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Microsoft news, features, events, and press materials

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Pride at Microsoft: Diversity and collaboration lead to better user research

What the Microsoft GLEAM Summit taught me about approaching user research with an open mind

Photo by Joshua Stitt on Unsplash

As a user researcher with Microsoft Research + Insight (R+I), I spend a lot of time listening for and addressing people’s articulated and unarticulated needs. I believe it’s important to give time and space to reflecting before acting, and to not look at things through a predetermined filter. Even though I recognize there’s a huge push for being numbers driven, I believe it’s also important to be open to information and stories that can potentially transform you.

Recently, I’ve had the privilege of hearing my fellow queer community’s stories at the second annual Microsoft GLEAM Summit. GLEAM is one part of Microsoft’s commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community. Microsoft also shows up for this community at the Seattle Pride Parade, multiple on-campus events, and advocating for LGBTQIA+ people internally and externally through legal actions, such as partnerships with the United Nations to develop global standards that eliminate LGBTQIA+ discrimination in business.

Although GLEAM is an acronym for “Gay and Lesbian Employees at Microsoft,” its reach spans well beyond that. There is space reserved for all gender and sexual minorities (GSM) and their allies. GLEAM is one of Microsoft’s largest global employee resource groups with more than 1,000 members around the world.

GLEAM and the expansion of diversity

I attended our summit this past April in Toronto. My motivation for going was to understand interpersonal dynamics for different groups — not just employees who identify with the GSM community, but also race and other things not readily classified as “diversity.” In my mind, diversity is much broader — it’s also about working styles, how you identify and solve problems, and how you communicate. It’s richer than what people often describe.

I met Microsoft employees from different countries who work on various products across the company. Part of my role as a quantitative user researcher is curiosity, and I wanted to understand diversity from the perspective of how we all work within the system and how we think about the customer.

The experience served as a humbling reminder that even though we all serve unique roles, understanding how to think and act as an ally is paramount because it fosters the collaboration necessary for us to create innovative solutions together. In the closing of the summit, a colleague said it best: “If we are to empower our customers around the globe to achieve more, we must empower ourselves as employees first.”

How inclusivity and diversity affect user research and help us build better products

So, what does “empowering ourselves first” look like? To me, it means creating and supporting a curious environment where people question not only others’ perspectives, but also their own. Self-reflection is key.

I might not understand each person’s individual responsibilities and educational backgrounds, but I can be mindful that my colleagues are probably not going to do everything in the way I might predict they would. Further, when I’m conducting user research, remembering this helps minimize my expectations and assumptions to allow them to bring their best. If I’m putting them in a box, so to speak, then I’m limiting the success they can achieve.

That means we must be inclusive of so many walks of life, most of which are going to be different from the employees we hire. We must be cognizant of the differences we have internally and in how we work together, but also of the things that are not represented within our colleagues. As diverse as our teams are, our customer base will always be much more diverse. We must be flexible with understanding their needs, which involves having empathy and listening. This is essential for creating products that are relevant, usable, and valuable for people across the world.

How does diversity among research subjects and your colleagues affect your work? Do you have any additional thoughts or tips? Leave a comment below, or tweet us @MicrosoftRI.

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A legend reborn: Microsoft brings back the iconic Classic IntelliMouse

Microsoft IntelliMouse. Originally launched in 1996, it became instantly famous with gamers and highly regarded as a great gaming mouse. The IntelliMouse 3.0 had exceptional ergonomics due to its the asymmetric from, and sculpted buttons and finger rests, making it fit perfectly into your hand.

It also used long life Omron switches, and coupled with a low force to fire and low key idle, the buttons were easy to press, and activated with minimal slack before engaging the switch. At the time, it also had a very good low DPI optical sensor with very low error rates and good smoothing – all key elements for a great gaming mouse.

Known for always innovating, the IntelliMouse range continued to push the boundaries and offer advances in mouse technology and features until the last model launched in 2003.

Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 from 2003

Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 from 2003

Inspired by the Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 from 2003, Microsoft has recently released the new Microsoft Classic IntelliMouse. Offering the same classic ergonomic look and feel, the new Microsoft Classic IntelliMouse offers improved performance and additional features made possible by technology today.

In remembering the classic mouse, we sat down with Simon Dearsley, Devices Design Director at Microsoft, to discuss the legacy of the Microsoft IntelliMouse and what you can expect from the newest version of the iconic IntelliMouse range.

Can you tell us a little bit about the heritage of the IntelliMouse range from Microsoft?

“Microsoft as a long and rich history of designing incredible mice. The first Microsoft IntelliMouse was released in 1996 and was based on the Microsoft Mouse 2.0 from 1993 and introduced the innovation of the scroll wheel to our users. We saw it as a game changer in terms of ergonomics, tactility and mouse precision.

In 1999 we continued to innovate and refine the IntelliMouse by introducing the first mass market optical tracking sensor and the iconic tail light.

This all culminated in 2003 when we introduced the IntelliMouse 3.0: it had incredible ergonomics with its light weight, sculpted finger rests, and elastomer skirt for amazing comfort and rapid movement and repositioning. The sensor really set the standard at the time for precision and accuracy. This all made the IntelliMouse 3.0 a huge hit with gamers and creative professionals alike.

What many people may not know, is the majority of gaming mice in the world are still patterned off the IntelliMouse 3.0. If you compare almost any modern gaming mouse you’ll see they have the same ergonomic DNA and form as the IntelliMouse. It’s a really significant contribution to the industry that we’re really proud of.”

Why has there been such a long break between IntelliMouse models and why is now the right time to bring it back?

