Microsoft in Education Global Forum
Innovation in education is a worldwide challenge.
With a record 210 million people out-of-work worldwide and employers reporting too few workers to hire with the right skills, governments, educational institutions and educators must focus more on education that prepares young people for the jobs market with the right skills rather than emphasizes the number of years they spend in school.
The Microsoft in Education Global Forum recognizes and celebrates the achievements of the world's most innovative school leaders and educators who are leveraging technology to help students realize their potential and graduate with skills they can take into the workforce.
The 2014 Global Forum takes place in Barcelona, Spain, on 11-14 March. This year’s event includes more than 1,100 top education leaders, school leaders, educators, press, government officials, partners and sponsors from more than 80 countries. 
- Collaboration and networking
- Awards, competition and recognition for the most innovative educators and school leaders
- Keynotes and panel discussions with world renowned education experts, innovators, and partners
- Innovative uses of cutting edge technologies for learning
- Inspiring professional development
School leaders and educators attending the event were selected to attend based on a rigorous application process. School leaders and their teams applied to become a Microsoft Mentor School distinguished by their commitment to developing a culture of innovation at their school. Educators applied to become Microsoft Expert Educators and submitted applications with learning activities and resulting student work that exemplified 21st century teaching and learning practices.
Together, the attendees of the Global Forum are leaders in education who believe that a great education is the cornerstone of success for their learners and their economies. We are honored to host them, shine a spotlight on their achievements, and work with them to advance the conversation on how to create great learning environments that lead to even greater student achievement.
The Microsoft Education Team
Thanks to our sponsors
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Microsoft in Education Global Forum The Event that Changed My Life Forever! I have been teaching computer science at Ali Trad Pioneer Middle School in Tunisia for 8 years now. My story with education started at the age of 10 when I was a student in grade 3 and my mother was my teacher. I admired her a lot and discovered how dedicated she was to her job. It was really amazing to experience the way she expressed her feelings and respect towards her students. The inspiration I got from my mother motivated me to become a responsible and caring teacher. And today, I believe...
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Microsoft in Education Global Forum Why MICROSOFT in EDUCATION GLOBAL FORUM? The Microsoft in Education Global Forum is one of the year’s must-attend events for the sector. This year’s Microsoft in Education Global Forum 2014, that took place in March in Barcelona-Spain, has brought together more than 1,100 of the best and the brightest innovators in education – including 150 government education leaders and private sector executives, 250 educators and more than 200 school leaders. As a Lebanese educator, I worked hard to participate in this event since, in my view, it ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum 2015 GLOBAL FORUM As we near the end of 2014,a year well engraved in my mind,heart and soul purely for the immense experiences and skills as well as global friends I met at the Barcelona Forum,it then dawns on me that the next edition which I have reliably learnt will be in Redmond,Washington will not be a walk in the pack.Having cascaded the knowledge and skills to several teachers here in Kenya,the excitement to replace me is more than ever before.This makes me very happy man for deep down in my heart,I have ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum After the Global Forum- Story of a Winning project Five years ago I went to an job interview. At that time I had no idea that the interview would completely change my professional life. I was accepted to the job and my journey in Patamäki school started. For five years I've been really fortunate to work with the most amazing group of Educators. We are not just some teachers working in the same building, we are a really tight community that wants to work and learn together. The real leaps of innovation we've taken in the past two years after our ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum What I Brought Home from the Microsoft Global Forum... I've now been home a month from the Microsoft in Education Global Forum in Barcelona, Spain. I've been at a loss as to how to express what I gained from this adventure. I came home on an educational high and couldn't wait to share what I had experienced with my colleagues and friends. I was asked many times over the past month, "How was it?" "What did you learn?" "Who did you meet?" and I repeated the same general stories over and over, with the same adjectives...wonderful, neat, incredible, ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum Think what we can do next? I am very happy to see smiles over lips for all winners. I felt that I was one among them. Congratulation to all my colleagues in Egypt and all winners around the world. but do we think of something new that different from the previous events ,do we think of something new that our students can do and apply? Do we encourage our students to introduce new ideas that they can achieve individually and in groups. Do they put in mind ,which 21st skills can follow and achieve ?Is it one skill or both ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum A Letter to Future Global Forum Participants Dear Future Global Forum Participant: Life-changing. Mind-expanding. Transforming your classroom practice. These are just a few of the phrases you’ll hear yourself saying during a Microsoft in Education Global Forum. It’s an experience like no other, and nearly impossible to convey to someone who has not attended one of these incredible events. As a Microsoft Expert Educator, I’ve been extremely blessed to attend three global forums and I’ve learned a thing or two about how to maximize your ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum LESSONS LEARNT The Global Forum was a great learning experience for me.It not only exposed the various technological resources available in teaching and learning but also provided an opportunity to interact with a global audience of educators.I shall surely live to remember the events of Barcelona.The down to earth Salcito,the ever industrious Razak,the always ready to give a helping hand Russell and the great team of Microsoft that put up an unrivaled performance,may they continue the same spirit. My team ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum Global Goals Thank you, Microsoft, for the opportunity to meet and connect with international educators who change the world each day. The experiecne of collaborating with colleagues during ther Learn-a-Thon made me a true studetn again and I relished the role. I have becoem a broader and deeper thinker as a result of my journey to and from the Global Forum. Awesome....
