Microsoft has announced a new wave of educational resources available to students, teachers and school leaders worldwide.
In the spirit of gamification and in recognition of the popularity of the online gaming universe Minecraft, which Microsoft acquired just over a year ago, Microsoft has announced a Minecraft-inspired coding tutorial created in collaboration with Code.org. The tutorial is timed for Hour of Code, an annual, global campaign held during Computer Science Education Week, December 7 to 13. Created by Minecraft game designers, the tutorial includes characters and challenges inspired by the game, which which has 100 million players.
Said Anthony Salcito, VP, Microsoft Education in a blog post announcing new tools for educators: "What many may not realise is that Minecraft has the power to transform learning on a global scale. By creating a virtual world and then advancing in it, students can learn digital citizenship, empathy, social skills and even improve their literacy – while getting real time feedback on their problem solving skills from the teacher. In fact, more than 7,000 teachers around the world are already using Minecraft in the classroom."
Salcito added that Microsoft wants to be respectful of the way Minecraft has grown. "The community is going to drive how it's going be used," he said.
The company continues its strong commitment to preparing the next generation for a successful future with the help of technology. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently announced a US$75M commitment in community programmes via the Microsoft YouthSpark initiative to increase access to computer science education for all youth, especially for those from under-represented backgrounds, for example.
"Our partnership with Code.org and our involvement in the Hour of Code is a key effort to inspire students to become interested in computer science," Salcito said.
Microsoft further announced a first of its kind partnership with edX to create new online courses for school leaders (principals) and to provide greater access to Microsoft’s existing school leader resources.
"This partnership expands upon the collaboration between edX and Microsoft in online learning. Microsoft offers more than 35 online courses, both massive open online courses (MOOCs) and professional education courses, on edX.org. These new courses for school leaders will be developed with edX university partners, shared with educators around the world, and will be available for the new school year," Salcito said.
A revamped Microsoft Educator Community providing educators with access to lessons plans, trainings, and Skype virtual field trips has been relaunched.
According to Salcito, Microsoft has trained more than 11 million educators through its Educator Community and wants to reach more than 2 million educators in the next three years with the new resources. "Just this last year close to a half million more educators came to Microsoft trainings and workshops online, in our stores and at events," he said.
Salcito also announced the expansion of the Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts and Microsoft Showcase and Associate Showcase School programmes. More than 5,600 educators and more than 550 schools are part of the programs designed to highlight their innovative work and provide greater resources to support their success, Salcito said.
On December 3 and 4, Microsoft is also hosting a Global Skype-a-Thon which will allow students all over the world to connect with guest speakers and other classrooms, go on virtual field trips, or play games of Mystery Skype, where they have to guess the location of students in another classroom.
"There is a lot we can do to transform and change learning for the better," Salcito said while in Singapore. "We're not doing it fast enough, we have to work closely with schools to prepare for the transformation."
Interested?
Access the Minecraft tutorial
Register for the Global Skype-a-Thon
In the spirit of gamification and in recognition of the popularity of the online gaming universe Minecraft, which Microsoft acquired just over a year ago, Microsoft has announced a Minecraft-inspired coding tutorial created in collaboration with Code.org. The tutorial is timed for Hour of Code, an annual, global campaign held during Computer Science Education Week, December 7 to 13. Created by Minecraft game designers, the tutorial includes characters and challenges inspired by the game, which which has 100 million players.
Said Anthony Salcito, VP, Microsoft Education in a blog post announcing new tools for educators: "What many may not realise is that Minecraft has the power to transform learning on a global scale. By creating a virtual world and then advancing in it, students can learn digital citizenship, empathy, social skills and even improve their literacy – while getting real time feedback on their problem solving skills from the teacher. In fact, more than 7,000 teachers around the world are already using Minecraft in the classroom."
Microsoft's Minecraft strategy is still evolving, Salcito said at a media roundtable at Bett Asia Expo in Singapore. "It is used by teachers in so many different ways – history, math, religion.. what we're trying to do is to harness that," he disclosed.
Salcito added that Microsoft wants to be respectful of the way Minecraft has grown. "The community is going to drive how it's going be used," he said.
The company continues its strong commitment to preparing the next generation for a successful future with the help of technology. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently announced a US$75M commitment in community programmes via the Microsoft YouthSpark initiative to increase access to computer science education for all youth, especially for those from under-represented backgrounds, for example.
"Our partnership with Code.org and our involvement in the Hour of Code is a key effort to inspire students to become interested in computer science," Salcito said.
Microsoft further announced a first of its kind partnership with edX to create new online courses for school leaders (principals) and to provide greater access to Microsoft’s existing school leader resources.
"This partnership expands upon the collaboration between edX and Microsoft in online learning. Microsoft offers more than 35 online courses, both massive open online courses (MOOCs) and professional education courses, on edX.org. These new courses for school leaders will be developed with edX university partners, shared with educators around the world, and will be available for the new school year," Salcito said.
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| Source: Microsoft website. |
A revamped Microsoft Educator Community providing educators with access to lessons plans, trainings, and Skype virtual field trips has been relaunched.
According to Salcito, Microsoft has trained more than 11 million educators through its Educator Community and wants to reach more than 2 million educators in the next three years with the new resources. "Just this last year close to a half million more educators came to Microsoft trainings and workshops online, in our stores and at events," he said.
Salcito also announced the expansion of the Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts and Microsoft Showcase and Associate Showcase School programmes. More than 5,600 educators and more than 550 schools are part of the programs designed to highlight their innovative work and provide greater resources to support their success, Salcito said.
On December 3 and 4, Microsoft is also hosting a Global Skype-a-Thon which will allow students all over the world to connect with guest speakers and other classrooms, go on virtual field trips, or play games of Mystery Skype, where they have to guess the location of students in another classroom.
"There is a lot we can do to transform and change learning for the better," Salcito said while in Singapore. "We're not doing it fast enough, we have to work closely with schools to prepare for the transformation."
Don Carlson, Education Lead, APAC, Microsoft, commented that while the Asia Pacific region has its challenges, it has the advantage of a strong culture of learning. "There is a very strong support network for students and parents to accept education as a strong component of their success," he said. "We have around 400 innovative educators in this region, and around 45 to 50 showcase schools in the region as well. We doubled that last year and plan to double that again this year."
Access the Minecraft tutorial
Register for the Global Skype-a-Thon
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