UK education bodies partner with Microsoft to improve school ICT

Building on the recently announced partnership with NESTA Futurelab, these partnerships seek to address the varying levels of ICT experience in schools across the country.

The agreements are designed to complement the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) Five Year Strategy for children and learners, along with the Scottish Executive and National Assembly for Wales commitments to ICT in education, as a key element for progress and educational change.

These partnerships aim to support teachers and increase innovation by:
> helping to support and inspire teachers in the use of ICT
> providing skills, Continuing Professional Development, curriculum and a rich community to share ideas
> encouraging the use of technology across all subjects
> developing the creative use of technology in the classroom
> researching and exploring new and exciting ways of using technology to enrich and transform teaching

David Burrows, Director of Education at Microsoft said; "Following major government investment in recent years, schools are broadly well equipped with computers and software. However, we face two major challenges providing teachers with the support they need to use technology in creative and innovative ways and investigating new ways of learning to ensure ICT is embedded across the curriculum."

At the Teacher Training Agency (TTA)
All teachers are expected to be confident using ICT, however recent research by the DfES shows that almost a fifth of teachers in secondary schools feel they need support to develop their technology skills. The TTA and Microsoft partnership will help to do this, improving skills of trainee teachers as well as meeting CPD needs of teachers in the classroom. It will also offer skills support to the wider school workforce. Projects include:

An E-Library will be created to facilitate best practice sharing amongst teacher trainers

A unique online search tool for educationalists will be developed, which will allow teachers to search across knowledge communities

A digital curriculum menu for schools whereby the wider school workforce can select specific development materials to meet the needs of their role, such as training lunch-time supervisory assistants to use mobile devices to log behaviour management data

Ralph Tabberer, from the TTA said; "We are looking forward to a productive working relationship with Microsoft over the next three years and we will work closely together to ensure the investment is put to good effect, delivering real value for our schools, teacher trainers and, ultimately, pupils. We know that we can make a lot more progress in putting new technology at the heart of teacher training, and this kind of support gives us a real opportunity to help raise everyone's game."

Microsoft and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
The Scottish Executive has pledged to increase the number of teachers in schools from 50,963 in 2003 to 53,000 by 2007. To reach this target, it is important that teachers feel they have support in their professional development and in the delivery of qualifications and assessment. The SQA partnership will focus on a series of research projects, professional development practices and curriculum materials to help teachers build on their existing understanding of the role technology can play in the classroom.

For example:
> A teachers network will provide teachers, with access to research and a series of online communities
> A series of support communities of practice will be created to deliver increased teacher support in delivering qualifications and assessment
> A portfolio of learner support materials for all levels of ICT in education will be created, building on existing ICT qualifications

Anton Colella, Chief Executive of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) said; "We're delighted that Microsoft has decided to invest in Scotlands education and qualifications system, and we are very pleased to be involved in directing that investment. The aim of the partnership programme is to deliver real value for schools and support teachers throughout their professional development and we look forward to seeing some great results.

SQA is an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) sponsored by the Scottish Executive Education Department. It is the national body in Scotland responsible for the development, accreditation, assessment and certification of qualifications other than degrees and some professional qualifications.

Microsoft and the National Assembly for Wales (NAW)
In Wales, the National Assembly for Wales (NAW) carries the responsibility for developing and implementing policies for education and training. The NAW and Microsoft partnership will involve a set of activities aimed at enriching the bank of classroom resources and to inspire teachers. In addition curriculum materials will be translated into Welsh.

Jane Davidson, the Welsh Assembly Government's Education and Lifelong Learning Minister, said: I am delighted that Wales is working in partnership with Microsoft in its global initiative to promote access and better use of ICT. Funding provided to Wales will be aimed at promoting innovative uses of ICT in our schools and developing teachers skills, which supports the strategic goals as set out in The Learning Country programme.

The three partnerships announced will build on the Enquiring Minds project, a partnership formed between NESTA Futurelab and Microsoft in February. The programme aims to enable young people to take responsibility for their own learning, and identify the key problems and opportunities through collaborative research and innovative projects. With the confidence to use ICT effectively, teachers will be able to develop the tools and resources through the Enquiring Minds programme to enable children to apply this new approach to their own education.

Annika Small, Managing Director, NESTA Futurelab, said; "We are delighted to join forces with a partner who is already well established within the education sector. This innovative programme will give us the opportunity to explore how digital environments can support a shift from a model of education premised upon the acquisition of pre-determined information to one which views learners as active, as bringing knowledge into the education domain and as having ownership of the learning process."

David Burrows, Director of Education at Microsoft said: "There has been a significant amount of government investment in, and support for, ICT in education which has resulted in an extensive technical infrastructure in schools. Microsoft, in conjunction with its various partners, schools and teachers recognises that new skills and resources are needed for this investment to realise its full potential. The overall aim of these four partnerships is to inspire teachers by giving them the full support in the form of skills and resources to use ICT to support a learner-focused education system."

Todays MoU announcements form part of Microsofts Partners in Learning programme designed to improve access to, and better use of ICT in education. The programme already provides a wealth of resources and tools for teachers and schools via the other elements of the Partners in Learning programme; the Microsoft IT Academy and Innovative Teachers Programme.

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The Microsoft IT Academy and Innovative Teachers Programme initiative forms part of a global programme which provides a total investment of more than $250 million worldwide over five years to deliver ICT skills training to students and teachers and to assist in ICT integration into the curriculum.

Full details of the 2005 Awards entry schedules, supported by the Cabinet Office e-Government Unit, Socitm and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be announced soon. Platinum sponsor is KPMG.