Ahead of ISTE 2019 next week, Microsoft has announced several new education tools and features today.

“Diversity is the new norm in today’s classrooms,” a new Microsoft Education post explains. “By creating student-centered, inclusive learning environments, educators have the flexibility and opportunity to meet the needs of the diverse group of learners in every classroom. Technology has the power to help teachers not only navigate, but also benefit from, their students’ unique learning styles. We’re excited to announce tools and resources to help teachers empower all students to find their voice, grow their confidence and build 21st-century skills.”

New and improved tools include:

Immersive Reader is now available in Minecraft: Education Edition and other popular education apps. Microsoft’s popular Immersive Reader is now integrated into Minecraft: Education Edition and will be available as an Azure Cognitive Service so that third-party apps and partners can add the tool into their own products. Buncee, Follett, JogNog, Kortext, Mindsets Learning, MyDay, Nearpod, OhBot, Oxford Press, PowerSchool, SiLAS, Skooler, Squigl, ThingLink, and Wakelet have all agreed to do so.

Presenter Coach in PowerPoint. Previously announced, Presenter Coach can help teachers and students practice their presentation skills and improve their public-speaking abilities. It’s coming to PowerPoint Online this summer.

Teams for Education improvements. Teams for Education is being updated with bigger, more visual icons for your teams and classes; a new way to create and track assignments; a new grade book that lets teachers can view and grade all assignments directly from the channel’s Grades tab and view each student’s progress across assignments; a new “Share To Teams” button so teachers can share resources with their classes directly; and the ability to import existing OneNote content into Class or Staff Teams, so that you to access all of your information from a single location.

There’s a lot more, so check out the original Microsoft post for more information.

Tagged with Education, Microsoft Education