Ms Radhika, a reputed Maths teacher from a local school wanted to upskill and learn digital skills. She pursued a course due to which she became skilled at using Microsoft tools for education. Through the course, she met various principals and school administrators. 

Her expertise in utilizing Microsoft tools for education caught the attention of an international board school. Impressed by her innovative approach, they offered her a prestigious teaching position with a higher salary. Ms Radhika embraced the opportunity, bringing her passion and technological prowess to a new set of students. With her skilful integration of Microsoft tools, classrooms transformed into captivating digital environments where learning thrived.

A lot of teachers are still living in a bubble, unaware of the benefits of learning digital skills and tools like Microsoft for Education tools. By harnessing the potential of these tools, any teacher becomes capable and better at the job. In this blog, we share the top 8 Microsoft tools for education that every teacher must know and use. So let’s look at these tools and their features.

OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is a powerful tool that significantly aids teachers in their daily work. With OneNote, teachers can effortlessly organize their lesson plans, create digital notebooks, and collaborate with students and colleagues. 

It allows them to compile and share resources, including documents, images, and videos, fostering a rich and interactive learning environment. OneNote’s flexibility enables teachers to personalize instruction, annotate assignments, and provide timely feedback to students. It also facilitates seamless communication and file sharing, streamlining the workflow and enhancing productivity.

Teams

Microsoft Teams is a game-changer for teachers, providing a comprehensive platform for communication, collaboration, and classroom management. With Teams, teachers can conduct virtual classes, engage with students through video conferences, and share educational resources seamlessly.

It offers a centralized hub where teachers can distribute assignments, provide feedback, and facilitate discussions, fostering an interactive and inclusive learning environment. Teams also allow for real-time collaboration among students, enabling group projects and fostering teamwork. Furthermore, its integration with other Microsoft tools simplifies workflows, making it effortless to share files, organize schedules, and streamline administrative tasks.

Sway

Microsoft Sway empowers teachers to create visually captivating and interactive presentations, making lessons more engaging and impactful. With Sway, teachers can combine text, images, videos, and other multimedia elements to craft dynamic and immersive content.

It allows for easy customization, ensuring that presentations align with the specific needs of each lesson and student audience. Sway’s user-friendly interface and intuitive design tools enable teachers to create professional-looking presentations without extensive technical expertise. Furthermore, Sway presentations can be easily shared with students, fostering collaboration and providing a platform for interactive learning experiences.

PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint is a valuable tool that empowers teachers to deliver engaging and visually appealing presentations. With PowerPoint, teachers can create multimedia-rich slideshows that enhance their lessons and captivate students’ attention. It provides a user-friendly interface with a wide range of design features, allowing teachers to create professional-looking slides with ease.

PowerPoint enables the integration of images, videos, audio clips, and animations, making complex concepts more accessible and memorable. Additionally, teachers can leverage PowerPoint’s presenter view to keep their notes and timings organized during presentations.

Excel

Microsoft Excel is a powerful tool that offers numerous benefits for teachers in managing and analyzing data. It allows teachers to efficiently organize and track student information, grades, attendance, and other important data in customizable spreadsheets.

Excel’s formula and function capabilities enable teachers to perform calculations, generate statistical analyses, and create visually informative charts and graphs. It simplifies the process of generating reports, creating grade books, and identifying student trends or patterns. With Excel, teachers can save time, streamline administrative tasks, and gain valuable insights to make data-driven decisions for their classrooms.

Whiteboard

Microsoft Whiteboard is a versatile tool that greatly assists teachers in fostering collaboration and creativity in the classroom. It provides a digital canvas where teachers can brainstorm ideas, sketch diagrams, and illustrate concepts in real time. Whiteboard encourages active participation by allowing students to contribute and collaborate, whether they are physically present or participating remotely.

Teachers can use its interactive features, such as sticky notes, drawing tools, and text boxes, to facilitate engaging discussions and visual representations. With Whiteboard, teachers can create engaging presentations, visualize complex ideas, and dynamically demonstrate concepts.

Forms

Microsoft Forms is an invaluable tool for teachers that facilitates the creation of surveys, quizzes, and assessments with ease. With Forms, teachers can design customized feedback and evaluation forms, collect responses, and analyze data in a straightforward manner.

It enables teachers to gather insights, gauge student understanding, and make data-driven instructional decisions. The user-friendly interface allows for the creation of visually appealing and interactive forms, ensuring student engagement. Forms also offers features like automatic grading, real-time response tracking, and seamless integration with other Microsoft tools.

Minecraft Education Edition

Microsoft Minecraft Education Edition is a powerful educational tool that supports teachers in creating immersive and engaging learning experiences. With Minecraft, teachers can design virtual worlds that align with specific curriculum objectives, allowing students to explore, collaborate, and problem-solve in a dynamic environment.

It promotes creativity, critical thinking, and teamwork as students build, experiment, and apply knowledge in a hands-on way. Minecraft Education Edition offers a range of educational resources, lesson plans, and tools for educators to facilitate meaningful learning experiences. It provides a platform where students can learn various subjects, develop digital literacy skills, and foster their imagination. You can learn to use and implement tools like Minecraft Education Edition through courses like the Coding Course for Educators offered by upEducators. Through this course, one can learn and even teach coding to students as this course teaches coding through different easy-to-use coding platforms.

By embracing these eight Microsoft tools, teachers can create engaging and impactful learning experiences that foster collaboration, critical thinking, and student engagement. To stay ahead in the ever-evolving landscape of education, it is essential for every teacher to explore and utilize these powerful tools to enhance their teaching practice and unlock the full potential of their students.

If you are a teacher who wants to unlock the potential of Microsoft Tools for Education and land better jobs, then the Microsoft Certified Educators Course is the right program for you. This program will help you gain the necessary 21st-century skills to teach and improve the outcomes of your teaching.