“The timing of the release of the Classic IntelliMouse is really interesting. We’ve reached a point where tracking and switch technology and price has matured immensely. We saw this as an opportunity to improve on an icon by updating it with modern technology. We know how important the IntelliMouse range has been and wanted to take a moment to reflect on the history of it and do something special for our fans.”

What has changed since the 2003 design?

“We improved two really important factors, the tracking sensor and the tactility and feel of the buttons. What we know our fans will see and feel is that it’s the exact same shape and size of the IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 from 2003. However, underneath the hood it’s all brand-new technology, brand new mechanical engineering and brand-new structures so it’s a lot more rigid than the original. The build quality is really excellent.

We were really careful to keep the same Omron switches for the left and right click, and have added three Kailh switches for the middle wheel button and side buttons. We also made a huge improvement to the two side buttons. They now feel snappy and crisp and have just the right force and click to them.”

What would you say is the defining feature of the new Classic IntelliMouse?

“I would say it’s the shape and the form. The shape was originally sculptured by hand by some of the most experienced mouse designers in the world, which has proven to last the test of time. We felt we should honour this design in the new Classic IntelliMouse and focus on performance updates.”

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What’s next in terms of new mice from Microsoft?

“We were one of the original companies to introduce the scroll wheel, which changed how people navigate webpages and documents, and helped with aspects of gaming we now take for granted such as zooming and inventory management. Continuing to innovate is really key for us as we want to build products that make a meaningful difference. Take for instance the Precision mouse scroll wheel and the magnetic detent. From the outside, they might look like minor changes, but they really make a difference to the way you use the mouse.

It’s performance innovations like these and working closer with the community to understand the needs of our consumers that will help influence future Microsoft mice.

We have some exciting products in development and can’t wait to hear the response from fans.”

The Microsoft Classic IntelliMouse is available now through the Microsoft Store and select retailers for $39.99/£39.99/ €44.99.

A legend reborn: Microsoft brings back the iconic mouse, the Classic IntelliMouse

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Updated June 26, 2018 9:05 am

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New team assembled to unlock the innovation potential in healthcare data

Peter Lee, Joshua Mandel and Jim Weinstein
From left, Peter Lee, Joshua Mandel and Jim Weinstein of Microsoft Healthcare. Photo: Dan DeLong for Microsoft

It’s an exciting time to be working shoulder-to-shoulder with our healthcare partners and customers, who represent some of the brightest minds in this important industry. We have been approaching the complexities of the healthcare industry with a growth mindset, and for the past two years our team has worked across Microsoft to accelerate healthcare innovation through artificial intelligence and cloud computing, with our initiative Healthcare NExT (New Experiences and Technologies). We shared some updates earlier this year on our work in cloud architectures, empowering clinicians and care teams, and precision medicine, and I’ve been thrilled to see the progress and reaction across the industry.

Today we are building on that progress. I’m very pleased to welcome two prominent experts in the science, technology and practice of value-based healthcare to the team. Jim Weinstein and Josh Mandel will be joining Microsoft Healthcare – which integrates Healthcare NExT and its research-driven efforts – with an added focus of creating strategic partnerships, and driving the cross-company strategy for healthcare and life sciences.

Jim Weinstein, Vice President, Microsoft Healthcare, Head of Innovation and Health Equity

Jim Weinstein will work closely with organizations on the front lines of healthcare delivery as we aim to support health systems, empower clinicians and enable the systems of care as they move to the cloud. He will be my partner in developing the strategic vision for Microsoft Healthcare, and will provide leadership that is grounded in decades of health industry experience. A widely respected visionary, author, surgeon and leader in the future of healthcare delivery who has advised three administrations on healthcare policy, Jim most recently served as CEO and president of Dartmouth-Hitchcock and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health system, and is the past director of the Dartmouth Institute, home of the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. Jim is also the co-founder and inaugural executive director of the national High Value Healthcare Collaborative, which brings together some of the nation’s top healthcare systems to share data, develop insights and advance the causes of better healthcare outcomes. He recently chaired the “Communities in Action, Pathways to Health Equity” report for the National Academy of Medicine. His book “Unraveled” looks at the broken healthcare system and how it might be repaired with patient-based clinical insights.

Joshua Mandel, Chief Architect, Microsoft Healthcare

Joshua Mandel will work closely with customers, partners and the open standards community to lay the groundwork for an open cloud architecture to unlock the value of healthcare for the entire health ecosystem. As a tireless evangelist for the importance of open standards, Josh will continue his work to help systems across the industry become more agile and interoperable. Josh’s impressive background as a physician and brilliant software architect has set him apart as a leader in the development of next-generation standards for healthcare data interoperability.  In his most recent role, Josh led the health IT ecosystem work at Verily (Google Life Sciences). He is a member of the research faculty at the Boston Children’s Hospital Computational Health Informatics Program where he served as lead architect for SMART Health IT, and is a visiting scientist at the Harvard Medical School Department of Biomedical Informatics. Josh earned his bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his M.D. from Tufts University of Medicine.

Jim and Josh join us at an exciting time, as healthcare processes undergo a digital transformation. This transformation has created a wealth of healthcare data that has potential to help identify diseases earlier, create and improve treatments and improve the lives of patients across the globe. Unfortunately, even with advances in data protection and governance, healthcare data is not easily accessible by the researchers and doctors who need it to help us all realize the potential. And so, for a variety of regulatory, technological and political reasons, we see what is called the “health data funnel,” which holds back the case of scalable innovation in healthcare.

