Enabling Educators to Enhance Teaching through Technology
Educators play a huge part in moulding youth—the leaders of tomorrow. In recognition of their role, Microsoft’s global initiative Partners in Learning (PiL) was designed to help educators and school leaders connect, collaborate, create and share so that students can realise their greatest potential.
On 9 November the 2013 Fall PiL Forum Korea, a full-day seminar, occurred at the new Microsoft Korea office to showcase Microsoft technologies and how educators can leverage these to enhance classroom learning.
According to Olive Seo, PiL Manager at Microsoft, the forum was the ideal platform for educators from across South Korea to become more familiar with the latest classroom technologies. “We shared how simple IT skills and tools can create effective and compelling lessons that help to motivate students, suit different learning styles and keep students focused. The sharing generated brilliant discussions about the educators’ needs and challenges which we hope to address in future forums and technologies.”
Olive Seo, PiL Manager at Microsoft, shared how IT tools can be used by educators to create compelling lessons to keep students focused and motivated
The seminar started with a keynote speech by TaeBong Elementary School teacher, Hwang Kim, who touched on the 21st Century Learning Design (21CLD), a professional development programme to aid educators in redesigning their existing lessons and learning activities to build students’ 21st-century skills. Hwang Kim, who previously won a Microsoft award for his innovative teaching methods, also discussed how Microsoft’s 21CLD rubrics can help educators identify and understand the opportunities that learning activities present to students.
After a hearty networking lunch session, the 153 attendees—comprised of educators, students and Microsoft student partners—split into four groups, attending different workshops concurrently. These workshops offered hands-on experiences on Windows 8 and the latest productivity applications, which included Office 365, PowerPoint, Lync and OneNote, as well as how these apps can enhance classroom learning.
“We are inspired by the educators’ passion and dedication to help realise their students’ greatest potential—and we look forward to working with them again to create a positive transformation in the education sphere,” concluded Olive.
Microsoft also organised a tour around the new facilities. Attendees particularly enjoyed themselves at the Kinect Fun Zone, where they let loose and had fun. The attendees also had a chance to try out Windows 8 devices and interesting apps such as Piano Time and Fresh Paint, with some realising that Windows 8 is easier to use than they had thought.
Participants experiencing how the latest devices and apps can enhance the learning experience
Many of the educators found the seminar beneficial, as it created awareness about 21CLD and other useful classroom applications, and how these will help enhance their teaching methods. Very satisfied with the 2013 Fall PiL Forum Korea, attendees have already requested for more details on the 21CLD workshop and have expressed their keen interest in the next edition of PiL.