At Microsoft, we have an unwavering commitment to education. It’s a phrase you’ve heard me say more than once, and it’s true not just in theory, but also in practice. In fact, during the last year alone, we’ve recommitted to our work with educators by extending our investment in Partners in Learning by $250 million; we’ve launched Youthspark to bring opportunities to 300 million youth worldwide; and we’ve offered Office 365 for free to educational institutions worldwide.

Today, I am pleased to announce one more great opportunity exclusively for education institutions: The availability of Surface RT devices at a reduced price for a limited time.

Now through August 31, 2013, K–12 and Higher Education institutions can get:

• Surface RT (32 GB) for $199 USD (Estimated Retail Price is $499 USD)
• Surface RT (32 GB) Touch Keyboard Cover for $249 USD (Estimated Retail Price is $599)
• Surface RT (32 GB) Type Keyboard Cover for $289 USD (Estimated Retail Price is $629)

Surface RT provides students and educators with access to powerful tools like Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 RT – Microsoft Office is the most-used productivity software in schools and businesses (1 billion people using it today) and Windows is used by 95 percent of employers. It also opens the door to thousands — more than 20,000, to be precise — of education related apps in the Windows Store, from big names like Khan Academy, Kno, Chegg, and major textbook publishers such as HMH and Pearson.

Personally, I love that Surface RT offers the richness of a mouse and keyboard, USB and HD video-out to support printing and presentations, a dazzling 10.6” ClearType HD display for textbooks and education videos, all-day battery life, multitasking to show two apps side-by-side, and multi-user support. Quite simply, this is a great choice for schools and universities.

If you’re asking why now is the right time to take such an ambitious step into the education market, the answer is simple: It’s because Microsoft believes every student and teacher deserves a fair opportunity to reach his or her full potential, and this means ensuring our education customers have access to affordable and high quality tablets with laptop functionality ready for education.

What we’re announcing today is just one offer.  Windows devices come in a variety of shapes, sizes, features and price points to serve all our education customer needs.  We continue to work with OEMs on delivering their latest tablets and PCs.

The Microsoft Surface for education offer is available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States (including Puerto Rico).

For more information and to order in North America visit here; For the rest of the world see the Surface RT for Education brochure below and return the completed order form to SurfaceEDU@microsoft.com.

Update 7/18 - We’ve received great feedback and strong demand for the Surface RT for Education Limited Time Offer. Schools are discovering Surface and Windows 8 for the first time through this program and many of them have asked us to extend the offer so they can purchase when they come back-to-school in September.  We’re excited by this response and we agree it makes a lot of sense to extend the deadline to September 30th. We want to make sure that every school that wants a Surface gets one.

The herculean efforts put forth by educators and school leaders around the world each and every day often happen in the shadows. In classrooms of all shapes and sizes, these everyday heroes work day-in and day-out to prepare our children to succeed in an increasingly complex world. We expect much of our educators – after all, the future is literally in their hands -- but rarely do we stop to recognize them. So when I have the opportunity to shine a light on their efforts, it’s a very good day.

Today, I have the honor of announcing Microsoft’s 2014 Expert Educators and Mentor Schools. These exclusive, year-long programs were created to recognize educators and schools who are on the leading edge of education innovation, paving the way for their peers in the use of technology to improve learning and student outcomes. Expert Educators were selected from over 22,000 educators in 158 countries, while Mentor Schools came from nearly 250 schools in 75 countries.

We’ve offered educator and schools programs for more than 10 years and years and we’ve seen incredible advances in what educators and school leaders are doing with technology, both inside and outside the classroom. In the early years, using interactive whiteboards as a teaching tool was groundbreaking (and rare). Over time, 1:1 programs and mobile devices have become more common in the educator’s toolkit, and the project-based, differentiated learning these tools enable gets more and more sophisticated.

For many reasons, not least of which is the urgent need global companies like us have for a well-educated and prepared workforce, we at Microsoft are deeply committed to doing whatever it takes to effect a holistic transformation of learning. This isn’t transformation for the sake of change. Rather, it’s about making a real impact on educational outcomes and offering young people – regardless of circumstance -- a chance at a promising future.  Creating opportunities for youth certainly runs deep at Microsoft as seen in our global YouthSpark initiative that includes Imagine Cup, DigiGirlz, DreamSpark and more.

Selected today are 250 Expert Educators and 80 Mentor Schools representing nearly every corner, or should I say classroom, of the world.  During the year of their award, educators and school leaders will be heavily involved in advising us on education innovation. They will provide insights on new products and tools, and will help us understand how technology works – or doesn’t work – in real-life classrooms. For this, we are extremely grateful. 

But perhaps more important than the role they play in helping us do better for today’s students is the influence they will have on their peers. When today’s winners gather at the Microsoft in Education Global Forum in Barcelona this March, they will collaborate, share insights and ultimately, help educators and schools around the globe better prepare students for the 21st century.  And I couldn’t be more proud of the role that we at Microsoft play in the process.