At Microsoft, we’re confident that many aspects of the IT foundations for healthcare will move from on-premise doctors’ offices and clinics to live in the cloud. We ask the questions: Can we take advantage of this huge sea change in healthcare to unlock the innovation potential in healthcare data? Can we work as a community to ensure that we don’t simply re-create the same data silos that we have today?

We think that together, we can solve these problems. We are taking concrete steps with an initial “blueprint” intended to standardize the process for the compliant, privacy-preserving movement of a patient’s personal health information to the cloud and the automated tracking of its exposure to machine learning and data science, for example to support external audit. This is a small first step, but progress toward an open architecture that ultimately will benefit doctors, nurses and clinicians in how they interact with patients, and also allow more time for patients to spend face-to-face with their care providers. It also opens up research opportunities for this data to be shared, and to be done under the same compliance and regulatory standards which protect your health data today; all with the goal of leading to advancements in medical science.

We have our work cut out for us but know that we have the right team in place. We’re looking forward to sharing more later this year about what we’re doing to help unlock the power of healthcare data and create opportunities for the entire health ecosystem.

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Part of the LGBTQ+ community? Here’s what being welcomed at work looks like

Building your career is a journey filled with challenges, excitement, and forks in the road. And journeys are easier with maps. In this column, job experts answer your questions and deliver advice to help you take the next step.

Question: I’m part of the LGBTQ+ community, and it’s important to me to work at a place that accepts me for who I am. What’s the best way to figure that out, even before I apply?

Answer: When you choose a job, you’re choosing more than the actual work you’ll do. You’re becoming part of a whole culture: the environment around you, the coworkers and leaders, and the role the company plays in the broader world. Our workplace becomes a significant part of our lives. And how we feel there can influence our focus, our ideas, and our sense of well-being.

As Claudia del Hierro, a senior program manager at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, puts it, “You’re going to live that culture every single day.”

Whether you’re actively seeking a new job or casually curious about what other companies are like, how do you decipher if a workplace is somewhere all employees, including those who are LGBTQ+, feel supported? We spoke with a few employees who have sought that answer for themselves. Here are their tips and advice.

Investigate the company’s track record

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) releases an annual Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking tool that tracks corporate policies and practices pertinent to LGBTQ+ people. Checking that index is a good place to start, del Hierro said.

“Is the company you want to work for rated? What’s its score? That alone tells you a lot about the culture. Some companies have jumped on the LGBTQ+ train for marketing or to gain consumers but don’t really live those values,” she said. “HRC digs into policies so you can assess more deeply.”

Don’t stop there, said Sera Fernando, an assistant Microsoft store manager in Santa Clara, California, who identifies as a trans female. Fernando already worked at Microsoft when she made the decision to transition. At the same time, a transgender friend of hers was also interested in the company and was asking her about its culture. Fernando set out to learn more about how the company approached transgender people, employees, and issues. She began to research both internally, where she found Microsoft’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group GLEAM, which stands for Gay and Lesbian Employees at Microsoft and includes the entire LGBTQ+ spectrum and their allies, and externally, where she found helpful news coverage.

“Read news stories. Enter all the search terms. See what comes up. Do the research,” said Fernando, now the community codirector of GLEAM.

See how the company shows up

Supporting and participating in local and national Pride events and parades does not guarantee a welcoming workplace year-round, but it’s a clue, said Dena Y. Lawrence, a pre-sales manager for Microsoft in Dublin.

“When you’re out at a Pride parade, see which companies are showing up. You can see from a public corporate perspective which ones have embraced LGBTQ+ equality.”

Once you know whether a company lends its support publicly to the LGBTQ+ community, look closer, Fernando adds. Does the company advocate for equity, at events and in the public sphere?

“Are all LGBTQ+ groups being represented—nonbinary, genderqueer, transgender, intersex? Are those stories being shown and told? Are there signs that the company is in tune with the message year-round? Are they just rainbow-fying everything, or are there deeper commitments? What is the senior leadership team doing and saying—what is its involvement? Is it involved in the initiatives? How is the company amplifying efforts?”

See how it recruits

Beyond celebratory events, look at marketing.

Pay attention to how and where a company recruits, said Lawrence, who has served on Microsoft’s GLEAM board and has created a talk on how to assess how progressive a company is.

“Has a company taken the time and initiative to find advertising space in LGBTQ+ specific magazines or digital channels?” If so, she said, it’s an indication of a commitment to make those employees feel welcome and supported and to ensure that the company is recruiting all types of employees, she said.

See what it offers

Look as closely as you can at a company’s policies and benefits. Is there equity for LGBTQ+ employees? Are there family benefits and medical benefits that support the needs of LGBTQ+ employees?

“Go into the policies. Ask Human Resources for links to the benefits. Look closely at the language around leave, parental leave—does the language refer only to male and female partners? Updating that language means the organization has already done a lot of work internally to transform,” Lawrence said.

“If there are antidiscrimination policies that call out sexual orientation and—the holy grail—gender identity, then they have the core ingredients for inclusion.”

Talk to employees

If you have friends or networking connections who can put you in contact with employees—especially those who are LGBTQ+—grab the chance to talk with them.

“They live the culture every day. What’s on paper might not be the reality. Sometimes the reality is even better; sometimes it’s not,” said del Hierro, who serves as GLEAM’s Latin American director.

“Do they have an employee resource group that’s active? Could you be visible in that space if you wanted to be? Find people who are thriving; see what that looks like,” said Fernando.

See how the company responds to you

Don’t hesitate to ask directly in an interview about how the company supports diversity and inclusion. Take note of how those questions are received.

