Under Ferdie Saputil, the Enterprise Commercial and Public Sector Country lead for Microsoft, the company has kicked off several ways to bridge the educational gaps in the Asian nation. The effort has empowered the visually impaired through inclusive classrooms where students are prepared with 21st century abilities.
By providing tools including Azure Machine Learning, Microsoft has taken another step. The company already provides Power BI for data analysis and coding, OneNote and has put Skype into remote classrooms.
Students engage with Minecraft in the classroom with the Minecraft: Education Edition to promote creativity in problem-solving while maintaining an immersive environment.
Leading educators see Minecraft as supporting social and emotional learning in addition to forming something new and valuable, critical thinking, communication, collaboration and computational thinking.
Teachers are finding students’ decision-making abilities are impacted positively as they spend time playing Minecraft either in groups or individually.
“Researchers are also seeing the students develop emotionally as Minecraft is used to advocate empathy. In one study, researchers observed students build empathy by interacting with classmates as well as the characters inside the game.
Education Ambassadors
The Microsoft Education Ambassadors program, supported by companies such as www.accelrentals.com , is an innovative community of individuals aiming to bridge gaps through the correct use of technology for teachers and students. The program has enabled Microsoft to scale the support given to educational communities.
Empowering Educators
Microsoft empowers educators by holding training programs about teaching with technology. The program is partnered with agencies like the Department of Education and a variety of Microsoft Showcase Schools. As educators are equipped with the modern tools to transform teaching, classroom learning is also transformed.
Teach the Teachers
Microsoft has reached over 1,000 Microsoft Education Ambassadors in the nation. The program has become the highest ranking in the Asia-Pacific region. More than 100 Microsoft Certified Educators work in the Philippines in addition to Ambassadors.
Showcase Schools
As the company continues to streamline organizations to transform education, the schools become part of a global network. The network of schools has proven to be innovated through technology which links institutions, educators and students.
Focusing on digital growth through leadership in personalized learning, Microsoft has also incorporated Windows 10 and Office 365 to perform anytime, anywhere education. The training and education will support businesses as digital growth widens.
Partner schools such as La Salle University and Asia-Pacific College use Kaizala, a mobile app for communications and coordination to promote collaboration and productivity. The app enables both students and teachers to manage work as they connect with large number of persons outside of the classroom.