Posts on “ Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum ”

Joli Barker, 2nd Grade Educator at Earl H. Slaughter Elementary McKinney ISD, McKinney, Texas www.tinyurl.com/xbrox360   Ms. Barker has been teaching for 15 years and has been recognized as a 2011 and 2012 Microsoft Partners in Learning US Forum winner and a 2012 Global Forum Winner.  She is a finalist as the TCEA 2013 Classroom Teacher of the Year and nominated for the Kay L. Bitter Award at ISTE 2012 and 2013.  She is a Discovery Education Network (DEN) Star Educator and on the DEN Texas Leadership Council and Innovation Team, a GlogsterEDU Ambassador and Reseller (code 5E9515), an ePals Ambassador, and a Smithsonian Classroom Teacher.  And of course she is an avid BrainPOP user!   Times are changing.  It is no longer enough to know content.  The days of “reading, writing, and ‘rithmatic” for the sake of passing a test are gone.  As educators, it is now our obligation to guide students through problem solving situations that require content knowledge and building, collaboration, and resourcefulness in order to successfully find a solution…if there is a solution at all.  As a second grade teacher, I found this transition of pedagogy easier in math and science than I did for language arts.  Seven… Read the Rest»

Sponsored by BrainPOP, the Partners in Learning 2012 Global Forum is an annual program that attracts teachers from around the world seeking innovative and effective uses of technology in K-12 classrooms. This year, there were over 250,000 applicants who completed a rigorous application process with hopes of being one of the 115 teachers who attended the Global Forum in Prague from November 27 – December 1.  Our very own Dr. Kari Stubbs, Vice President of Learning & Innovation, traveled to Prague to represent BrainPOP and presented, Are You Game? Leveraging Online Games for Classroom Engagement. At the event, five teachers from Florida, Michigan and Washington state were among 21 educators who were awarded global recognition for their innovative work in the classroom. These educators, part of Team USA mentioned here last week, took home prizes in three categories- Cutting Edge Use of Technology, Collaboration, and Educator’s Choice.  To see a list of all winners, please take a moment to register for the free Partners in Learning Network. BrainPOP was popular among the attendees and was included in multiple projects that were submitted for the competition.  Joli Barker (@Joli_Barker), 2nd Grade Classroom Educator, Slaughter Elementary, McKinney ISD, reflected on her use… Read the Rest»

BrainPOP is proud to be a sponsor at the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum being held this week, November 28 – December 1 in Prague, Czech Republic.  Dr. Kari Stubbs, Vice President of Learning and Innovation at BrainPOP, will be on hand to speak to participants about Leveraging Online Games for Classroom Engagement. The Global Forum – with the theme, “Your ideas matter” – will bring together more than 500 of the most innovative teachers, school leaders, education leaders, and government officials from 75 countries. Microsoft Partners in Learning is a $500 million global initiative aimed at supporting schools and educators’ use of technology to help every student receive an excellent education and gain the skills they need on work and life. With governments, academic institutions and NGOs, Partners in Learning has invested in a comprehensive research program, the creation of a vibrant community of education stakeholders, and specific educator and schools programs to improve teaching and learning and optimize the use of technology within pedagogy. Thus far the program has trained more that 10 million educators and reached more than 207 million students in 139 countries. Follow the winners and action at #PilGF on Twitter and on Facebook… Read the Rest»

Roosevelt Middle School educator Todd LaVogue recently received the first-place Educators Choice Award for his project “What’s Up Egypt?” during Microsoft’s Partners in Learning U.S. Forum. LaVogue is one of 16 U.S. educators who will attend the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum in Prague, Czech Republic, in November.  My name is Todd LaVogue. For the past three years I taught sixth and eighth grade history at Roosevelt Middle School in West Palm Beach, Florida. I enter each unit of study with the idea of taking something the students know and enjoy and combining it with the material mandated by the state that should be taught during the unit. My students, in turn, create television shows, plays, public service announcements and music videos within our unit of study. In one of our more recent projects, my students researched and created an ancient Egypt Today show-style news program with news, weather, sports, cooking, lifestyle, historical and music segments. For example, the weather segment discussed the annual flooding of the Nile and how that was essential to life in ancient Egypt through the depositing of silt on the banks, fertilizing crops. We accomplished this by infusing technology into the curriculum. Using a… Read the Rest»

Let’s hear it for our very own Kari Stubbs, who was recognized as one of Daily Edventures’ global heroes in education!  Daily Edventures is an education-focused blog that has a central goal for 2012: to identify 365 inspiring advocates for education.  Kari was interviewed by the site’s editor, Anthony Salcito, who is also vice president of education for Microsoft Corp.’s Worldwide Public Sector organization.  In her interview, Kari reflects on her experiences as a classroom teacher and shares her expertise on game-based learning and its growing popularity in schools.  She explains the driving force behind our GameUp feature  while sharing the many resources we have to support it. Want to hear more from Kari about educational gaming?  Check out her keynote address from the 2011 Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum.  With her wealth of knowledge on education and game-based learning, it’s easy to see why Kari has been recognized as a global ed hero.  She sure is one of ours!