“There are so many companies embracing diversity and inclusion—you don’t want to work for a company where you can’t be who you are, in this day and age,” Lawrence said.

And if a company won’t support and welcome you, del Hierro said, you probably don’t want to work there.

“I was the cofounder for the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, and I started my college’s LGBTQ+ alumni chapter. It’s on my CV because it’s important to me and relevant to my experience. If someone won’t consider me because of that, then I would not want the job.”

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InMobi partners with Microsoft to bring intelligence-driven capabilities to mobile marketing

Collaboration combines the power of the cloud with cutting-edge technologies such as AI and data to provide actionable insights for marketers in a mobile world

SAN FRANCISCO and REDMOND, Wash. — June 26, 2018 — InMobi, a global provider of enterprise platforms for marketers, today announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft Corp. to enable new-age CMOs in their transformational journey from digital to mobile marketing. The partnership will consist of InMobi moving to Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud provider, and will involve technology collaboration and combined go-to-market strategies aimed at accelerating the way marketers are looking at their advertising and marketing strategies in an always-connected world.

Simultaneously, InMobi is significantly expanding its platform for marketers via the InMobi Marketing Cloud, adding to its decade-long market leadership through InMobi’s Advertising Cloud. The Marketing Cloud will enable marketers to get a 360-degree view of every customer, uncovering insights that help them design customer journeys for engagement, action and measurement, and analyzing and acting on customer feedback from disparate channels to increase retention and lifetime value of customers, while remaining committed toward the privacy rights of the customer.

Picture of Satya Nadella, Naveen Tewari and Peggy Johnson
From L to R: Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft, Naveen Tewari, founder and CEO at InMobi, Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President, Business Development, Microsoft

“As digital technology is transforming every industry and every aspect of our lives, companies are seeking new ways to engage customers where they are, with connected, personalized experiences,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “The combination of Microsoft Azure with InMobi’s marketing platforms will deliver new intelligent customer experiences and business insights to organizations around the world.”

With this partnership, InMobi will move in a phased manner to Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud provider and tap into the power of its intelligent capabilities. With more regions than any other cloud provider, Microsoft Azure provides the global scale and trusted platform to meet the needs of the marketing industry.

There has been a fundamental shift in the advertising and marketing industry, with far more advanced technologies available to marketers, combined with an exponential increase in customer touchpoints across multiple connected devices. InMobi, with its new AI-powered Marketing Cloud, is at the forefront of these changes and evolving beyond its pure-play advertising platform to a comprehensive and integrated suite of advertising and marketing platforms.

“InMobi is building one of the most advanced enterprise platforms for marketers, and we’re extremely excited to partner with Microsoft as we dive into the next frontier of connected devices,” said Naveen Tewari, founder and CEO InMobi. “With Microsoft’s global reach and advanced security, privacy and compliance, alongside InMobi’s scale and decade-long experience in mobile-first technology, we can truly disrupt the marketing ecosystem. Together, Microsoft and InMobi will create a formidable force in the industry.”

The two companies are also looking at additional opportunities in combining the power of InMobi’s Advertising and Marketing Cloud capabilities with Microsoft Dynamics 365 on the back of the global Azure infrastructure, including AI, machine learning and analytics. The companies will also work in close cooperation on the go-to-market approach, offering these integrated advertising and marketing solutions to Microsoft’s global enterprise client base.

The InMobi Marketing Cloud will be sequentially launched market-wise worldwide over the next six months.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

About InMobi

InMobi is a global provider of enterprise platforms for marketers. As a leading technology company, InMobi has been recognized as a 2018 CNBC Disruptor 50 company and as one of Fast Company’s 2018 Most Innovative Companies. For more information, visit inmobi.com.

For more information, press only:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777,

rrt@we-worldwide.com

InMobi Media Relations

pr@inmobi.com

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InMobi forms strategic partnership with Microsoft to power new cloud-based enterprise platforms for marketers

Collaboration combines the power of the cloud with cutting-edge technologies such as AI and data to provide actionable insights for marketers in a mobile world

SAN FRANCISCO and REDMOND, Wash. — June 26, 2018 — InMobi, a global provider of enterprise platforms for marketers, today announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft Corp. to enable new-age CMOs in their transformational journey from digital to mobile marketing. The partnership will consist of InMobi moving to Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud provider, and will involve technology collaboration and combined go-to-market strategies aimed at accelerating the way marketers are looking at their advertising and marketing strategies in an always-connected world.

Simultaneously, InMobi is significantly expanding its platform for marketers via the InMobi Marketing Cloud, adding to its decade-long market leadership through InMobi’s Advertising Cloud. The Marketing Cloud will enable marketers to get a 360-degree view of every customer, uncovering insights that help them design customer journeys for engagement, action and measurement, and analyzing and acting on customer feedback from disparate channels to increase retention and lifetime value of customers, while remaining committed toward the privacy rights of the customer.

Picture of Satya Nadella, Naveen Tewari and Peggy Johnson
From L to R: Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft, Naveen Tewari, founder and CEO at InMobi, Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President, Business Development, Microsoft

“As digital technology is transforming every industry and every aspect of our lives, companies are seeking new ways to engage customers where they are, with connected, personalized experiences,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “The combination of Microsoft Azure with InMobi’s marketing platforms will deliver new intelligent customer experiences and business insights to organizations around the world.”

With this partnership, InMobi will move in a phased manner to Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud provider and tap into the power of its intelligent capabilities. With more regions than any other cloud provider, Microsoft Azure provides the global scale and trusted platform to meet the needs of the marketing industry.

