Microsoft Partners in Learning

At Microsoft, our mission is simple. Students—regardless of their location and socioeconomic status—are our focus. An important part of that commitment has been helping individuals develop the skills necessary to succeed in a world—and workplace—that is increasingly complex, technologically advanced, and competitive.

With this focus, we build software and create programs to:

Foster communication and collaboration among students, teachers, parents, and employers

Create opportunities to explore and share insight for teaching and learning practices that work

Improve the economic and operational efficiencies of education systems

We also partner with and support governments and schools to align with local priorities that are sustainable and improve education outcomes. In FY2010 we increased our focus on educators to improve faculty productivity and classroom STEM education resources. Microsoft products, research, and programs all contribute to our education commitment—many of which are free. The challenges in educating our students, equipping our workforce, modernizing government, and growing local economies are all interconnected.

We invite you to share in the relationship to lead, inspire, and build solutions with Microsoft.

Student Programs Teacher Programs Institutional Effectiveness Programs &

Solutions

Imagine Cup www.imaginecup.com

A competition, which included 300,000 high school and university students this past year, using technology to help solve some of the challenges identified in the Millennium Development Goals.

Dreamspark

www.dreamspark.com It’s about giving students Microsoft professional tools at no charge. Receive free access to Microsoft’s professional developer, designer, and gaming software.

IT Academy Program www.microsoft.com/education/msitacademy

The Microsoft IT Academy Program empowers member high schools and colleges to deliver training to help prepare credit and noncredit students for careers and certification in information technology. The program gives faculty and students access to training on current software and the latest Microsoft technologies.

MSDN Academic Alliance http://msdn.microsoft.com/academic

The MSDN Academic Alliance is an annual membership program for college and high school technical departments in the areas of computer science, engineering, and information systems. As members, departments receive a subscription that includes software and tools for Microsoft platforms, servers, and developer tools for instructional purposes.

Partners in Learning Network http://www.microsoft.com/education/uspil

Join this social utility designed to help educators connect with peers around the world, collaborate on topics of interest and access relevant content. They will have the opportunity to learn from and inspire one another and gain access to existing online learning communities in addition to creating their own.

Online Learning http://www.microsoft.com/education/uspil/careerforward

Hybrid and Online Learning are becoming commonplace. Ensure your educators are prepared to take part in this new learning environment. Career Forward is an online course designed to introduce students to the global economy, career exploration and budgeting.

Educator Training www.Microsoft.com/InnovativeEducator

Access unique professional development for your educator trainers which offers new tools and resources around integrating technology into teaching and learning. New training seminars are now available.

Celebrate Your Best Educators http://bit.ly/cdgbny

Every year Microsoft holds an Innovative Education Forum to recognize the most innovative educators in the US. Be sure your educators & schools are aware of this opportunity and encourage them to apply. The next event is in July, 2011.

Live@Edu http://www.microsoft.com/liveatedu

Microsoft understands your need to provide students with great communication and collaboration experiences while saving time and money. Live@edu offers educational institutions a co-branded hosted email solution at no cost with Outlook Live. Live@Edu includes features such as mobile e-mail, calendars, instant messaging and video chat. As a “cloud based service,” it’s an example of how school communities are often pioneers with technology. More than 10,000 schools in more than 130 countries using it, serving more than 11 million students, staff and teachers.

Microsoft Student 360 http://www.microsoft.com/education/solutions/analytics

Microsoft is making contributions to help states, districts, and schools meet the aggressive goals set for by the new administration to have 60% graduation rate by turning data into insight that drives action.

We have provided a data model to help schools identify at risk students through the use of advanced analytics, and we are providing tools to help schools operationalize preventative actions as part of our Student Success Management solution based on the familiar and proven MS CRM platform.

Public Private Partnering

http://www.microsoft.com/education/ppp

The demands on education are changing. In a time of budget cuts, shrinking resources and overworked staff, partnerships are providing some much needed support. This online course will give you the knowledge, skills and resources you need to create effective partnerships that help meet your evolving education needs. Whether using the interactive course on your own or in a group, the content is meant to spark active dialogue and inspire you to think about partnerships in new ways.