Tag: Recent News

Announcing the October 15 TweetMeet

The partnership between Microsoft Education and NASA was announced at the ISTE 2019 EdTech conference.

Watch the live interview by Jeff Bradbury from @TeacherCast with Matthew E. Wallace from NASA’s STEM on Station team and Karon Weber from Microsoft in which they announce the partnership:

TweetMeet on STEM and NASA starting at 10 a.m. PDT

Whether you’re a total space geek or a newcomer to the crossover between STEM and space education, our TweetMeet has something for you.

Hosted by 12 educators who are extremely passionate and highly specialized in the topic, this Twitter conversation invites you to share and learn from the best ideas, tips and resources. Our hosts will provide you with ideas on how you can bring space into your classrooms while keeping your students inspired and engaged.

With all this in mind, we welcome you to a 75-minute TweetMeet on Tuesday, October 15 at 10 a.m. PDT.

Welcoming TweetMeet newcomers

Our brand-new “You can join a #MSFTEduChat TweetMeet” video was created especially for newcomers, so please share it with friends and colleagues who might be interested in joining:

Know someone who is totally new to Twitter and could use an introduction? Point them to the Twitter EDU tutorial ebook by David Truss @datruss.

TweetMeet Fan? Show it off on your Twitter profile!

Show your passion for this month’s STEM- and NASA-themed TweetMeet by uploading this month’s #MSFTEduChat Twitter Header Photo as a banner on your own Twitter profile.

Twitter Header Photos are available in many languages and time zones.

Create your own TweetMeet Friend Card

Another way to share your enthusiasm for STEM, NASA, space education and the TweetMeets in general is to create a TweetMeet Friend Card. Share your own version of this image anytime, anywhere. It will come in handy when introducing yourself at the start of a TweetMeet. Just follow the steps in the TweetMeet Friend Cards PowerPoint.

Here’s an example:

Looking back on the September TweetMeet on Minecraft in Education

We captured highlights for this TweetMeet in a new @MicrosoftEDU Twitter Moment. There’s even a comprehensive collection of 1,200 tweets in this Wakelet Collection.

Did you miss the post-TweetMeet Live Event about the latest Back-to-School update for MinecraftEdu? A recording of the presentation by Meenoo Rami is now available to watch at your convenience.

Why join the #MSFTEduChat TweetMeets?

TweetMeets are monthly recurring Twitter conversations about themes relevant to educators, facilitated by Microsoft Education. The purpose of these events is to help professionals in education learn from each other and inspire their students while they are preparing for their future. The TweetMeets also nurture personal-learning networks among educators from across the globe.

Check out this helpful blog post by former host James Kieft that describes why educators should consider participating in Twitter chats and how to get started.

When and how can I join?

Join us Tuesday, October 15 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. PDT on Twitter using the hashtags  #STEM, #HackingSTEM, #SpaceEd, #NASA, #MSFTEduChat and #MicrosoftEDU (which you can always use to stay in touch with us). Be sure to double-check your own local event time. You can find the event time for 215 countries with this time zone announcer.

Our next recommendation for you is to set up a Twitter dashboard TweetDeck and add columns for these same hashtags. If you are new to TweetDeck, then check out this brief TweetDeck tutorial by Marjolein Hoekstra.

When a tweet appears that you want to respond to, press the retweet button and type your comments.

Additional tips are offered in this animated GIF that you’re most welcome to share with newcomers:

Too busy to join at event time? No problem!

From our monthly surveys we know that you may be in class at event time, busy doing other things or may even be asleep—well, no problem! All educators are welcome to join any time after the event. Simply look at the questions below and respond to these at a day and time that suit you best.

You can also schedule your tweets in advance. In such cases, be sure to include the entire question in your tweet and include the hashtag #MSFTEduChat so that everyone knows to which question in which conversation you are responding.

To better allow everyone to prepare for the event, from now on we’re providing the question timings in a text table:

PDT	#	#MSFTEduChat TweetMeet question timings
10:00am	Welcome	Please introduce yourself. Use #MSFTEduChat.
10:04	1	Why does space education matter and how does it inspire students?
10:18	2	How can we bring space into our classrooms?
10:32	3	What problem-solving opportunities does space education offer? Share stories.
10:46	4	How can newcomers get started with space education? Share tips and resources.
11:00	5	What can you do tomorrow to begin your classroom’s space journey?
11:15	Event closes	Announcing the next event and Participant Survey

SuperWakelet: resources curated by this month’s hosts

Wakelet is a useful web service to bookmark, curate and annotate resources, images, tweets and other content.