There has been a fundamental shift in the advertising and marketing industry, with far more advanced technologies available to marketers, combined with an exponential increase in customer touchpoints across multiple connected devices. InMobi, with its new AI-powered Marketing Cloud, is at the forefront of these changes and evolving beyond its pure-play advertising platform to a comprehensive and integrated suite of advertising and marketing platforms.

“InMobi is building one of the most advanced enterprise platforms for marketers, and we’re extremely excited to partner with Microsoft as we dive into the next frontier of connected devices,” said Naveen Tewari, founder and CEO InMobi. “With Microsoft’s global reach and advanced security, privacy and compliance, alongside InMobi’s scale and decade-long experience in mobile-first technology, we can truly disrupt the marketing ecosystem. Together, Microsoft and InMobi will create a formidable force in the industry.”

The two companies are also looking at additional opportunities in combining the power of InMobi’s Advertising and Marketing Cloud capabilities with Microsoft Dynamics 365 on the back of the global Azure infrastructure, including AI, machine learning and analytics. The companies will also work in close cooperation on the go-to-market approach, offering these integrated advertising and marketing solutions to Microsoft’s global enterprise client base.

The InMobi Marketing Cloud will be sequentially launched market-wise worldwide over the next six months.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

About InMobi

InMobi is a global provider of enterprise platforms for marketers. As a leading technology company, InMobi has been recognized as a 2018 CNBC Disruptor 50 company and as one of Fast Company’s 2018 Most Innovative Companies. For more information, visit inmobi.com.

For more information, press only:

Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777,

rrt@we-worldwide.com

InMobi Media Relations

pr@inmobi.com

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What’s New in EDU: Live from ISTE 2018 in Chicago

Educators from across the globe are bringing their passions, experiences and big-change ideas together again for the 2018 ISTE Conference and Expo, kicking off this week in Chicago, Illinois. And if forward-thinking teachers and time-saving tech advancements are going to be there, that means What’s New in EDU is going to be there too.

We’re debuting brand new episodes of What’s New in EDU, our round-up of the latest efforts and products from Microsoft Education, throughout the week of ISTE. You can tune in to each episode live, even if you’re #notatISTE, so keep an eye on the schedule below:

What’s New in EDU: Live from ISTE on Monday: 5:00 PM CDT on Facebook Live

What’s New in EDU: Live from ISTE on Tuesday: 5:00 PM CDT on Facebook Live

What’s New in EDU: Live from ISTE on Wednesday: 5:00 PM CDT on Facebook Live

There’s a lot of exciting news to cover this week, including our announcement of Minecraft: Education Edition’s Update Aquatic and our partnership with BBC Learning on new, cost-effective STEM lesson plans. We also have an update on free workshops coming to Microsoft Store locations that help educators attain Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) certification.

If you’re an educator:

Office 365 Education helps create engaging learning experiences for today’s classrooms. Using the products you already know and love like Word, OneNote, and PowerPoint, reach students with features that help you create personalized learning experiences.

  • Dictation: This simple yet transformative tool helps students write freely and conquer the blank page using their voice. Dictation is now available for Word and PowerPoint on Win32 as well as OneNote for Windows 10.

New OneNote Sticker Packs: Have you ever been to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest canyon in the world? Did you know that an octopus can collect shells to make armor to fight off sharks? We’ve created four new sticker packs that explore the ocean and the marine life that call it home! We take a look at coral reefs, tide pools, the deepest parts of the ocean, and those larger species that need a little more space in the open ocean.

Learning Tools:  13,000,000 people round the globe regularly use Learning Tools to help them achieve more in school and at home. As part of Learning Tools, Immersive Reader implements proven techniques to improve reading for learners regardless of their age or ability.

  • Parts of Speech symbols: Teachers and students have the option to enable symbols for nouns, verbs, and adjectives over the highlighted part of speech. This is especially useful for readers who are color blind.
  • Adverbs: The Immersive Reader has had the ability to highlight important parts of speech, including nouns, verbs, and adjectives. We listened to valuable feedback from teachers that adverbs are also an important part of speech that should be highlighted and now adverbs are available in over 10 languages.

 

Microsoft Teams is the digital hub that brings conversations, content, assignments, and apps together in one place. Educators can create collaborative classrooms, connect in professional learning communities, and communicate with school staff – all from a single experience in Office 365 Education.

This month, Teams celebrates its first-year anniversary! Read more about the news, including new educator stories – and discover free teacher training materials.

  • Rubrics Grading: Utilize rubric grading and skills-based grading of your assignments making it easier to deliver feedback to your students. Students will also be able to see how they’ll be assessed upfront, before they start working on the assignment. Teachers can save a lot of time with a grading tool that’s easily applied to multiple assignments at once.

  • Forms in Assignments: In Assignments, you’ll be able to add a Form to a new assignment for your students to fill out and return. Leverage features of Forms reporting functionality, like auto-grading, feedback, and scores, directly in the Assignments grade book and keep track of scores across many Forms-powered quizzes.

  • Join Codes: Create a simple code for members to join your Class, PLC, or Staff team. This makes it easy for many people to join your team all at once. Display the code in ‘projector mode’ so that everyone in the classroom can see it and join the team.
  • Reusing a team as a template: Teachers can reuse an existing team as a template when creating a new team, then customize what they want to copy over: channels, team setting, apps, and even users.
  • Mute all students: There’s a time for conversation, and there’s a time for focus. You can now pause students from posting in the conversation tab.
  • Page locking in OneNote assignments – For teachers creating OneNote assignments, the pages of the student will now automatically “lock” as read only when the due date/time passes. The teacher can still edit and annotate these OneNote assignment pages with feedback.
  • Archive teams: Safely store your Class, PLC, or Staff team content in read-only mode. Easily reference archived teams while you are setting up your Teams experience for the next school year.

