Volume 1 Issue 3, January 2008

There is a noticeable trend towards a pedagogy of student-centered learning (SCL) as an innovative approach to teaching. SCL is an approach where teachers' key focus is students, and they create opportunities for students to actively participate and create their own learning. There are a few misunderstandings about SCL. Many teachers believe that as long as students are working on individual tasks, such as completing worksheets, it would be considered as SCL. This cannot be considered SCL. Instead, for SCL, students work as a group, collaborating, researching, analyzing, summarizing, and presenting. Additionally, in SCL, tasks given to students are authentic and engaging and relevant to their lives, though it is acknowledged not all topics and subjects can be best delivered through this approach. SCL offers opportunities for students to develop 21st century learning skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and reflective thinking. Technology has helped to advance this pedagogy as students continue to rely on the Internet as one of their resources and use various information and communication technology (ICT) tools for their collaborative work.

What are some approaches of SCL? One common approach is the use of project-based learning for students. Microsoft's Partners in Learning (PiL) has a training module on ICT integration that adopts project work as a way of integrating technology into the curriculum. I observed one good example of this when I visited a middle school in Hanoi, Vietnam. The teacher had attended one of the PiL trainings and she was able to adopt the strategy for her ninth grade class. She was teaching English as a Second Language, and students were required to do a term project of their choice. The students were asked to research and collaborate with their friends to prepare and deliver a presentation to the class. The teacher acted as a facilitator and a guide to the students' learning.

During the presentations, all students were very engaged and there was a lively discussion between the presenters and the audience. The presentations were of high quality, including video clips, pictures, animation and audio clips and narration. When interviewed, the students mentioned that they had acquired their ICT skills on either their own or through peers, rather than from their teacher.

Project-based learning is also one of the main strategies adopted by a pilot school in the Microsoft Innovative Schools Program (http://www.microsoft.com/education/innovativeschools.mspx). The school decided that project-based learning would be their primary pedagogical strategy. To accommodate this decision, they had to redesign parts of the school curriculum, look at alternative assessment modes, and analyze the organizational and technology infrastructure to support the pedagogy.

Similarly, one school in the Singapore's Future School's project (http://www.moe.gov.sg/futureschools/future_schs.htm) adopted a problem-based learning pedagogy for the school (http://schools.moe.edu.sg/jurongsec/). They are interested in creating a student centered learning environment based on authentic problem-based learning. Problem-based learning is another popular approach of SCL where students learn content and processes by solving problems.

There are many opportunities for teachers to explore SCL. They can find out more by surfing the Web for innovative strategies which other educators have found to be successful.

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Filipino teacher interacts with peers and leaders to address educational needs through technology

Warren Ambat, an English teacher from Baguio City, was part of the Philippine delegation to the 2007 Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum (ITF) and School of the Future (SOF) World Summit, events hosted by Microsoft focusing on the future of education and how technology can address challenges being faced by educators around the world.

"The School of the Future World Summit taught me so much. In three days, I gained insights which would have taken me weeks to learn from other seminars. To learn firsthand from world-class resource speakers and innovative teachers from different parts of the world is a great privilege," said Ambat.

Michelle Casio, Academic Programs Manager, Microsoft Philippines, said, "With Partners in Learning, we are following through on our commitment to enable Filipinos to achieve their full potential. With access to the right tools, teachers are enhancing the learning experience for students."

Ambat, one of the winners of the local Innovative Teachers Leadership Awards 2006, was also recognized as the "Innovative Teacher of the Year" for the Philippines during the Microsoft Regional Innovative Teachers Conference.

"Great teaching ideas are born everyday, but without a venue for collaboration, others are unable to use these ideas in their communities. Innovative ideas may still be improved when others give suggestions. This happened in the ITF, when we critiqued each others' projects," said Ambat.

These forums complement another PiL program, the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Network, which helps create global classrooms via a virtual community of over 500,000 teachers from around the world. From July to December 2007, 1,929 Filipino educators have joined this network, allowing them to access and adopt unique learning programs developed and implemented in other countries.