Microsoft in Education Global Forum Making Dreams a Reality I find that sometimes I feel like I am the only one who has a vision for 21st century learning in our schools. It's not that people in my district aren't doing a good job, because they are. It's that I have a talent for seeing the possible and that can conflict with reality. At the Microsoft in Education Global Forum, this was not the case. I was so inspired, refreshed, and invigorated to be around 1100 other people who have the same vision as I. I was overwhelmed by the passion and creativity ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum The Best Professional Week of my Life 2014 Microsoft in Education Global Forum Personal Recap To explain the experience of the Microsoft in Education Global Forum is impossible. No words strung together can describe the opportunity to connect with likeminded, passionate, innovative teachers from around the world. All words fall short when trying to describe this life changing experience. The appreciation Microsoft has for educators is evident, admirable and extensive. I do not believe any other company parallels this commitment and ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum The Learn-A-Thon of Team44 and my Global Forum Experience God is really good! After the super typhoon that devastated my place ( ) I faced another challenge 3 days before going to Spain and that was when I had my denied visa. I thought I couldn’t join the forum and I thought I’ll just go home to my home town in Palo, Leyte, instead. But God had given me so much blessings in life, for letting me and my family live of the super typhoon, for giving us a healthy and beautiful baby girl, for qualifying as Expert Educator and for winning the global forum in ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum The Learn-A-Thon of Team44 and my Global Forum Experience God is really good! After the super typhoon that devastated my place ( ) I faced another challenge 3 days before going to Spain and that was when I had my denied visa. I thought I couldn’t join the forum and I thought I’ll just go home to my home town in Palo, Leyte, instead. But God had given me so much blessings in life, for letting me and my family live of the super typhoon, for giving us a healthy and beautiful baby girl, for qualifying as Expert Educator and for winning the global forum in ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum The Learn-A-Thon of Team44 and my Global Forum Experience God is really good! After the super typhoon that devastated my place ( ) I faced another challenge 3 days before going to Spain and that was when I had my denied visa. I thought I couldn’t join the forum and I thought I’ll just go home to my home town in Palo, Leyte, instead. But God had given me so much blessings in life, for letting me and my family live of the super typhoon, for giving us a healthy and beautiful baby girl, for qualifying as Expert Educator and for winning the global forum in ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum The power of the community After 4 Global Forums (feeling lucky :)) what I realized is that the word is still spreading and more and more teachers are being engaged in this outstanding community. Education is the centre of the society and it is where all begins; I truly believe so, and after these Forums I come back home feeling that I'm not alone; that great teachers are everywhere, that it is hope. Finally, I need to highlight once again one of the main reasons of being here for so long: even Microsoft is a technology ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum Worthy Experience;Great Expectations! Microsoft in Education Global Forum 2014 @ Barcelona,a brilliant opportunity I have had in my professional life.The rendezvous for the amazingly enthusiastic and committed educators all around the globe! The projects of the educators expressed the infinite creativity of the expert educators across the cultures .Similarities within the differences were well perceived through each others projects with ICT integrated educational perspective. Getting started with Windows 8 on Surface RT is marvelous;...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum MICROSOFT GLOBAL FORUM: UNA EXPERIENCIA VITAL Escribo estas breves líneas para comentar mi experiencia como Microsoft Expert Educator.... ===========================================================================================e Es una experiencia vital. Durante una semana hemos podido asistir a conferencias donde trabajamos sobre las habilidades del siglo XXI, pudimos conocer cómo la tecnología ha entrado en nuestras aulas, y evidentemente, han llegado para quedarse...pero no debemos de perder de vista nuestro verdadero objetivo, y aquello...