Indian educators shine at Microsoft Education Exchange, Paris

• 2019-20 Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert self-nominations open on till July 15

Microsoft hosted its fifth annual Education Exchange (E²) conference in Paris last week with educators and school leaders from India as well as from around the world to exchange ideas to develop innovative experiences in classrooms. School leaders and educators also worked together to explore emerging trends in education that support inclusive classrooms, promote collaboration, and advance modern teaching and learning techniques. Over the course of three days from April 2 to 4, 300 Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Experts from 109 countries were recognized and celebrated for their achievements for combining content, pedagogy and technology in exemplary ways to prepare students for success in the digital age.

Largest delegation to represent India

This year, 10 Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Experts along with 6 school leaders and 3 MIE Fellows from India, represented the country at the event.  The educators were selected for the unique, impactful projects they had created using technology to provide a learning environment which is interactive, interesting and beneficial for students. The event saw these educators showcasing their projects on a wide range of topics ranging across cybersecurity, inclusion, collaboration and student voice in the Global Educator Challenge.

“This is the biggest group of MIEs from India since we initiated the program in India. We believe in the power of the educator, and the impact educators can have on students and thereby society. Our mission at Microsoft is to equip and empower educators to shape and assure the success of every student.  By leveraging the power of technology, these passionate teachers are adopting new approaches to teaching and learning, and reinforcing critical 21st century skills in today’s youth in India,” said Manish Prakash, Country Manager – Public Sector, Healthcare and Education, Microsoft India.

Recognition for Indian educators

Six of the Indian educators and fellows were also part of winning teams in the E2 group challenges in Paris. They were part of international teams of 5-6 educators each and were assigned a series of tasks in various categories and create ideas for new teaching methods.  Here is the list of winning Indian educators and fellows along with their achievements :

 “Every educator is a changemaker, making an imprint on the lives of the students who will be the leaders, innovators and creators of the next generation,” said Anthony Salcito, Vice President of Microsoft Education. “Some truly go above and beyond, pushing into unknown territory to bring new technology and techniques into their classroom to inspire and engage their students and prepare them with the skills they’ll need to thrive in the jobs of the future. It is a joy to host this event each year to celebrate educators who are changing education and changing lives.”

Applications open for MIE Experts class of 2019-20

For educators interested in becoming MIE Experts, self-nominations will be open from April 15 to  July 15, 2019.  The 2019-2020 class of MIE Experts will be announced August 21, 2019. Selected MIE Experts will get access to professional and career development opportunities and certifications from Microsoft. The Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Expert program is an exclusive program created to recognize global educator visionaries who are using technology to pave the way for their peers in the effective use of technology for better learning and student outcomes. The program has a community of 660 educators from India including MIE Experts that help Microsoft to lead innovation in education. They advocate and share their thoughts on effective use of technology in education with peers and policy makers. They provide insight for Microsoft on new products and tools for education, and exchange best practices as they work together to promote innovation in teaching and learning.

Project details of Indian Educators:

• Charu Chhabra, Vice Principal of Kamla Nehru Public School prepared a lesson based on Augmented Reality using Merge Cube and other tools to create a hologram for students, thereby enabling fun and interactive learning experience for students.
• Pappu Deepti from M.L.Khanna DAV Public School in Dwarka designed a multi-level Minecraft game to help students understand the importance of cybersecurity and also used Flipgrid especially for students suffering from dyslexia to participate in cyber safety webinar.
• Archana Awasthi from Delhi Public School in Ghaziabad used Skype and other Microsoft tools to educate students about water pollution by getting them to research and share results on the water pollution in Hindon river.
• Preeti Singhal from DPS International School in Gurgaon worked with students helping them explore the human impact on the environment and how to protect it.
• Kovleen Middha from Sat Paul Mittal School in Ludhiana applied tools including Minecraft in which the major monuments of Paris were used to educate students about speed, velocity and area as well OneNote to make them aware of culture in Paris.
• Narasimha Murthy H. K. from Daffodils English School, Bangalore, a teacher with over 22 years of experience helped students understand about how any information should be shared on social media and think critically about the digital footprint, as well enabling them to utilize social media to make the most of it.
• Chandni Agarwal, National ICT Award Winner 2016 from Maharaja Agrasen Model School in Delhi through her project taught students about the importance of inclusiveness and helped students develop a sense of empathy.
• Bhavi Ahuja from Blue Bells International School in Delhi worked with students using varied methods including quiz, presentations, Minecraft and Flipgrid among other Microsoft tools to educate them on food preservation.
• Dhilip from GHSS, Sathiyamangalam in Tamil Nadu made use of tools such as Skype and Kaizala to connect around 1245 teachers across the state and help them share and exchange innovative practices and teaching methods to use in classroom teaching.
• Ranjitsinh Disale from Zilla Parishad School in Maharashtra worked on a project to enable students and teachers to interact on the topic of world peace.
• Vineeta Garg from SRDAV Public School in Delhi utilizes technologies such as AR/VR/MR to help create an immersive learning experience for her students. She uses Paint 3D, Remix 3D and Mixed Reality Viewer to deep dive into the subjects and visualize things for better memory retention of students.
• Arti Chopra from Amity International School in Gurgaon is using innovative approaches to empower teachers to be prepared for the schools of the future. She is helping teachers develop communication and collaboration skills and getting them acquainted with tools such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Information Literacy.

Read more about E² 2019 here : E2 2019 wrap up from Paris with love

For more information on Microsoft in Education visit :  https://education.microsoft.com.