Open Up Resources:  Open Up Resources is a nonprofit working to develop the highest quality full-course Open Educational Resources (OER) curricula, standards-aligned, and provided for free to promote instructional equity. This curriculum was developed by Illustrative Mathematics, and currently covers 6th – 8th Grade Math. Recently, EdReports gave this curriculum their highest rating ever.

 OneNote empowers teachers and students to capture information and stay organized in their digital notebook.  OneNote allows students to organize their notes, ideate with others, and sync their notes seamlessly via the cloud.

  • Math Assistant Understanding the steps of a complex math problem is key to finding a solution. Math Assistant in OneNote Online helps this process by showing solution steps, as well as providing a graph for easier visualization. Read more about Math Assistant in OneNote online here.

OneNote Class Notebooks helps teachers capture and organize class content, create and deliver interactive lessons, provide feedback, and collaborate. Teachers can create a personal workspace for every student, a content library for handouts, and a collaboration space for lessons and creative activities. This school year, 25,000,000 student notebooks have been created!

  • Page Locking: Page locking allows teachers to prevent unwanted editing by students. Teachers can lock pages as read-only after giving feedback to the student but can still edit the locked pages themselves. Read more about Page locking in OneNote Class Notebooks here.
  • Teacher Transfer: This highly requested tool allows school IT professional to help transfer Class Notebooks from one teacher to another or to different schools when teachers change positions, saving valuable time and information.

Page Locking in OneNote for Windows 10

Microsoft Forms helps teachers quickly create polls, quizzes, and assessments, and see results as they come in. Microsoft Forms is simple to use, works on any browser and device, and lets you assign points for automatic grading.

  • Math Quiz: With additional tools to create math questions and worksheets, teachers can broaden the type of questions they ask in Forms to better assess Math skills. Read more about Math Quiz in Microsoft Forms here.

Microsoft Sway helps teachers and students easily create immersive, interactive presentations with images, text, videos, and other multimedia.

  • Refreshed iOS app: Updates to the iOS app include new commands that make it a breeze to add and organize content on-the-go.  Students and teachers will be able to easily incorporate their mobile captures, use drag-and-drop, tap to resize content, and instantly work together by using Sways Near Me.  Read more about the updates in our latest blog post.

Microsoft MakeCode brings computer science to life for all students with fun projects, immediate results, and both block and text editors for learners at different levels. MakeCode takes a unique approach to Computing Education by combining the magic of Making with the power of Code as a way to make learning about computers and technology more accessible, and interesting to a wider audience of students.

  • MakeCode for LEGO MINDSTORMS: Microsoft MakeCode provides a very easy on-ramp into robotics with LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 by providing students with both a block-based, and text-based coding environment.  And because it’s browser-based, schools can use MakeCode for MINDSTORMS on any computer. For more details view this blog post.

 

 The Microsoft Photos app features a built-in video editor, making it easy for you and your students to create movies using photos, video clips, music, 3D models, and Hollywood-style special effects. Whether it’s a group history project, a lab report, or a music video just for fun, you can quickly sequence your project, add titles, drop in music, and enhance your story with special effects.

  • Timeline scrollbar: The new timeline scrollbar makes it easy to jump to a specific month or year to see the photos and videos you captured on a that date. The scrollbar is tailored to your collection, showing you at a glance where your biggest capture sessions have been and how your photos and videos are distributed over time.

Change the date on a photo or video: Have you ever taken pictures on a camera that didn’t have the date and time set correctly? Now it’s easy to get that media showing up correctly in your collection. Just right-click on an image or video to change the date.

Microsoft Store locations in the U.S. are offering free MIE workshops:

You might already be familiar with the Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) program, which teaches educators of all levels how to integrate technology and Microsoft tools into the classroom to improve their students’ learning experience. This program was previously only offered online, but now for the first time ever, Microsoft Store locations in the U.S. are offering free MIE workshops for educators who prefer an in-person learning experience.

Workshops are taught by associates who are certified MIE Experts, and just like the online MIE training programs, educators earn credit to become a certified MIE. To learn more, educators are invited to stop in anytime at their local Microsoft Store and speak with the Community Development Specialist.

If you focus on IT:

Intune for Education makes it easy to set up and manage Windows 10 devices in just a few steps, including deploying apps or settings to users, and managing shared devices.

  • User and Device Details Pages: At a basic level, administrators want to be sure that everything is working as expected so that the in-classroom experience is focused on learning. The basic question we hear from these admins is: “When student ‘X’ signed in to device ‘Y’, what should have been applied and what was actually applied?”  To help resolve this requirement, we have added a key feature for admins: Once they find the user/device in the management console, they can now see which settings and apps should be applied plus the deployment status for a user/device.

School Data Sync (SDS) simplifies class creation and management in Office 365. SDS reads from your Student Information Systems (SIS) and creates classes and groups for Microsoft Teams, OneNote Class Notebooks, Intune for Education, and third-party applications. Best of all, it’s free!

  • Education Security Groups: SDS creates new Education Security Groups by default. The new groups will include the All Teachers, All Students, Teachers of School, and Students of School. These groups can be used for Intune for Education device policy, Group Based Licensing, Conditional Access Policy, and several other O365 security management features.
  • Expired Class Management: SDS provides options to rename expired classes, remove student access from expired classes. This new experience simplifies class management for term transition and back-to-school cycles.