--Anthony Salcito

Posted by Anthony Salcito
Vice President, Worldwide Education, Microsoft

Saturday, October 5th marked World Teachers’ Day, an annual celebration established by UNESCO in 1997 to highlight the accomplishments of educators and the serious challenges they face. According to UNESCO, 29 countries won’t have enough teachers by 2030 unless 3.3 million primary and 5.1 million secondary teaching positions are created and filled. These significant gaps threaten progress for all aspects of society and require all of us to redouble our efforts to reform education.

Here at Microsoft, through our education programs, people, technology, devices and services, we’re committed to those efforts 365 days a year. And if the response to our call for applications to the Microsoft Expert Educators and Mentor Schools programs is any indication, teachers and school leaders around the world are just as committed to the future of education. As of the September 30th application deadline, 22,000 educators from over 150 countries were engaged in those programs. I see this kind of response as a clear sign that education innovation is alive and well all over the globe.

I want to thank each and every one of the educators and school leaders who applied for these programs and a chance to join us in Barcelona from March 11 – 14, 2014. For me, the response was both humbling and inspiring, and I cannot wait to see who will win!

We’re also thrilled to announce a new name for the event: the Microsoft in Education Global Forum. Formerly known as the Partners in Learning Global Forum, we wanted to fully emphasize how this unique event will represent the depth and scale of Microsoft’s commitment to education. And this new name signifies the exciting evolution of this year’s Global Forum.  Winning Expert Educators and Mentor Schools will experience the most impactful and biggest Global Forum ever with attendees from more than 80 countries, an expanded scope, and what we believe will be an even greater impact on education innovation around the globe.  We knew we had to “go bigger” based on what we’ve heard from  global education heroes and experts to address the big needs and opportunities we face in education. As we all know, education is the most effective agent of positive change and only our collective efforts will build a better future for our students. Throughout the year, we partner with all education stakeholders, helping people around the world to empower students through the meaningful use of technology, and allowing them to reach their full potential. 

Our teams of global judges are carefully reviewing each application and we will be announcing the winning applicants in early November. Stay tuned! At that time, we’ll also begin to share – via this blog and others -- more details about our event in Barcelona. But here’s what we can tell you today: As always, the event promises to be a life-changing experience for the teachers, education leaders, higher education faculty, policy-makers and partners in attendance. I think Croatian teacher Arjana Blazic, a previous Global Forum attendee, fully captured the spirit of the event, noting, “The Global Forum opened up a whole new world for me – a world of lifelong learning, sharing and above all, connecting and collaborating with enthusiastic like-minded teachers from all over the globe.”

In the months leading up to the Microsoft in Education Global Forum, we’ll be hosting lively discussions about teaching innovation and technology on our Partners in Learning Network Community Forum. We’ll also be sharing many more details about what we’ll see, hear and experience in Barcelona. We encourage you to take part in this great community, whether or not you’re joining us in Barcelona this March. I will also share some insightful stories on my blog www.dailyedventures.com so that we can all get inspired and ready to celebrate the best education event of the year. I look forward to hearing your ideas – in the community forum, on Twitter @AnthonySalcito, or in person at the event. I’m sure you’ll agree that together, we ARE partners in learning, and we can make a significant and meaningful difference in the world, giving us all something to celebrate on future National Teachers’ Days.

- Anthony

At Microsoft, our commitment to education starts with students and teachers. After all, they innovate in education every day.  However, putting teachers and students first means partnering with schools to ensure the fast changing-world of technology is relevant and helpful to the instruction in the classroom.

Accessing and utilizing digital content is on the rise around the world and many schools have already begun adopting 1-to-1 environments, whether schools are providing devices or students are bringing their own.  We envision modern learning experiences where each student will have a personal learning device because of the promise – and cost-effectiveness of going digital.   Learning is increasingly becoming unbound. It is independent of space and time, socio-economic barriers, and physical constraints. In fact, student and teachers are more mobile than ever before. Teaching and learning must adapt to this mobile context to accelerate student engagement and success.

These are monumental industry changes. Today, students and educators need powerful devices that let them create and collaborate on projects and presentations, and consume rich, relevant content in real time – all the time – anywhere.

That’s why I’m so excited about Windows 8 for education. Simply put, Windows 8 is reimagined for learning. It arms schools and teachers with innovations designed to transform students’ learning experiences. It gives students a beautiful, modern way to consume content and allows them freedom to create, collaborate, produce, and share across a range of devices, with touch, mouse and keyboard or pen.   Teachers can now use these capabilities to build their students’ 21st century skills, help them graduate and ensure they reach their potential.

Here are 8 great reasons why Windows 8 is great for education:

1. No compromises: When it comes to technology decisions, schools often have to compromise. We hear from schools that they want the form factor of a tablet, but what they really need is the power of PC to meet their educational goals. They want a device that is very secure, runs powerful software and legacy applications, allows multiple user login, long battery life, instant on and works within their budget for procurement, deployment and management of the devices.  Windows 8 moves schools beyond compromise bringing together a tablet form factor with the power and flexibility of a PC. They’re no longer limited by challenges they’ve historically faced.