"By providing teachers like me opportunities to collaborate with other educators from different countries, Microsoft PiL has enabled me to better understand how learning is best achieved by students," said Ambat. "By recognizing my efforts in integrating ICT in the classroom, PiL has empowered me to be an educator not only to my students but also to my colleagues."

Ambat admits that teachers from more developed countries have the advantage when it comes to resources. He points out, however, that it is not technology itself that transforms education, but the creative and innovative ideas that teachers devise, "In this category, we rival even the developed countries," he said.

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Girls in Gaming

The male-dominated world of video and computer games markets generate about $20 billion U.S. dollars per year. Small numbers of female gamers "shoot 'em up" with the best of them, but women working in the industry are few in number.

Microsoft Canada supports girls in the Girls Gaming Project, created by Partners in Learning Manitoba. "For a year, over 25 girls have been meeting a couple of Saturdays a month to learn about the game industry and to create their own games," explains Dr. Reyn Redekopp, the project's educational leader in Winnipeg. "One of our aims is to be a model project to inspire others to work with us to get more females into the industry as game developers. To have women create games for girls and other women should reduce the common portrayal of females in games as victims, damsels, or sexual objects."

The girls meet two Saturdays most months during the school year as school-based production teams. Teams from each of the five participating schools reflect the needed skills to develop a game - writers, illustrators, programmers, managers. All of the girls experience working in each of the areas, but are expected to take the lead in their strongest skill set. Teachers, as equally inexperienced as the girls in game development, take classes with the girls.

Over 60 percent of the instructors and facilitators are female, including Margaret Meijers, from Hobart, Australia, one of the winners of a Microsoft World Wide Innovative Teachers Award. She expressed her enthusiasm for the program, saying, "the motivation of both the girls and teachers, who had been coming together in their own time on Saturdays for several months to spend the day working and learning something very challenging together. If only we could capture some of the essence of this project in regular classrooms, we would see greater passion and enthusiasm for learning from our students."

Most recently, many of the girls have been involved with a day-long workshop on the use of Microsoft's XNA Game Express. Other tools the girls learn in detail are GameMaker and Flash. The girls have been invited to debut their games at the Flash in the Can Conference, North America's largest conference devoted to Flash.

"This project reflects two specific areas important to Microsoft Canada and Microsoft, in general," according to Jacinthe Robichaud, Director, Partners in Learning, Microsoft Canada. "Obviously, game development is one of them. Also, Microsoft's initiatives to get more females into the information technology sector have been high profile for a long time."

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Pat McMahon, who teaches Technology-Robotics at Diamond Valley College in Melbourne, Australia, wrote the following article for his school's newsletter.

ACEL Conference, Sydney, October 2007

It was a great experience which I will never forget, to be invited to the ACEL (Australian Council for Education Leaders) Conference in Sydney. To be presented a State and Territory Microsoft Innovative Teacher Award for 2007 in front of an audience of 1500 was a great honour. The conference was international with most of the keynote speakers from overseas talking about education trends around the world. The overall message that I gained from a variety of speakers and presenters was that although Literacy and Numeracy and Standards were necessary, a more rounded global education about our planet from teachers and mentors, using a variety of technologies, for the future generation was more important.

I met ten Microsoft Award teachers with expertise in areas as diverse as claymation, video conferencing sport, primary chemistry, online communities and PDA's.

I felt proud of all our programs at Diamond Valley College as they rate up there with some of the best. Many features and ideas (like our Web site with online newsletters, links and permission forms) will be picked up by other states. Our robots were a great success and created a lot of interest, so I donated one of the six-legged robots, which is now apparently entertaining students in Singapore.

Thanks to Malcolm Hackett, our principal, Dr. Howard Nicholas and Dr. Wan Ng from Latrobe University for their nomination as this enabled me to gain this award and to travel this fantastic journey.

I am looking forward to meeting and sharing with over 200 award winning teachers from many countries in the Asia-Pacific area, in Hanoi, Vietnam in April 2008. Each winner will be allowed a seven minute verbal presentation and must produce a two metre x one metre poster. The poster display is to create a level playing field with the language barriers and also as some countries don't have electricity and access to computer technologies.