To learn more about Microsoft Education and our tools and technology that help foster inclusion and support personalizing learning for every student, click here.

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New lesson plans and ‘Minecraft: Education Edition’ update aim to spark interest in STEM

This week, the Microsoft Education team is in the Windy City showing off some exciting new technology and curricula to support STEM learning at the annual ISTE conference.

In today’s job market, 50 percent of jobs require technology skills, and in the next 10 years, these types of jobs will outpace non-technology jobs by nearly two to one. It’s more important than ever to help students understand and appreciate STEM fields, to prepare them for the future workplace and to be digital citizens in a rapidly changing world.

Technology can empower educators to deliver inspiring lessons, personalize instruction and build creativity and critical thinking skills, which is why we’re so excited to bring STEM to life with these new tools and programs!

1. Bring the mystery of the oceans to your classroom with new STEM lesson plans

In partnership with BBC Learning, we’re thrilled to announce a new collection of teacher-written, inquiry-based lesson plans to compliment the BBC Earth and OCEANX film, Oceans: Our Blue Planet.

These interdisciplinary experiences engage students in answering four big questions: how ocean currents form, how sharks swim, how deep the ocean is, and how to craft coral reefs.

How do sharks swim?

Learn about the 3D coordinate system by working with physical and digital shark models to   understand yaw, pitch, and roll in order to survey a marine environment.

How deep is the ocean?

Students explore remote terrains by modeling and graphing the ocean floors with an ultrasonic sensor to visualize organisms that live in different ocean layers.

How are ocean currents formed?

Students discover how salinity and temperature impact ocean currents by conducting experiments, building electrical conductivity sensors, and analyzing global data.

How to craft coral reefs

Through the power of Minecraft: Education Edition, take your classroom underwater to discover the different types of reefs and what can be done to save them.

Students start by taking on the roles of biological oceanographers and marine geologists, biologists, and physicists. Then, working through the content, they are challenged to write code, build sensors, analyze data, and create in 3D and mixed reality. These hands-on explorations are ISTE and NGSS standards aligned and include reflection, documentation, and assessment activities that are supported by a rich archive of stills and clips made possible by BBC Learning from BBC Studios. What’s more, they can all be done for less than a few dollars with everyday objects.

Check out these great new STEM lesson plans to build future ready skills in your classroom today and show students how to:

Write code

  • Craft coral reefs and explore shipwrecks in Minecraft: Education Edition using MakeCode scripting
  • Write sensor programs with Data Streamer Connect
  • Flash code for both Arduino and Micro:bit microcontrollers

Build sensors

  • Construct an electroconductivity sensor to measure conductivity of ocean water
  • Assemble an ultrasonic sensor to map the ocean floor
  • Engineer a joystick to navigate a robotic shark through a virtual marine environment

Analyze data

  • Stream real-time data from your sensors into Excel with Data Streamer
  • Work with global oceanic climate, temperature and salinity big data sets
  • Compare the world’s mountain heights to the depths of the ocean floor trenches

Work in 3D

  • Model the five ocean zones in Paint 3D and populate them with marine organisms
  • Animate a shark model in PowerPoint to understand yaw, pitch and roll
  • Use a 3D model of the world to understand how ocean currents circulate around the globe

Review and reflect:

  • Check understanding of mathematical and scientific concepts with interactive visualizations in Excel
  • Use photo and videos to create lab notebooks, student journals, and presentations

Teachers can also take their students on an underwater global odyssey in Oceans: Our Blue Planet, a BBC Earth and OCEANX film that reveals extraordinary discoveries and untold stories of the oceans’ most astonishing creatures. ISTE attendees can join us next week for a free viewing of the BBC Earth and OCEANX film, Oceans: Our Blue Planet, and see how it brings this STEM experience to life.

2. Minecraft: Education Edition adds Update Aquatic

  

Minecraft: Education Edition continues to grow with 35 million K-12 teachers and students in 115 countries around the world now licensed to use the game to transform the way they teach and learn. Teachers are using Minecraft to teach every subject imaginable and encouraging student collaboration, creativity and digital citizenship. This week, we’re sharing a cool glimpse of new worlds coming to Minecraft: Education Edition.

ISTE attendees this week will get to experience the Update Aquatic for Minecraft: Education Edition, a new set of game features and underwater worlds available for free to all Minecraft: Education Edition users. Students can use coding to build coral reefs, explore shipwrecks and underwater monuments, learn about sustainable fishing, and rescue dolphins. Educators are invited to use the free lessons provided with the update, which will be demoed at ISTE in the Microsoft Education booth by the Minecraft team and members of the Minecraft Global Mentor program.

Learn more about the Update Aquatic on the Minecraft Education blog.

3. Apply now for a Limitless Libraries grant to enrich the learning experience at your public or school library with mixed reality headsets

Microsoft is excited to announce Limitless Libraries, a new Mixed Reality grant program designed to help foster Mixed Reality adoption in education. The fund is open for applications starting today with the first recipients selected at the end of the summer. Sign up today!

Libraries – both in schools and in the community – have long been a place where students immerse themselves in the learning experience and ignite their creativity, envisioning their favorite stories come to life. With the expansion of digital technology like mixed reality headsets, we see a new world of possibility to transform learning efficiency, retention, and student engagement​.