2. The cloud foundation: With Windows 8, we put “the cloud” at the center of the operating system so students and teachers can easily access their information, collaboration and productivity tools.  SkyDrive and Office 365 for education are central to the Windows 8 experience. This offers a flexible, anywhere, anytime learning experience across a range of different devices, both in and out of the classroom.

3. It saves time and money and safeguards kids: Windows 8 reduces ongoing management costs and provides enterprise-grade security and reliability. Beyond protecting your devices and your data, Windows 8 provides facilities to protect your students online and offline with Do Not Track on by default and group policy.  In addition, Windows 8 offers enhanced parental controls and a ‘Family Safety Activity Report’ so parents have insight into their child’s computer activity.

4. Accessibility plus: Windows 8 is optimized for a first-class touch experience, but equally comfortable with keyboard and mouse or pen.   In addition, there are many assistive technologies build in such as handwriting recognition with digital ink, speech and gesture tracking.

5. Real productivity: Windows 8 makes it possible for students or teachers to be as productive as they need. Imagine simultaneously watching a video while taking notes in OneNote, or the possibility of searching across an OS, the web and the cloud at once, while aggregating all findings in one place – it’s now possible and easy.  With split screen technology and easy switching between apps, multitasking is taken to a whole new level.

6. It opens students to the world of education apps: Windows 8 makes a wide range of content available, with the support of Flash and a rich set of applications like Khan Academy and the KNO reader, not to mention the 4.5 million existing Windows 7 apps.  Windows 8 fully embraces open standards like HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript across IE 10, so that publishers and partners can continue to build native and rich content experiences.

7. Connected classrooms and mobile learning: With Windows To Go students can pack up entire desktops and bring it along on a small bootable USB drive wherever they go. And mobile broadband is being built-in more devices every day.  No more searching and connecting to Wi-Fi hotspots. Windows 8 does it automatically, whether from the school bus, home or a relative’s house.

8. It’s cool, fast and fluid: Students will respond to it and teachers will find it easy and intuitive. It’s powerful yet fun, beautiful and simple.

At Microsoft, we believe that technology must be in service to each student’s unique journey for learning and life. Also, it has to serve teachers and administrators as they guide their students. It’s because of this belief that our technology, our partners, our ecosystem, and our people, are in service of that reality in our classrooms today. Windows 8 is an extension of that mission, and a huge step forward – serving those heroes in learning.

This week, we are at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, one of the U.S.’s premier gatherings for higher education IT professionals and introducing Windows 8. Check out U.S. Education Chief Technology Officer Cameron Evan’s blog for more on how we believe Windows 8 will help reimagine learning and digital content.

For many kids throughout the world, summer vacations are just around the corner, if they haven't already begun. For parents and teachers, summer break presents an age-old dilemma: how do we keep kids engaged in learning, especially with the lure of technology at their fingertips? Are there games and apps that can keep kids learning during the summer months, and that are also fun?

I'm pleased to say that YES, there are, and Microsoft offers the best apps available to keep your kids learning. Here are just a few of our favorites:

Khan Academy: A favorite of our readers, Khan Academy, has a simple premise: “Learn Almost Anything for Free.” The Windows 8 app is the best way to view Khan Academy’s complete library of over 3,800 videos, covering a massive number of topics, including K-12 math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, physics, and even the humanities, with tutorials on finance and history.

BrainPOP: With BrainPOP, kids can watch a different animated movie each day, then test their new knowledge with an interactive quiz. Featured Movie topics tie in to current events, historical milestones and figures, holidays, and more! This app is perfect for informal, exploratory learning at home or on the go.

Dragon Box: Dragon Box introduces fundamental topics in mathematics with an emphasis on algebra in a playful and colorful environment. DragonBox Algebra 5+ targets children from the ages of 5 to 12, but children (or adults) of all ages can enjoy it. Playing doesn’t require supervision, although parents can enjoy playing along with their children and maybe even freshen up their own math skills.
 
Corinth Micro Plant: With the Corinth Micro series, Corinth aims to make education of complex and abstract subjects more comprehensible. Corinth Micro Plant provides a complete three-dimensional immersion into the microbiology of a plant. It is an interactive educational tool for tablets, smartphones and desktops, and runs on Microsoft Windows 8 and Surface RT.

And if you're interested discovering even more educational apps for Windows 8, take a look at the Win8 Apps in Education blog, created by Portuguese and Spanish Partners in Learning network members Luis Fernandes , João Cunha and Ovi Barceló. It's available in English, Portuguese, Spanish and Chinese.

Stay tuned for more local language versions of this valuable resource, and be sure to let us know (in whatever language) if you have favorite Windows 8 apps that can keep students engaged all summer long.

-Anthony