Microsoft Educator Community as a global support to the professional development of educators in the modern technological society
We are witnesses that technology has greatly influenced changes in many spheres of life. A lot of things are quickly available to us, a lot of things are finished within a few clicks, and we do not have to leave the comfort of our homes. Even the process of learning and teaching has been innovated on, methods of transferring and acquiring knowledge are being changed, and information that was once accessible only to some closed educational circles is now accessible practically to everyone. Technology and availability of information has expanded so much that there's talk that even teachers, educators and those who tutor others, will be replaced by robots or machines. However, according to an unknown author from social networks, technology will not replace teachers, but teachers who use technology will replace those who are not using it. The question arises, then, how should those who teach others learn themselves, in order to keep up with the times.
One virtual place for learning is the Microsoft Educator Community. It is an internet portal that allows educators around the world to follow courses, find and put up lessons, but also to interact with one another and organize various activities and projects. There are many free resources for educators on this portal, dealing with both formal and non-formal education at various levels. The courses offered are based on the application of modern technologies, Microsoft products, as well as pedagogy and innovative educational methods. Each course is accompanied by a variety of materials, good practice examples and discussion groups. After the successful completion of a course, appropriate badges, certificates and points are obtained on the educator's profile and in this way show their progress. For example, in Figure 1, we can see the list of only some of the courses offered on this site that deal with the use of technology, but also the development of other skills such as leadership, or topics such as inclusion.
Figure 1. A list of courses offered on the Microsoft Education Community website (taken from: https://education.microsoft.com/courses-and-resources/courses)
As they say on the site of the Microsoft Educator Community, the content is designed for educators by educators, is regularly refreshed and follows modern trends, always striving to meet the needs of educators and the challenges of the 21st century. Microsoft points out the basic nine, but there are even more reasons to join the large global community, thus improving your competencies in the fields of education and modern technologies. Some of the reasons why this portal attracts an increasing number of educators are the following:
- Serious professional development that prepares educators for the use of technology in their work, based on the design of learning for the 21st century, while educators can share their achievements on social networks;
- Opportunity to become a Certified Microsoft Innovative Educator for those who have mastered the use of Microsoft tools in education;
- A large number of short videos that provide answers to many questions in the field of education, such as, for example, the use of PowerPoint or Windows 10;
- Connecting classrooms around the world through Skype and transferring various experiences through video calls provided by this Microsoft tool.
There are virtual trips to the most diverse destinations, visits to museums, laboratories and many other places that provide an unforgettable experience and a great innovation in education. In order to prepare the educators for this kind of teaching, there are courses and numerous tips on how to realize this type of teaching. Of course, there is also Minecraft, one of the most modern and bold concepts in education, i.e. learning through computer games, for which excellent courses, prepared lessons and materials can be found on the portal. There is also a community of Microsoft schools and many other contents that are updated almost daily and adapted for the better education of educators.
Some of the recommended courses are the Office Teacher Academy, Getting Started with OneNote or Cue with Microsoft MakeCode, as they give educators information on how to use modern technology in the educational process, while courses such as Problem-Based Learning or Digital Leadership enable educators to get acquainted with contemporary pedagogical approaches. Also important are the courses dealing with inclusive education where Microsoft demonstrates a clear intention to deal with "difficult issues". For example, the Dyslexia Awareness course is intended for educators and parents to better understand the problem of disabilities in reading or related to reading comprehension. Online participants of this course acquire basic knowledge on how to recognize dyslexia and support the people that have it, as well as how to enable these people to realize their full potential through creating different content and utilizing technology. In Figure 2, we see a video from a course in which the famous actor Orlando Bloom explains his experience and the positive sides of dyslexia and which shows how modern and in line with the needs of today's users this portal is.
Figure 2. Video material as part of the course about dyslexia (taken from: https://education.microsoft.com/courses-and-resources/courses/dyslexia-awareness-in-partnership-with-made-by-dyslexia)
The first step towards the digital education of educators is, of course, the registration on the portal, which allows free use of all portal resources. The only prerequisite is an elemental digital literacy and knowledge of English, which can be an obstacle, with some courses and contents translated into some of the world's languages. After registration, educators around the world can work on self-improvement and share their experiences, regardless of the part of the planet they are in. Possibilities are practically unlimited and equal for all users, regardless of the socioeconomic status or origin. This is a very important factor that has an impact on achieving the goal of making education available to everyone. What the Microsoft Educator Community recognizes about modern education is that technology in education is just a tool, and that the human factor is the most important element. Therefore, courses and other contents are oriented towards developing the potential of educators in terms of creativity, innovation, stimulating a positive climate, putting emphasis on the human factor and its irreplaceable nature in education.
