Meeting education challenges around the worldMicrosoft® Worldwide Education

M

The Microsoft Education mission is to enable educators, students, and educational institutions to realize their full potential.

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Educating today’s generation for a global knowledge-based economy becomes more complicated every day. We all know the challenges. Teachers want to deliver learning mapped to student needs, improve student engagement, and increase productiv-ity and skills. Technology managers want reliable systems that solve real problems. Education leaders want their graduates prepared for a knowledge-based workforce. And most importantly, students want to be successful and motivated with learning experiences to which they can relate and learning tools that prepare them for the world that awaits them outside the classroom.

We’ve been actively working with education communities to help address these challenges. Microsoft® products and programs are developed through a thoughtful understanding of the needs and potential of the education communities. We are committed to working closely with you to offer the right technology, tools, and so-lutions to help break through these education challenges and transform them into teaching and learning opportunities in the 21st century.

imagine the future of education

You believe in the power of learning.

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Today’s education administrators know the great rewards of creating an effective learning environment, but they also face responsibilities that are constantly evolv-ing. School leaders must meet reporting and student achievement requirements, manage staff, and increase efficiency. Only in an environment with an infrastructure that can be managed with the lowest level of information technology (IT) sup-port—and with teachers who have the skills to leverage these resources—can the challenge of preparing students for success and citizenship in a knowledge-based world be met.

In response to these challenges, Microsoft has worked collaboratively with education communities to develop and provide relevant technology to help administrators, teachers, and students reach their full potential. Microsoft and its partners offer tools, solutions, and services that can be scaled to any educational situation, whatever the budget, whatever the goal. Local solutions are managed from beginning to end to meet your unique needs. Licensing solutions are affordable and transparent and real tools give every school and district room to grow. Our programs encourage staff and students to take advantage of hardware and software to make schools run smoother and improve the learning experience for students.

Educators can quickly and easily integrate Microsoft’s learning tools into their class-rooms and make information and communication technology easy to adopt and implement. You’ll have what you need to help design and manage your education ecosystem while increasing the return on your IT investment and meeting community expectations and government requirements. Teachers can develop leadership skills with new technologies, parents will have greater peace of mind with streamlined reporting and improved education, and most important of all, students will get the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Business Decision Makers IT Professionals Teachers Students

Academic success begins with high standards.

access a world of opportunity

To learn more about the programs, tools and re-sources Microsoft can offer your learning environment, see pages 6–8.

03 Parents, teachers, students, and administrators all rely on IT managers to support the education environment with secure and reliable information networks and commu-nication infrastructures. Yet IT professionals can find themselves hindered by system conflicts, licensing issues, and the challenges of developing a consistent and reliable operating environment that meets the needs of diverse audiences.

Microsoft takes some of the complexity out of today’s educational IT manage-ment. Our Web-based IT solutions provide a rich environment for communication, collaboration, learning delivery, and assessment while actually simplifying the IT infrastructure of your school. With management tools, customization options, and advanced security tools, you can make better use of IT investments and drive greater value from resources.

We provide powerful, reliable, regularly updated security measures to help improve students and data safety and give parents and administrators greater peace of mind. Our management solutions can be right-sized for any situation, no matter what staff-ing or budget situation you face. From responsive customer support to total front-to-back system implementation and management, we are there to help you derive the greatest benefit from your school’s technology ecosystem. Finally, training that includes the right mix of practical and cutting-edge learning allows IT managers to make the best use of current resources. It also helps you make good decisions about future investments resulting in robust operating environments that maximize con-nectivity and require minimal IT intervention. Administrators, teachers and students can have the crucial access to technology to help them do their best.

inspire with information

Technology creates opportunities. Opportunities change lives.

Business Decision Makers IT Professionals Teachers Students

To learn more about the programs, products and solutions Microsoft can offer IT Managers, see pages 6–8.

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Teachers around the world are dedicated to providing the best possible learning experiences for their students. They have high expectations for achievement. They know the importance of meeting the needs of diverse student populations and preparing students for a global knowledge-based economy.

They need solutions that help them collaborate with colleagues, get their work done, create effective learning materials, and reduce their time on administrative tasks. In other words, they need powerful, easy-to-use, right-sized classroom resources that free them to do what they do best—teach.

Through its products, partners, and solutions, Microsoft is there to help with tools and applications that teachers can use to provide productive and personalized stu-dent experiences while reducing the planning and reporting workload. With the right training and well-planned, end-to-end systems, teachers may find themselves pleasantly surprised at the benefits offered by innovations in education technology resources. They’ll discover strategies for inspiring students that teachers years ago could only dream about.

Microsoft is committed to encouraging education environments where teachers and students seamlessly integrate technology, communication, and collaboration. With these tools at their command, every school can help develop skills, maximize opportunities, and prepare for the exciting challenges of the 21st century.

transform effort into achievement

Find more time to teach.

Business Decision Makers IT Professionals Teachers Students

To learn more about the programs, products and solutions Microsoft can offer your teachers, see pages 6–8.

05Students at every level and every age have lives that are increasingly busy and com-plex. They juggle more and more activities in and out of school. Their busy schedules and the constant distractions of contemporary life mean that they often need help in getting started, staying organized, and keeping on track to produce quality work, and they don’t always know how to find it.

Microsoft has responded to these needs with relevant lifestyle solutions that make integrating information and communication into their daily environment easy and fun while encouraging each student to develop his or her own unique voice. Microsoft’s education tools help them make the most of every learning opportunity.

