There are probably many places a teacher would rather be – unpaid – during the summer break than one with the word "campus" in its name. But according to geography teacher Graeme Eyre, his two days at Microsoft’s Reading site has recharged his “tech batteries ready for the new year”.
He was one of 22 educators taking part in Microsoft’s second Innovative Teachers’ Summer Camp to share good practice and work together, and judging by the resulting blogs, like David Rogers' and The Geeky ICT Teacher, the free technology CPD training and road testing of the company’s free programs for education and free Office add-ins were well received.
“One the key things that I got out of the day was the number of free add-ons and standalone programmes created by Microsoft for educators,” says Graeme Eye. “This was really refreshing as mentally I always categorise Microsoft as boring nuts and bolts.” (There is a full list of the free Microsoft programs including AutoCollage – screenshot above – can be seen on on Graham's blog.)
According to Dan Roberts, assistant head at Cornwall’s Saltash.net Community school, who runs the popular Chickenman blog, it was no holiday camp. The teachers taking part had to work hard to produce a range of “innovids” – four-minute video tutorials of how teachers can use Microsoft technologies in the classroom to engage their learners: “Admittedly some of us worked much harder than others but some of us (yes I am talking about myself) found it a little hard to go from living in a feral chicken-like state for the last few weeks to actually having to think.” (The innovids will be available on the Innovative Teachers' YouTube channel.)
But perhaps the most thought provoking post came from geography curriculum leader David Rogers who had also attended the UK’s inaugural Google Teacher Academy earlier in the summer. He says he is driven by one question: “How can this improve learning?” “At Microsoft we were there to work, create and explore the tools available," he says. "At Google I felt we were there to absorb information and then go out and spread the word. Both events were inspirational. Both events provided a wealth of simple, effective and cool ways in which to transform learning.”
“I found that I got more out of the Microsoft experience as we were part of the culture of the organisation for two days. We were able to wander the building, use breakout and 60-minute rooms, sofas, grab a drink at will. The result was lots of conversations along the lines of ‘Why are you doing it that way?’ or ‘Have you seen this?’ Being able to have unstructured time that was hands-on allowed us to really explore the products.”
Kristen Weatherby, Partners in Learning Manager for Microsoft, commented: “We are incredibly grateful to all the teachers who attended this event. It is important to address the way in which students are consuming information and engaging with each other and their teachers. The recent budget cuts have caused some trepidation for headteachers but Microsoft is proud to offer advice and free technology that will continue children’s active participation and motivation in the classroom. We’ve entered a new school term and hopefully an exciting year ahead for both students and teachers.”
More information
Microsoft UK Schools Blog
Microsoft Teachers Blog (by Stuart Ball)
Microsoft Innovative Teachers Blog
Microsoft's UK Partners In Learning YouTube Channel
Graham Eyre's Blog
David Rogers' Blog
The Geeky ICT Teacher Blog
Dan Roberts' Chickenman Blog
Microsoft's Innovative Teachers programme is free to join at the UK Partners in Learning Network page.
Agent4change.net will be covering proceedings at Microsoft's Worldwide Innovative Education Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, in October.
