Microsoft recognizes schools for innovation in teaching

Today is World Teachers’ Day, and Microsoft is recognizing 82 schools from around the world for their efforts to better educate children.

Sixty-five Pathfinder Schools and 17 Mentor Schools were named in this year’s list. Microsoft calls Pathfinder Schools those that “ demonstrate strong school leadership skills with a proven record of creativity and successful change implementation, have a vision for learning, and have started on the road to whole school transformation.”

Mentor Schools, on the other hand, “go a step further and are invited into this program because they have achieved a level of change within their education systems and are viewed as leaders in their countries and regions.”

Being named as a Pathfinder or Mentor school gives teachers and students access to training tools, training events, software and virtual universities. Through the Partners in Learning program, Microsoft has trained 16 million teachers and students.

A few of the Pathfinder Schools include Sartre Gymnasium in Germany, which utilizes gaming and social media in education; Futures Tech in Egypt where school leaders have committed to fill the country’s skills gap; and Brazil’s EMEF Professor Joao Campestrini, which offers a web-based classroom as an alternative for students ages 6-12.