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum Fosbury Flop Settling Dust ============= So, a week has now passed since returning home from the Microsoft Expert Educator Global Forum In Barcelona and I have my own thoughts on what was, again, an extraordinary event. To be sharing a platform with so many committed and passionate educators was a privilege that I will continue to value and draw inspiration from. There were so many nations represented over the days and it is remarkable to see what some people are doing on what amounts to very little access ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum Hope to Make some Change for My school I have learnt a lot from the global forum. It is a fruitful and valuable trip for me. I learn many from other educators, judges and the speakers. Their experiences and sharing inspire me very much. In the global forum, I learn that the most important thing is not the technology. The most important is how can we(teacher)can change our mindset, teaching pedagogy and even the curriculum. We must think what our students need but not what we need. Our job or task is to equip our students to face the ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum I can do this! Eu posso fazer isso! Ich kann es! There are 5 classes form 5 countries, 4 continents, with 3 different languages and 5 different social communities. Five teachers have created this project to connect students around the world and explore the different social and economic situations in each country. This project is created around The United Nations Millennium Development. Goal 1 Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger. Target #2: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people. Through ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum The Power of the Global Forum I had the privilege of being a member of the United States delegation at the Microsoft in Education Global Forum in Barcelona, Spain, earlier this month. During this event, I tweeted many examples of the power of the Global Forum. Being able to organize and create project based learning activities with like-minded educators from all parts of our planet is one such example of the power of the Global Forum. On Thursday morning, March 13, I sat down at a table with an educator from Taiwan, ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum HANNINGTON OCHIENG OTIENO BRITISH COUNCIL DIGITAL AMBASSADOR MICROSOFT GLOBAL EXPERT EDUCATOR WESTLANDS SCHOOL NAIROBI,KENYA Without dilly dallying,a big thumbs up for Microsoft for such a great event.Everything worked seamlessly and honestly,the team behind the success story needs to be highly appreciated. Allow me to specifically congratulated Anthony Salicito,Razzan Roberts,Jacquiline Russel for their hands on approach and yet being humble in their act.Trust me,they inspired me a lot and I can assure them that interstellar space is the limit for me as far as technology in education is concerned. To my team mates in ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum So many things I learned! Let me first express my gratitude to Microsoft in Education for delivering such a wonderful and informative event. The diversity of the event helped to keep the days fun, challenging, and rewarding. The Learning-a-Thon was my most rewarding aspect of the Forum, it showed me that despite the obvious challenges we face in the classroom, if we allow collaboration to take place, solutions will naturally evolve. We were able to view such a vast array of amazing learning activities and even more ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum Microsoft in Education Global Forum Educators’ competitions: learn more about the judges! A warm welcome to our 2014 group of 100 international judges! Microsoft Expert Educators will compete for innovative educators awards during the event thanks to their individual and the “Learn-a-thon” group projects. We realize that a lot of hard work, passion and creativity have gone into those projects. As such it is crucial that the projects will be judged in the most professional and fair way. Microsoft has sponsored research on measuring innovative teaching and learning, developed by ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum Microsoft in Education Global Forum Panels March 12th: 3:30 and 6pm On March 12th, we will host six panels at the Global Forum. Check out the panels below, tell us if you have questions for the panelist, and during the event share your thoughts! 3:30pm, room 111/112 3:30pm, room 116/117 3:30pm, room 211/212 5:00pm, room 116/117 5:00pm, room 111/112 5:00pm, room 211/212 ...
Microsoft in Education Global Forum Keynote Speakers Felipe de Borbón y Grecia The Prince of Asturias His Royal Highness The Prince of Asturias, Felipe de Borbón y Grecia, was born in Madrid on 30 January 1968. Crown Prince since his father was proclaimed King on 22 November 1975, His Royal Highness trained at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza, the Military Naval School in Marín, and at the General Air Force Academy in San Javier. His current ranks include Army (Infantry) Lieutenant-Colonel, Navy Commander, and Air Force Wing Commander. ...