We’ve invited our hosts to share their personal favorite resources and introduce their resource collections with a Flipgrid video. Find all of these resources in our new STEM and NASA SuperWakelet, live-embedded here:

Hosts

Meet the 12 hosts for this month’s TweetMeet! After going through weeks of preparation for this TweetMeet, they are thrilled to engage with you on their favorite topic: STEM and NASA.

Check out all the hosts, see what they are tweeting about and consider following them: https://twitter.com/TweetMeet/lists/msfteduchat-2019-10/members

List of hosts and their profiles

• Adam Rummelhart @Adam_Rummelhart (Microsoft Learning Consultant, MIE Expert, ScreenBeam Expert, passionate about empowering teachers and students—Chicago IL, USA)
• Betty Jo Moore @bjmoore1640 (Science Teacher, Robotics and Science Olympiad Coach, NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, SEEC Crew Member, Smithsonian Teacher Innovator Institute Member. Passionate about STEM and STEAM—Winston-Salem NC, USA)
• David Lockett @DavidJLockett (STEM Teacher @BokSTEM NASA JPL SSA, @OSIRISREx Ambassador, Teach STEM Like an Astronaut—Lake Wales FL, USA)
• Erik Leitner @Professor_Erik (@BrowardSTEM STEM+CS Instructional Facilitator, SECME STEM Olympiad regional coordinator, robotics competition coordinator, and Code.org CSF Facilitator. Star Wars fanboy extraordinaire—Fort Lauderdale FL, USA)
• Jennifer Duffer @mhs_aero (Aerospace Engineering & Robotics Teacher, RV-12 Airplane Builder, SEEC Crew Member, Space Camp Alumni, and passionate about empowering all students—Montgomery TX, USA)
• Jennifer Ferguson @Fergeeksongirl (Educational Specialist, Professional Learning for Let’s Talk Science / STEM Consultant for Calgary Academy • SDG Goal 4 • ADHD, Autism & Asperger awareness—Cochrane, Alberta, Canada)
• Jodie Guillen @TheAstroTeacher (Space Education Specialist @SpaceFoundation, Inaugural SEEC Crew Member, and Space Camp grad! Enthusiastic & passionate about changing lives one kiddo at a time!!!—Colorado Springs CO, USA)
• Kellie Taylor @KellieTaylorEdD (3rd Grade Teacher @BSDEducation, STEM Educator, 18-19 Einstein Fellow, SEEC Crew Member, MAVEN Educator Ambassador, NASA inspired—Emmett ID, USA)
• Kim James @teacherkimj (Instructional Technology Specialist, Chino Valley Unified; Professional Learning Specialist, i2e; MIE Expert; passionate about student voice and creativity!—Chino Hills CA, USA)
• Lisa Lista @LisaLista73 (8th Grade CTE Teacher/Math & Science Instructional Coach, STEAM Lab Facilitator @ Woodcrest Junior High, passionate about access/equity for all—Chino Hills CA, USA)
• Natasha Rachell @apsitnatasha (Former high school science teacher turned Science Digital Learning Specialist, MIEExpert, Flipgrid Certified Educator-Level 3, passionate about empowering the voices of ALL students—Atlanta GA, USA)
• Valeria Rodriguez @Valeriateaches (STEM Teacher, Instructional Technologist M.Ed, SEEC Crew, RPCV, Children’s Book Author &  Sketchnoter passionate about designing meaningful learning experiences—Miami FL, USA)

Next month’s event: Future-ready Skills & Computer Science

The theme of the TweetMeet on November 19 will be Future-ready Skills & Computer Science. We’re looking forward to this event and hope you’ll spread the word!

Got questions about the #MSFTEduChat TweetMeets?

Please connect with TweetMeet organizer Marjolein Hoekstra @TweetMeet on Twitter if you have any questions about the TweetMeets or how to become a host at a future event.

Greetings teachers! As you get back into the back-to-school routine, we thought we would give you a quick update on one of your favorite subjects—math!  Below you will find amazing tools that will help your students learn and practice math in a fun and engaging way—thanks to our teams from Bing, OneNote, Windows Calculator and our partners from GeoGebra and FluidMath. We hope you’ll find these tools useful whether you are on-the-go with your mobile device or sitting down at your Windows 10 PC.

