and install when we confirm your attendance.
What next? – Email Alex: a.walker@wolverhamptoncyp.org.uk and secure your place NOW!!
It’s inevitable when you put 160 worldclass teachers in a room and ask them to present about the work they do, then you are going to see some amazing examples of how technology can facilitate learning in the 21st century. Microsoft does this annually at its Global Forum, and to add a twist to the whole proceedings, there is a competition element. Each project submitted is judged by a panel of global education experts, the winners are announced at the event’s closing dinner.
The UK had two fantastic teachers at event, Katie Boothman from saltash.net community school and Nicki Maddams from Hartsdown technology attending and competing. I am pleased to announce that they both won awards for their projects. This is an exceptional achievement and one we are very proud of.
Please will join me in congratulating Nicki and Katie, their schools and students on their outstanding work by leaving a comment below.
You can see details of Nicki’s and Katie's’ projects on the Partners in Learning Network and this blog.
Nicki’s project involves Kodu and is the first ever computer science based project to win an award. This video explains it. We will have more news on Kodu at BETT .
Katie's project used a range of Microsoft tools such as Photosynth to support an intergenerational project between her students and older people in their community.
It is with great honour and pleasure to announce that Katie Boothman and Nicki Maddams have each won awards at the Worldwide Global Forum, Prague 2012. There were 18 educator awards up for grabs and the UK is coming home with two of them. We are very proud of their achievements and after spending a fantastic week with both educators I can honestly say they credit their students for their exemplary teaching and learning practices. They wowed judges, global delegates, school leaders and senior Microsoft employees all week resulting in a great win:
Next week look out for a blog post covering the week’s events and a little insight into both of their experiences. Once again,
CONGRATULATIONS
from UK Partners in Learning!
Partners in Learning has been working with teachers and schools in the UK for 10 years, working with thousands of teachers during that time. The UK team are here in Prague at the 2012 Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum, with our Innovative Teachers and Pathfinder Schools. We have been privileged , not only to see some amazing examples of the impact of technology on learning from around the world, but to hear some amazing keynotes and announcements. The most significant and exciting of which I want to share with you.
Microsoft announced that Partners in Learning will be funded to the tune of $250 million, (Yes , you can Whoop here if you wish)with a five-year renewal, that reaffirms its commitment to education through Microsoft Partners in Learning, bringing Microsoft’s total investment in the program over 15 years to a staggering $750 million.
Microsoft aims to grow the Partners in Learning community to 20 million of the 75 million teachers worldwide by 2018 with this renewal and to continue preparing students for the changing global workforce. Here in the UK our Partners in Learning team will continue to aspire to that goal, and grow the fantastic network of teachers and schools we already have.
Why this is so important? I will leave that to a familiar face to explain..
“So many of us have a great teacher to thank for our achievements. That’s why I am so proud that Microsoft’s Partners in Learning continues to support innovative teachers.” – Bill Gates, USA …… find out more