Saudi Gazette

ABU DHABI — Through digitally transforming classrooms, Microsoft is aiming to empower students and teachers in several schools globally.

During the Bett Middle East 2018 Summit that was held in Abu Dhabi and started on April, 23, Vice President of Worldwide Education at Microsoft, Anthony Salcito, stressed on the importance of changing the ways of teaching and the learning moderns. He added that in the current period the tools and way of learning has been transformed as well as the workforce.

In his presentation, he talked about the report of Mckinsey “Class of 2030” that showcased that students nowadays have the desire to enhance and develop their own skills.

The report has included around 2000 students, 2000 teachers and around 70 leaders. One of the report results presented that kids that started school now who will be taught and gain social skills, would be prepared to be better for the post-Fourth Industrial Revolution workplace. The number of jobs because of the transformation in the education through technology would be increased for students who will graduate in 2030.

In his speech during the summit, he also stressed on the importance of the role of cutting-edge technologies like, the artificial intelligence and mixed reality. He explained how these new technologies contribute to transforming teaching and learning in increasingly innovative ways.

During the summit, it was mentioned that Microsoft project has been applied in some of the Saudi schools. In the summit, some students from one of Dubai schools have talked about their experience with Microsoft technologies in the classrooms including, Microsoft 365 Education, which brings together Office 365, Windows 10, Enterprise Mobility, Security and Minecraft. They explained that these programs helped them to do more research, educate themselves more, and save time since they can access their accounts from any computer anywhere. The best part for those students as they mentioned was not carrying books from and to school.