Pushing the boundaries of education through digital transformation
Microsoft celebrates
1,000 Microsoft ambassadors, new showcase schools, and Minecraft in classroom
Digital transformation is here, and it’s changing all
industries, including education. Microsoft, in its constant push for innovation
to empower every
person and every organization to achieve more, is
leading the charge in the digital transformation of education in the Philippines.
“At Microsoft, we believe that technology alone cannot
develop the future-ready skills students require. Technology is an accelerator,
but alone it does not enable change. We believe in the power of schools and the
impact school leadership can have when they work towards a common goal,” said
Clarissa Segismundo, Microsoft Philippines Education Programs Lead.
In the last few months, Microsoft has launched several
efforts to bridge educational gaps in the Philippines. This includes empowering
the visually impaired through a more inclusive SPED with ATRIEV. Microsoft also
launched the Microsoft Experience Hub at Asia Pacific College (APC), a
classroom of the future where students are prepared with 21st
century skills.
Today, Microsoft is celebrating key milestones in the
Education Summit. The summit aims to deliver impactful sessions on the digital
transformation journey that involve school leaders, administrators, students,
and institutions.
Empowering educators
Microsoft
is empowering educators in the country by conducting scalable
training programs on teaching with technology through partner institutions like
the Department of Education (DepEd) and its various Microsoft Showcase Schools.
Educators are equipped with modern tools to transform teaching and learning in
the classroom.
Engaging students
In its thrust to transform education, Microsoft
provides tools such as Power BI & Azure Machine Learning for data analysis
and coding, collaboration on O365, Teams, OneNote, Skype in the Classroom, and
Kaizala messaging app. Students are also engaged through Minecraft in the
classroom. Minecraft: Education Edition is an open world game
that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive
environment where the only limit is your imagination.
According
to top educators, Minecraft supports social and emotional learning (SEL) as well as promotes the 5Cs:
Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, Critical thinking and Computational
thinking.
Educators cited “problem solving” as the top SEL skill that their students learn
from classroom Minecraft lessons.
Other top skills cultivated include
creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.
In addition, teachers also felt that their
students’ decision-making and communication
abilities were positively impacted
by the time they spent playing Minecraft, whether working in small groups or individually.
Minecraft
can also be a used as a learning platform to
advocate empathy. In the same study, educators believe
that Minecraft also enables students to build
empathy skills due to interactions with classmates, as well as with characters
within the game.
Optimizing institutions
Through the Microsoft Showcase Schools, Microsoft
continues to optimize institutions to transform education. These schools are
part of a global network of schools who exemplify innovation in the campus
through technology – and that covers the institution, educators, and their
students.
The
2017 Microsoft Showcase Schools promote digital transformation through their leadership in
personalized learning, amplified by 1:1 deployments effectively using Microsoft
solutions such as Windows 10, Office 365, Office Sway, OneNote, Skype, to
enable anywhere, anytime education for all. Microsoft Showcase Schools in the
Philippines include Asia Pacific College, ,De La Salle Santiago Zobel, and
De La Salle University Dasmariňas , Lyceum of the Philippines Manila, National University,
Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan, Silliman University.
To promote productivity and collaboration, these
schools also use Kaizala — a
mobile app and service for communicating and coordinating work. It makes it easy for both teachers and students to manage their work and connect with large numbers of people inside
and outside the classroom.
Another example of the power of technology in
transforming education is the EGG classroom.
It is an example of how learners in off-grid locations can be educated through cloud technology.
These are just a few milestones in Microsoft’s digital
transformation journey as it continues its mission to empower each and every
individual to achieve more.
“At Microsoft, we are deeply committed to the digital
transformation in education. This is why we work closely with key educational
institutions in the Philippines like the DepEd and our Showcase Schools.
Through strategic partnerships, we can transform the way
students learn and educators
teach,” said Segismundo.
0 comments