Learn on your mobile phone with Bing Math Helper

Newly introduced Math Helper is available in the Bing app for iPhone and Android. Whether your students are taking a photo of a math problem or drawing it by hand, this tool can help them solve the problem and guide them through the interactive solution steps and graphs. Math Helper can assist students with a variety of problems, including arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry and calculus. Additionally, the app offers access to learning resources such as related instructional videos and practice worksheets, utilizing the full power of the Bing search engine. Download the free Math Helper app here.

Practice inside OneNote with the Math Assistant

OneNote’s Math Assistant empowers your students to be independent learners. The Math button not only helps students solve equations, but it also shows the steps needed to get to that point. Breaking down a complex problem into steps allows students to build understanding of the solution process. And students can use Immersive Reader to hear the solution steps read aloud. In addition, we’ve just launched an interactive demo of our inclusive math features, so you can learn about these features at your convenience.

For more practice, the Math Assistant can generate a practice quiz with a set of similar questions to those the student is working on.

Also, OneNote can graph functions, providing visual assistance in understanding math concepts and procedures.

Learn more about the Math Assistant here.

Visualize math functions with Windows Calculator graphing mode (coming soon)

Windows Calculator will soon have a graphing calculator mode, providing teachers with a new modern tool to teach graphing concepts in the classroom. It will help empower students to learn mathematics by improving conceptual understanding and attitudes towards math. With this feature, teachers and students will have access to a great baseline graphing calculator experience out-of-the-box on Windows 10, where they will be able to plot and analyze multiple equations and manipulate equation variables in real time to help understand how changes to equations affect graphs. This feature will be available to Windows Insiders later this year, and we cannot wait to hear your feedback! You can  find the latest information on the Windows Calculator here.

Leverage community resources with the GeoGebra Graphing Calculator on Windows 10

GeoGebra is a leading provider of math apps, STEM education resources and community services, having provided calculator apps and curriculum services to 500 million students and teachers globally since 2015. Its powerful graphing calculator for math students and teachers, made for your PC, Surface and mobile devices, also offers access to curriculum resources created by the global GeoGebra community of teachers. You can search, browse, use directly or make a copy and adapt over 1 million shared resources for just about any curriculum, anywhere. For more information, please visit www.geogebra.org or download the free GeoGebra Graphing Calculator app for Windows 10 here.

Use the pen to ink your math in the FluidMath app

For those of you who love picking up a pen to do math, you will find the FluidMath app on Windows 10 a joy to work with. This award-winning app enables teachers and students to easily create, solve and graph math and physics problems all in their own handwriting—especially tailored for 6th to 12th graders. Its animation function (see screenshot below) offers a great way for students to grasp concepts more easily. FluidMath was developed and tested in consultation with teachers over several years with support from the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health and the US Department of Education. You can find a free trial version of the Windows 10 FluidMath app here.

Artificial intelligence can help us to solve some of society’s most difficult challenges and create a safer, healthier and more prosperous world for all. I’ve already shared the exciting possibilities in the fields of healthcare and agriculture in previous posts. But there may be no area where the possibilities are more interesting – or more important – than education and skills. From personalized learning that takes advantage of AI to adapt teaching methods and materials to the needs of individual students, to automated grading that frees teachers from the drudgery of assessing tests so they have more time to work with students, to intelligent systems that are transforming how learners find and interact with information, the opportunities to improve education outcomes and accessibility will be truly transformational.

There are many classrooms around the world where educators teach very diverse groups of students from different cultures, who speak multiple languages. Take The Dhour Shweir Public Secondary School in Lebanon, for example. It improved the academic interaction between students and educators through applications like OneNote and Microsoft Teams which provides real-time language translation, allowing students who speak different languages to communicate with one another. The tools not only promote better collaboration and productivity, but also enhanced interaction between the students and their teachers.

We also saw just how much more Teams can do when Australian professor, David Kellermann, recently demonstrated how he created a unique learning experience for his university students – from a Question bot that can answer students’ queries on its own to a Power BI dashboard that shows how students’ exam answers compare to peers’ and helps build personalized study packs for future tests based on previous performance.

I am intrigued by a new digital assistant that was recently launched by Staffordshire University, in England. Called Beacon, it is designed to help ease the stress and anxiety that many students experience in their first year at university. Hosted on the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform, Beacon takes advantage of the fact that students at Staffordshire, one of the UK’s leading institutions for digital technologies, are more likely to use their mobile phone to find information or search for help than to talk to a lecturer or seek out a member of the university’s staff.

