Episode description

On May 2, 2017, I had the privilege of being invited to attend the #LEARNWHATSNEXT keynote produced by Microsoft. The first of its kind during Microsoft Satya Nadella's tenure as CEO, the keynote revolved around education and what Microsoft thinks the classroom of the future should look like.

More than 20 educators from across the world representing Pre-K through University studies were invited to attend and meet with representatives from the Education team to share their thoughts about how this new direction for Microsoft can be implemented in their classrooms.

The keynote started off with Nadella telling the story of how his grandfather started his journey into education and helped his father become an educated man. It was a powerful story. “Talent is everywhere, but the opportunity is now”. “Today's event is about education and technology . . . more importantly, it is about empowering the students today to create the world of tomorrow.”

Throughout the opening remarks, Nadella kept referring to Microsoft's top priorities on education. The concept of teachers spending less time focusing on technology and more time doing what they love is a powerful example of the new direction that Microsoft and it's products will be headed in the future.

One key to Nadella's speech was the focus on making sure that all learners are brought into the conversation. A Focus on students with Dyslexia and students who struggle with reading and writing is clearly at the heart of Microsoft future.

It was very clear after spending 2 amazing days with the team from Microsoft Education that this wasn't just a product launch, rather it was a philosophy launch. The motto of Nadella and the entire Microsoft team is clear now more than ever.

This summer, a new education-focused operating will be launched called Windows 10 S. What does the S stand for? Some say Safety, Security, Simplicity, or perhaps Streamlined. As it was described at the keynote the S was added because it adds a little bit of Soul to the Windows experience.

Windows 10 S essentially puts a safe and secure shell on an already powerful and robust Windows 10 environment. This means students will experience better battery, better browsing, and a much faster experience logging into their devices. By default Windows 10 S actives the powerful Edge web browser that has also received some notable upgrades such as a Tab Preview Bar and the ability for users to use inking technologies to write and annotate directly on websites and videos.

Learn more about the new Windows 10 S Here

There were two big announcements about hardware. The first was the addition of several inexpensive students focused laptops starting at just $189. All of these PC's feature Windows 10 S and a dynamic touch screen experience.

To bring these devices to market, Microsoft teamed up with Acer, ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Samsung, and Toshiba.

In addition to the slate of inexpensive touch screen devices, Microsoft closed the keynote with a brand new device called the Surface Laptop. Starting at only $999, the Surface Laptop completes and compliments a very successful line of Windows 10 devices that include the Surface Pro, Surface Book, and Surface Studio. The Surface Laptop provides 14 hours of battery on it's 7th generation Intel Core Processor...