The grant provides libraries with all the resources for getting a Mixed Reality program up and running, including:

      • Two Windows Mixed Reality headsets and two computers to operate them
      • Technical training of staff and administration
      • Assistance with marketing resources and program scheduling
      • Email support to answer any questions going forward
      • Access to other grantees
      • Updates about new content rollouts

Middle schools and High schools (grades 6-12) can apply, as can public libraries. Grant applicants whose programs provide exposure and increased knowledge in STEM, and where a high percentage of participating youth are considered underserved as defined in the local context, will be given priority.

Apply now and contact [email protected] with any questions.

If you’re headed to ISTE, please stop by to say hello and learn more about these new tools and lesson plans and the rest of our exciting ISTE demos, which you can read more about here.

To learn more about Microsoft Education and our tools and technology that help foster inclusion and support personalizing learning for every student, click here.

*Open only to libraries in grades 6-12 in the US, and public libraries in the US. Applications close Monday, July 9, 2018. For details, see the official rules.

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It’s almost time! Imagine Cup 2018 Championship judges and special guest announced

Last October, I announced the 16th annual Imagine Cup competition, which gives college and university students the opportunity to test their intellectual, creative and teamwork skills while using technology to change the world. Forty-nine teams who have won their National Finals are now well underway in getting their solutions ready to compete at the World Finals, which will be held July 23-25 at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Last year, dozens of teams from nearly 40 countries were present at the World Finals, and this year is setting up to be just as exciting and diverse!

I love overseeing the Imagine Cup because it lets me interact with inspiring talent shaping the future and get to know incredible people along the way. Microsoft cares deeply about fostering careers in STEM, and I can’t think of a better way to give students the opportunity to take an idea from concept to completion, while also helping them acquire marketable skills they’ll be able to use throughout their careers. The work that comes out of Imagine Cup is innovative and life-changing — and often turns into full-fledged products!

Mug shot of Corey Sanders
Corey Sanders

This year’s Imagine Cup host is Corey Sanders, the corporate vice president for Azure Compute.

Corey’s no stranger to innovation — he holds four patents and was the creator of the Infrastructure-as-a-service offering for Azure.

Mug shot of Kate Yeager
Kate Yeager

And, last year’s emcee, Kate Yeager, is making a return appearance to call the action.

Judging the Imagine Cup is a big task, but this year’s judges are up for the challenge — all bringing a unique aspect of thought leadership to the table. The panel includes:

Mug shot of Peggy Johnson
Peggy Johnson

_ Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of business development at Microsoft, who started her career as an engineer and found her way into business development, merging her technical expertise and business savvy to become Microsoft’s “chief dealmaker.”

Mug shot of Anil Dash
Anil Dash

_ CEO of Glitch, Anil Dash, who oversees the popular creative community for coders, and whose work as an entrepreneur, activist and writer reckons with the way technology transforms society, media and culture.

Erica Brescia
Erica Brescia

_ Co-founder and COO of Bitnami, Erica Brescia, an entrepreneur through-and-through with a “get it done” approach, she’s also an active investor via X Factor Ventures, funding amazing women founding extraordinary companies.

At the Imagine Cup Finals, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will be in conversation with special guest Chloe Kim, the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding medal when she won the gold in the women’s snowboard halfpipe at age 17! Chloe is an outstanding example of a young person at the top of her game, much like the Imagine Cup participants are at the top of theirs.

Photo of Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim

Chloe Kim. Photo credit: Peter Morning

This year’s prize value of cash, travel and Azure credits totals more than $700,000, in addition to a mentoring session with Satya. Artificial intelligence, big data and mixed reality have special award prizes as well.

Want to see which team has the winning solution? You can watch the championship via live stream at ImagineCup.com at 9 a.m. PT, Wednesday, July 25.

I’m so excited to see what these remarkable students create this year. They are only bound by imagination, and as we’ve seen year after year, when given the opportunity to follow their imaginations, people can change the world.

P.S. Follow me on Twitter for updates on Imagine Cup and other news and noteworthy information in the cloud and ecosystem space.

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Updated Quantum Development Kit brings faster simulations, enhanced debugging

This post was authored with contributions by Cathy Palmer, Program Manager, Quantum Software & Services.

Today, Microsoft released an update to the Microsoft Quantum Development Kit including an enhanced debugging experience and faster simulations, as well as several contributions from the Q# community. We’re excited about the momentum generated by the many new Q# developers joining us in building a new generation of quantum computing.

Just over six months ago, we released a preview of Q#, our new programming language for quantum development featuring rich integration with Visual Studio. The February 26 release added integration with Visual Studio Code to support Q# development on macOS and Linux as well as Python interoperability for Windows. Since then, tens of thousands of developers have begun to explore Q# and the world of quantum development.

Today’s update includes significant performance improvements for simulations, regardless of the number of qubits required, as shown in the H2 simulation below. This is a standard sample included in the Microsoft Quantum Development Kit.

Simulation comparison

This update includes new debugging functionality within Visual Studio. The probability of measuring a “1” on a qubit is now automatically shown in the Visual Studio debugging window, making it easier to check the accuracy of your code. The release also improves the display of variable properties, enhancing the readability of the quantum state.

Screen showing enhanced debugging

Adding to the new debugging improvements, you’ll find two new functions that output probability information related to the target quantum machine at a specified point in time, called DumpMachine and DumpRegister. To learn more, you can review this additional information on debugging quantum programs.

Thanks to your community contributions, the Microsoft Quantum Development Kit now includes new helper functions and operations, plus new samples to improve the onboarding and debugging experience. Check out the release notes for a full list of contributions.

Download the latest Microsoft Quantum Development Kit

We’ve been thrilled with the participation, contributions, and inspiring work of the Q# community. We can’t wait to see what you do next.