Part information source and part digital coach, Beacon answers questions, suggests activities that students might be interested in, checks on their mood, and supports them in their classwork. If the digital assistant detects signs that a student is struggling, it can send an alert to a university staff member who is able to offer help. By providing insights about how each student is adjusting to university life and creating an avenue for delivering extra support quickly to those who need it, the hope is that it will reduce the dropout rate and help students thrive.

Education doesn’t end with school or University. In today’s world, we must all be prepared to keep learning and re-skilling, as the world of work evolves.

Outside of traditional education institutes, AI can also help people to reskill or acquire news skills – for example, through Microsoft’s partnership with Ashoka, a global organization that supports social entrepreneurs who are committed to finding innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social, cultural, and environmental challenges. As part of Microsoft’s worldwide Tech for Good Initiative, at the heart of this new partnership is the Microsoft-Ashoka Accelerator, a program designed to foster an ecosystem of start-ups that take advantage of the power of cloud computing and artificial intelligence to tackle social and environmental issues. I had the pleasure of meeting Arnaud Mourot, Co-Director of Ashoka Europe earlier this year, to talk about support for promising social start-ups. Microsoft is providing access to technology, AI and cloud expertise, and mentors who can help entrepreneurs create intelligent, data-driven solutions, connect to markets, and more.

I also attended the opening of the first Microsoft-Ashoka Accelerators in France and India, where we are piloting the program. Among the early participants in the program are Singa, an organization that helps refugees and asylum seekers connect with people, services, and economic opportunities in their host countries; Ipso Health, which is working to improve healthcare systems and expand access to quality healthcare; and Libraries Without Borders, which sets up libraries and provides access to information resources in conflict zones and areas affected by natural disasters.

One of the things I like most about this new partnership is Ashoka’s focus on programs for young people and its understanding of the value that comes from helping a new generation of young entrepreneurs gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to apply advanced technology to social innovation. Through its Youth Ventures program, Ashoka has worked with more than 500,000 young people around the world.

I too, am a strong believer in the value of mentoring young people, and it is something I am actively engaged in through Live for Good, a foundation my family and I founded in 2015 to enable young people from all walks of life to reach their full potential through social entrepreneurship and digital innovation.

One of the most important things I have learned is that the world is filled with talented young people who have brilliant ideas and a deep desire to create a better world, but who often lack access to skills training, to technology, or to mentors who can provide the critical guidance they need to truly thrive – in school and at work. Today, AI-based services like Staffordshire University’s Beacon digital assistant and programs like the Microsoft-Ashoka accelerator are providing opportunities for young people to get the support they need to prepare them to lead the way forward, while technologies such as AI are creating new ways to have a positive impact.

To me, this is probably the most inspiring and promising aspect of the digital revolution—the doors it is opening for all of us to thrive and to create a better world.

Tags: artificial intelligence, education

Every year, EU Code Week encourages young people across Europe to engage with computer science in a hands-on way. Computer science skills are increasingly in demand in Europe’s labor market, across all kinds of sectors. In fact, over 90 percent of all jobs now require basic levels of digital skills. Meanwhile the demand for skilled ICT professionals in Europe has grown by 4 percent annually in the past decade.

EU Code Week is the perfect time for young people to dip their toes into the world of coding and start building up their expertise. But as this year’s edition kicks off, we also want to recognize the teachers working not just this week, but year-round, to ensure that their students are equipped for future success.

We recently spoke to several teachers from across Europe about the skills they value most in their classrooms – and how they work to hone these skills using technology.

From honing soft skills to staying safe online
Tere Lorca Alhama, a Music and ICT teacher from Spain, highlighted communications and problem solving as her priority skills, alongside critical thinking and digital literacy: “When it comes to their online lives, we must give students the tools to interact safely and behave appropriately. Social media can be a powerful teaching tool, for instance, but children need to learn to use it first.”

For Nicos Paphitis, an ICT teacher from Cyprus, soft skills are important, but there’s also a need to adapt to different students’ needs. As his students tinker with Minecraft or explore a new programming language, they are in fact learning how to collaborate, rethink, troubleshoot and improve, all at their own pace. This is “deep learning”, as Nicos calls it, and it is where he sees students truly thriving and remaining engaged.

Such an environment fosters creativity, which is highly sought-after by employers. Łukasz Gierek, a teacher from Poland, whose school is part of the Microsoft Showcase Schools Program, highlights why this skill in particular takes center stage in his classroom: “Creativity and collaboration are the two most important skills for the next generation. Creativity is what makes us human. The more we use AI, the more we need to cultivate creativity.”