EXPERTS SHARE BEST WAYS TO INCLUDE TECH IN CLASSROOMS
If you put a doctor from a hundred years ago in a hospital today, he most likely wouldn’t know what to do. But put a teacher from a century ago in a classroom, and he or she would probably know exactly how to go about the day’s lecture.
That’s a roundabout way of saying that while advances in the field of medicine happen every day around the world, the way teachers teach and students learn have basically remained the same—with the educator in front of the class and a group of students that follow his or her lead.
But while the pace in which changes happen seems slower than desired when it comes to teaching, progress is steadily moving in the right direction. This is brought about in no small part by educators who are innovative enough to develop new ways to engage their students in and out of the classroom.
The recently concluded Microsoft Education Exchange (E2) conference in Singapore gathered close to 400 educators and school leaders (including four from the Philippines) from 91 countries. The annual gathering in Singapore is the fourth in as many years and the first that was held in Asia (in previous years, they were held in the USA, Hungary, and Canada).
Over the course of three days, the phenomenal educators exchanged innovative experiences in classrooms and explored emerging trends in education, including new technologies that support teaching, skills development, modern pedagogies, safe school environments, and predictive analytics that identify at-risk students.
“Despite technology that helps facilitate learning, the role of educators in classrooms has never been more important. Teaching is simply timeless,” said Anthony Salcito, vice president of Microsoft’s Worldwide Education program.
E2, Salcito said, is not a tech event, but is a gathering of educators who have found a way to incorporate technology in the way they teach on a daily basis. Microsoft’s mission is to inspire every person in the planet to achieve more, and to celebrate those who continue to use technology to prepare individuals to be ready for the future.
During the event, Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts (MIE) were recognized and celebrated for their achievements in combining content, pedagogy, and technology in exemplary ways to prepare students for success in the digital age.
To be an MIE Expert, teachers submit lessons that are new, innovative and engaging, before working on their own professional development at Microsoft Education Community.
Established in the 2,000s, Microsoft's education initiative includes providing training for teachers that allow them to adopt technology in the classroom and encourage them to use technology in daily life.
Among the education tools introduced to the teachers are PowerPoint as a digital black- board, Excel as a grade book, and OneNote as an interactive learning tool.
Salcito said: “Technology does not diminish a teacher’s role in the classroom. On the contrary, tech highlights it more.”