To learn more about Diamond Valley and its educational programs or to contact Pat please visit: http://www.dvallcoll.vic.edu.au/index.php?section=about

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Math teacher finds solution to education challenge: Taps Microsoft technology to improve method and enhance students' learning

For Lorna L. Tumampil, an Advanced Algebra and Trigonometry teacher from Iligan City East High School - Sta. Filomena, in the Philippines, an ordinary day does not end with the final ring of the school bell.

She travels for almost an hour with a CPU in tow, taking two jeepney rides and walking a kilometer from the highway to reach the Iligan City National School of Fisheries. Here, she shares her experiences and what she haas learned as a finalist in Microsoft Philippines' first Innovative Teachers Leadership Awards (ITLA) 2004, an initiative under Partners in Learning (PiL) to honor Filipino educators, and conducts training for her fellow teachers to help them integrate technology in their lessons. Tumampil had an accident which caused the amputation of her right arm years ago, but she does not consider her disability as a hindrance to carrying out these tasks.

Located at the heart of Barangay Sta. Filomena, Iligan City East High School serves as a second home to 1,700 students. Tumampil began to apply technology in her teaching as she realized its potential to boost the skills of her students. She believes that teachers should learn how to be resourceful to get the best out of students. "With technology, the teaching process becomes easier," she said. "Once technology was integrated into my lesson, I noticed that the students wanted to participate and be more involved," she said.

Along with her fellow ITLA finalists and winners, Tumampil holds training sessions in Mindanao, where she gives input on how her co-educators can integrate technology in their classes, from surfing the World Wide Web to creating materials for classes.

"Being part of the Microsoft Partners in Learning community has changed my outlook as a teacher. I was able to discover my potential and at the same time, my students'. Before PiL I only looked at their ability to solve word problems. Now, I know that teaching mathematics is far beyond solving for X."

"Lorna is an inspiration to everyone," said Michelle Casio, Academic Programs Manager, Microsoft Philippines. "Her story shows us that the future of Philippine education is bright with individuals who are always on the lookout for ways to make teaching effective, so that Filipino students have the chance to compete with the best around the world."

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Events

2008 Asia Pacific Innovative Teachers Forum

Microsoft's fourth annual Innovative Teachers forum will be held April 8-10, 2008 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The event celebrates the accomplishments of more than one hundred truly innovative teachers from approximately twenty five countries from across the Asia Pacific region and beyond. How will participants celebrate? Of course, there will be dinners and awards ceremonies. Another key feature of the celebration is the opportunity for educators to share their innovative classroom practices with educators from around the world. Watch for more news about this event in the June issue of Perspectives.

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Resources

Microsoft Live@edu -

Need email accounts for your students and faculty? Want dependable support and management? Want that support and management provided by a reliable partner? You can have this at no cost if you are a qualified university. Learn more about how partnering with Microsoft brings you the resources you need and adds value to your efforts to utilize ICT. For more information about Microsoft Live@edu visit: http://get.liveatedu.com/Education/Connect/.

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Microsoft OneNote-a personal learning tool

Imagine a three ring binder for the digital age. It is OneNote. This tool draws on everything familiar to educators and students. There are "sections," just like the sections in binders, and, like our notebooks, there are "pages" in each "section." What goes on these pages and how learners organize that material is what makes OneNote a truly powerful learning resource.

Students can use OneNote to take traditional notes on classroom activities, projects, and readings. OneNote makes it easy to create or add audio and video to these notes, or use the drawing tools to create mind maps or other graphic resources. As Professor Ole Lauridsen, Director of the Learning Styles Laboratory at Aarhus University's School of Business, notes, deciding what kind of resources to use to capture and process information, and retain and use this information helps learners take ownership of their learning, no matter what their learning style. Additionally, these digital three ring binders make it easier for students to retain this information, collaborate with others, and demonstrate what they have learned.

Best of all, you may already have OneNote. OneNote is integrated into Office Enterprise 2007, Office Home and Student 2007, and the Student Office Innovation Suite 2007 that is available through the Microsoft Unlimited Potential program. You can find out more about OneNote at http://www.microsoft.com/education.

