Every day teachers are working hard to innovate in the classroom and provide the best learning opportunities for their students. Educators are sparking creativity and curiosity in their students by embracing modern methods of teaching and learning, developing advanced curricula, and providing immersive experiences with technology.
To celebrate these remarkable educators and provide them with the opportunity to collaborate with each other, Microsoft is hosting the annual Microsoft Education Exchange (E2) event in Singapore, from 13 to 15 March 2018. E2 also serves as an opportunity for education leaders to come together to explore industry trends and discuss how emerging technologies can support teaching and skills development.
One of these education leaders is Phuti Ragophala, a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert from South Africa who will be sharing her experiences of using Skype in the classroom to transform education at E2 this year.
Phuti, who is the former Principal of Pula Madibogo Primary School, is now an online teacher and community educational project co-ordinator. Her story is one of hardship. She was brought up in a poor community in a rural, dusty part of South Africa. Her earliest memory of her first classroom is learning under a tree as her family had no money to send her to a better equipped school. Despite these difficult circumstances, Phuti had a dream to become a teacher and improve education for young South Africans. With the help of her family and her community she turned this dream into a reality and is now a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (MIEE) with over 32 years of experience in the teaching field.
She uses technology in the classroom in various ways. For example, she uses Sway to present projects, OneNote for daily preparation of work, and PowerPoint for presentations. But her favourite tool to use in the classroom is Skype. “I have a great affinity for Skype, as it allows me to bring the world into my classroom,” she says.
“Skype is able to turn my learners into global citizens and experience different cultures, nationalities and languages. Using Skype translator, my students are able to communicate with other schools in different languages,” she adds.
According to Phuti, Skype is a great tool for schools with limited resources. “Skype affords me opportunities to eliminate some of the barriers I experienced as a learner by broadening the learning space and travelling the world without leaving the classroom or needing a passport.”
Like Phuti, Oluwakemi Olurinola from Nigeria, is also an MIEE who will be presenting her learnings at E2 this year. She says that implementing technology in schools across Nigeria can be challenging due to various constraints such as inadequate power supply, lack of access to the internet and little or no technology in most schools.
She believes that Microsoft’s tools for education are the answer to some of these challenges because most of these tools are free, easy to use, and adaptable on different kinds of devices and they have offline options.
Oluwakemi thinks that the innovative use of technology in African schools, especially in Nigeria will be a great force for change on the continent. “The world is a global village, in demand of a global workforce with global skills. Africa needs an educational system that empowers our students with the skills needed to be globally competitive,” she says.
Microsoft is dedicated to empowering today’s students to create the world of tomorrow. Microsoft was founded on the principle that people can do remarkable things when technology is within reach. As devices and technology become more accessible, and the capabilities grow, we aim to unlock the potential for all students to learn, closing the skills gap and empowering the 1.4 billion students in the world to achieve more.
Another MIEE who will be attending E2 this year is Yunus Emre Çalık, a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) teacher at Vizyon College in Turkey. Yunus uses Office 365 tools on a daily basis in his classroom. “OneNote is one of the most important tools that I use to enhance learning outcomes. With OneNote, my students and I can work collaboratively and simultaneously in the cloud,” he says.
He has also been using Minecraft Education Edition since it was first released in 2016. Since then he has attended many workshops and webinars to use Minecraft effectively in the classroom. “With Classroom Mode, Code Connection and 3D export options it’s one of the best tools to teach my students 21st century skills such as collaboration, communication and creativity,” he says.
Microsoft is committed to partnering with educators like Yunus, Phuti and Oluwakemi among others across the Middle East and Africa on their journey to redefine learning. Core to our mission is assisting educators create immersive and inclusive learning experiences that inspire lifelong learning. We are empowering educators to create environments in and out of the classroom that guide and nurture student passions and enable students to achieve beyond their greatest imaginations – making, designing, inventing, building the future.
To view the closing keynote at E2 just head on to the Microsoft Education Facebook page.
