Microsoft reinforces commitment to empowering educators to improve learning outcomes through technology innovation

Microsoft reinforces commitment to empowering educators to improve learning outcomes through technology innovation
24th ofFebruary 2015 – Beirut, Lebanon:The annual Microsoft in Education Global Forum is being held for the first time in the Middle East.  The audience of over 500 includes innovative educators, school leaders, partners and government officials from nearly 40 countries across the Middle East, Africa and India.  During this event Microsoft will emphasize the importance of leveraging technology to build employable skills for youth preparing them for a stronger future and career. During the keynote, Microsoft announced the availability of Office 365 ProPlus to students, faculty and staff at no charge igniting some of the best cloud solutions available in education today. IMG_5737-300x200.jpg “Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders, and we are committed to helping them to achieve more throughout their lives. But they will not reach their full potential if the public and private sectors don’t work together to create opportunities that make a real impact toward improving youth employability and entrepreneurship, education, digital inclusion in order to stir creativity and innovation,” said Anthony Salcito, Vice President, Worldwide Education, Microsoft. “Our commitment to the youth in the MEA region underpins many of our regional programs, such as YouthSpark, which have the goal of improving access to technology, boosting skills and igniting innovation.” IMG_5775.jpg-300x200.jpg “In order for youth to overcome existing economic challenges and for countries to attain knowledge based economies, the overall mindset in the region needs to be changed to allow technology to be embraced fully as a catalyst for progress. Our economies have no future if the youth are not empowered with the right tools that can address current and future challenges. We appreciate Microsoft’s initiatives for taking steps to facilitate these groundbreaking changes,” said His Excellency Marwan Ahmad Al Sawaleh, Undersecretary, UAE Ministry of Education. Microsoft technology is used in over 98 percent of schools worldwide. The company’s end-to-end education solutions solve educators’ most pressing challenges while improving learning outcomes for students around the world. For the past year, Microsoft has been offering a benefit to schools that allows them to provide Office to their students at no cost. Millions of students have already downloaded the latest version of Office to use both at school and home.On Monday, February 23rd we are making it easier for millions of other eligible students around the world to sign up for Office 365 ProPlus and download free Office from their schools. Eligible students will be able to sign up for Office 365 ProPlus and install Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Access on up to 5 PCs or Macs and mobile devices including Android, iPad and Windows tablets. In addition, they’ll also have access to OneDrive and Office Online.   “We’re committed to making the technology needed for college and career readiness available to as many students as possible – an imperative in today’s market. Bringing the Office 365 ProPlus benefit to MEA helps to close the opportunity gap between those who have access to the skills and training they need to be successful, and those who do not,” added Salcito.   Microsoft is proud to partner with schools to meet the needs of 21st century learners to better prepare them for scholastic and career success.   The Office 365 ProPlus benefit enables students and teachers to install the latest version of Office at no additional cost through qualifying institutions.Starting this week studentscan check their eligibility for free Office from their school at http://office.com/getoffice365. Teachers can do the same at http://office.com/teachers.Microsoft Office 365 ProPlusfor Education is an enterprise-quality communication and collaboration platformavailable in the cloud, currently used by over 110 million students, faculty and staff worldwide. Microsoft Office has also proved valuable to students; a recent IDC study found Microsoft Office proficiency is among the top 20 skills required for high-growth/high-salary occupations.   “We’ve chosen Microsoft for its ability to provide end-to-end solutions that meet all our needs and for helping us to crystallise the UAE’s vision and the objectives of the Ministry of Education for a high quality education system. From innovative devices, best-in-class productivity to collaboration apps and comprehensive management capabilities, Microsoft has shown great commitment to empowering our youth with a balanced set of skills required in today’s very competitive work environment,” said Mohammed Gheyath, Director General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Programme   Microsoft offers resources to train teachers on new technology, including the Microsoft Educator Network that reaches nearly 1 million educators worldwide and includes online professional development, how-to tutorials, and learning activities created by teachers for teachers. The Microsoft IT Academy provides industry-leading technology skills to more than 8.5 million teachers and students in 130 countries to help bridge the technology skills gap. In addition, Microsoft has helped educators around the world successfully incorporate technology into the classroom to enhance the learning experience for their students through programs such as Teaching With Technology.Microsoft has a strategic partnership with the UAE Ministry of Education in which the Microsoft IT Academy (ITA) authorized testing centers for secondary schools have increased from 14 to 25 over the last three years. Microsoft is also working with the Office of Vocational Training and Employment Promotion (OFPPT) in Morocco to offer training to more than 40,000 students at the 100 Microsoft IT Academies across the country. The Microsoft in Education Global Forum will highlight technological strategies and solutions that must be adopted in markets such as the Middle East and Africa that are currently experiencing a youth bulge.Microsoft has partnered with 15 of the top global and regional Education technology partners including Intel, , Promethean, All Prints, Sayegh, McGraw Hill,Pearson, Data Flow International, K12Net Atlas, EduWare, BrainPOP, SteelCase, Oxford University Press, NetSupport and ITWorx Education. The Innovation Arena is hosting those partners to showcase the latest solutions for the 21st century classroom. Following the Forum, Microsoft will participate in GESS 2015, an exhibition of education supplies and solutions to further showcase the latest technological advances in education including the latest offerings from Office for education.

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