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The Teacher's Guide to Intellectual Property Rights Education

Welcome to the World of Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property (IP) is abstract. It's difficult for individuals to connect it to their everyday activities, and therefore it's pretty easy to ignore. Yet, IP and the rights that protect it are in fact real-with tangible consequences felt deeply by the myriad of people who created it and who are part of the value chain it provides.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are a cornerstone of creative freedom. It's crucial that we understand and respect them at a personal level meaningful to our everyday lives-particularly in a world of digitally delivered content that is easier to access than ever before, and where that access is often misinterpreted as a license to use. Students interact with music, movies, software, and other digital content every day. Are they aware that these works are protected, and do they understand how these issues are relevant to them?

The Curriculum

The IPR Education Curriculum program was developed to create awareness of intellectual property rights, to foster a better understanding of the rights connected with creative content, and ultimately, to instill in students a personal respect for IPR in a way that changes their behaviors and perceptions about digitally delivered content.

This program, sponsored by Microsoft, offers a comprehensive set of cross-curricular classroom activities designed for grades 8-10 (but easily adaptable for use in grades 6-12) and organized into thematic units. The units provide a variety of ways to engage students in this learning experience and span the following subject areas: Civics, Computer Science, Debate, Economics, Fine Arts, Government, Journalism, Language Arts, Technology, and Video Production.

Read more about the curriculum units and register to download them for free. (You can also find this information at: http://www.ipreducation.com)

Sign up for the field test

We're seeking educators of 8th- to 10th-grade students to participate in a Field Test of this brand-new curriculum from mid-January through March of 2008.

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Announcements

Ministry of Education Malaysia and Microsoft Launch Generasi-M

In December 2007, the Ministry of Education and Microsoft Malaysia announced their joint collaboration to deploy 'Generasi M', a student-focused program designed to address the needs of Malaysian students and provide a platform for them to play a larger role in enhancing the learning environment in schools. The Generasi M program is part of the Partners in Learning initiative signed between both parties since 2004.

Generasi M stands for a number of aspirations in Bahasa Malaysia: mudah (easy), maju (progressive), maklumat (information), mudah alih (mobile), maya (virtual), maklum balas (interactive), multimedia (multimedia) and modular (modular).

Officiating the launch ceremony at Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Megah today, Deputy Minister of Education, Dato' Hon Choon Kim, said the Generasi M initiative complements the education ministry's mission to develop an education system of world-class quality which will realize the full potential of the individual and fulfill the aspirations of the Malaysian nation.

"The core challenge posed to educators the world over, and certainly also to the thousands of educators in Malaysia, is to continue producing the necessary human capital that will enable our nation to compete at a global level. To achieve this, traditional teaching and learning methods need to be supplemented, and to a large degree supported by an ICT framework that will enable us to experience the classroom of tomorrow, today. We are deeply encouraged by the continued commitment of Microsoft to help us improve teaching and learning outcomes in Malaysia, which is evident in the latest addition of the Generasi M program," Dato' Hon stated.

The core programs under Generasi M are:

Speaking on behalf of Microsoft Corp, Orlando Ayala, Senior Vice President, Unlimited Potential Group, said that Microsoft strongly advocates the need for collaboration between the private sector and education agencies in engagements with educators all over the world. "Our flagship education initiative called Partners in Learning (PiL) supports the dual commitment by Microsoft to advance the quality of education and provide alternative channels for economic progress. By building partnerships with governments and schools around the globe, PiL works to integrate technology into daily teaching, learning, and research. To date, nearly 3.5 million educators in more than 100 countries have been trained through the PiL curriculum, and more than 80 million students have been reached worldwide," he said.

In Malaysia, initiatives under the PiL program have reached more than 150,000 teachers and 5 million students in recent years. Over the last five years, up to RM10 million has been invested to help improve teaching and learning outcomes in Malaysia, through initiatives such as the Student ICT Helpdesk Program, Project-Based Learning, and Peer Coaching programs, among others.

"We strongly believe Generasi M will provide a fresh approach to meeting the challenges of education today, through enhancing communication and collaboration amongst student, and driving deeper dialogue between students and educators," Ayala added.

For further details, please contact Mahasrin Abd Ghani (mahasag@microsoft.com) or Shirley Leong (shirleyj@microsoft.com).

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