By Raquel Durá, Public Relations Manager, Microsoft
Catalonia incorporates inside schools more than 20,000 Windows 8 tablets and netbooks, in order to make students the leads of their educational evolution
Barcelona will become the world capital of education from 11 to 14 March during the Microsoft in Global Education Forum 2014 celebration
Madrid, 2014 – Microsoft continues its compromise to build quality education, where innovation through technology is key. The company’s philosophy? The students of today are the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, and technology is their enabler. As a result, Microsoft collaborates with the educational environment at all levels. from primary to University education, bringing innovation to classrooms
A clear example is Catalonia, where more than 20,000 students accelerate their learning process with the help of Microsoft Windows 8 netbooks and tablets. By having direct contact with tools such as Office 365, the professionals of the future are already working with the technology present in the majority of companies and organizations.
In addition, Catalan students also benefit from initiatives like DreamSpark, aimed to provide free access to the latest tools to University students, or the Microsoft Student Partner program, enabling young technology enthusiasts to gather and enjoy by learning and working together. Not only within their own group, but also with other students scattered throughout Spain
The Pia Schools, innovation in classrooms with Surface
The Pia schools have in Catalonia a total of 21 centers and more than 1,900 students. Ranging high school and middle deegres to upper physical education. One of them, Pia Sarriá-Calasanc responds to educational challenges with a robust bet on innovation, as shown by the addition of 300 Microsoft Surface tablets. “We have always chosen to use technology in the service of learning, which has led us to innovate, especially in the teaching process”, said Josep Maria Arbusi, Manager of the school.
True to this philosophy, three years ago the Centre introduced tablets in elementary education, advocating that these devices would help students become the lead of their own learning process. “Interactive digital whiteboards (PDIs) have allowed us to closer interact with students, making the content easier to grasp”, said Josep Maria Arbusi. However he recognizes they needed to go one step further.
The Manager of the Sarrià-Calasanc Pia school was convinced of Microsoft Surface’s potential, which would help students multitask. They were able to investigate, observe, record, write, share, discuss and collaborate with peers from the same device, whenever they needed to.
Josep Maria Arbusi explains why they chose Surface over other products “Surface exceeded our expectations as they were more affordable, allowing us to have more devices per students with the same budget”. Another determining factor when choosing Surface was its performance “They let us work in the classroom very comfortably, thanks to its USB ports, keyboard, connection to the PDIs and compatibility with other systems, etc.”.
Barcelona, world capital of education
The innovation of Catalonia in the field of education has made it a reference point for public administration worldwide. Furthermore, from 11-14 March Barcelona will host one of the most important events in the world for the teaching community: the Microsoft in Global Education Forum 2014, which will converge the most innovative teachers and educational experts. More than 1,000 educators and specialists from 80 countries will share their experiences on the integration of pedagogy and technology to prepare students for life in the 21st century.
This global initiative of Microsoft demonstrates the commitment the company has always maintained in the field of education. Through this forum, Microsoft has already trained more than 12 million teachers around the world, investing $ 750 million in the past ten years.
About Microsoft Ibérica
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