When students are engaged and empowered, they are more in control of their learning experience, allowing them to positively integrate the social and educational aspects of the learning environment.

Connect today’s students to tomorrow’s possibilities.

Business Decision Makers IT Professionals Teachers Students

engage in a lifestyle of learning

To learn more about the programs, products and solutions available to you and your students, see pages 6–8.

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Audience Resource Name Description

Educators Microsoft Innovative Teachers

To help educators further their professional development, learn from, and inspire one another, the Microsoft Innovative Teachers program promotes the creation of exemplary practices, awards software grants, and gives educators access to online learning communities.

Educators and Students

Online Technology Assessment

The Microsoft/ISTE Online Technology Assessment includes a set of 30-minute formative assessments that students work through to gain technology skills. Each assessment follows a real-world, age-appropriate scenario that enables students to demonstrate their technology skills by completing tasks in Microsoft applications, including Microsoft® Word, Excel®, PowerPoint®, Internet Explorer, Outlook®, Access, and FrontPage®.

MSDN Academic Alliance

The MSDN® Academic Alliance program is designed specifically for academic labs, faculty, and students in the curriculum areas of computer science, engineering, and information systems. The program makes it easier and less expensive to get Microsoft developer tools, platforms, and servers for instruction and research.

Students

Student Developer Hub

This is the place to learn about the thousands of career opportunities that are available to developers skilled on the Microsoft .NET platform. Check this source often to search new developments, find special opportunities from Microsoft, and get inspired by real examples of developers putting their skills to use in the working world.

theSpoke

theSpoke is a digital lifestyle club for students from around the world where film, music, gaming, sports, and culture merge with technology. It’s your place on the Web to discuss, debate, learn, and make an impact. If it’s impossible for you to talk about life without talking about technology, then theSpoke is the place for you.

School Administrators

School Agreement and other Academic Licensing Solutions

Whether it’s for a learning institution of 30 students or a school district with 70,000 pupils, Microsoft offers easy ways for schools to acquire and administer software at substantial discounts, in some cases as much as 85 percent off estimated retail prices. (Pricing determined by and available through authorized resellers. Reseller prices may vary.)

Fresh Start for Donated Computers

Schools often receive donated personal computers that lack the appropriate documentation and CDs for the original Microsoft Windows® operating system. This program helps K–12 schools obtain license documentation and Windows installation CDs—at no cost—so schools can ensure they are working with legitimate technology.

Microsoft Education Programs

Below you’ll find some of our many education-specific programs, products, and solutions. You’re sure to find resources that will enhance your learning community. For more information, go to: www.microsoft.com/education

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Audience Resource Name Description

Educators and School Administrators

Professional Development Alliance

This program unites companies and organizations that offer professional development services and/or courseware on Microsoft solutions with the educational institutions that need these services, providing an easy way for K–12 educators to locate high-quality services and solutions.

Educators, Students, and School Administrators

Microsoft IT Academy

Microsoft IT Academy empowers member high schools and colleges to deliver training to help prepare credit and noncredit students for careers and certification in information technology. The program gives faculty and students access to training on current software and the latest Microsoft technologies.

Microsoft Education Solutions

Solution Product Name Description

Teaching and Learning

Learning Essentials for Microsoft Office

Transforms the familiar applications that students and educators use every day into tools specially designed for 21st-century learning. With toolbars, templates, project assistance, and tutorials from leading educational publishers, Learning Essentials is the starting point for students and educators to do their best work.

Microsoft Student 2006

Provides the trusted homework tools and resources students need to complete high-quality, accurate work that leads to academic success. With tools for Office designed just for students, graphing/scientific calculator software, a Web search companion, homework starters, and trusted content from Encarta® Premium, it’s the smart starting point for better grades.

Encarta Academic Online

The new online version of Microsoft’s award-winning reference suite optimized for use in schools. Encarta Academic Online offers students an ad-free research environment with reliable content that’s regularly updated, assignment tools, and rich media that motivate students to learn.

Business of Education

Managed Operating Environment

Help ensure the efficient use of system-wide resources. With automated deployment of software and applications, as well as easy standardization of operating environments, you spend less time managing shared computers and labs. Help eliminate resource-draining system conflicts, and give all stakeholders the key to your full spectrum of education and data resources. Centralize management of operating systems and access results in improved security and access to data for all users. Streamline the process of normalizing data from disparate systems, allowing you to utilize all data resources in critical decision-making.

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Solution Product Name Description

Business of Education

Learning Network Manager (EMEA only)

Quickly and efficiently build a school network, bring schools online, and create the founda-tion and infrastructure for connected learning with this specialized set of processes, tools, and software. Learning Network Manager offers simplicity and ease of use for IT users in the K–12 market. (Please note, this product is not intended to replace Systems Management Server (SMS), Application Center, or full-featured provisioning tools like Provisioning Server and Microsoft BizTalk®.)

Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP

The Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP is an effective, integrated, and easy-to-use set of software tools that will help make it simple for anyone to set up, safeguard, and manage reliable shared computers. Specifically, the Toolkit helps operators create restricted local user profiles so users have limited access to system utilities and data; defend shared computers against unauthorized changes to the hard disk by clearing changes (including viruses and spyware) each time the computer restarts, enhancing the privacy of users by clearing session information each time a new user logs on; and improving the user experi-ence by simplifying the user interface.

Terminal Services for Windows Server 2003

Microsoft Terminal Services for Windows ServerTM 2003 can connect your older machines running older versions of Windows operating systems to a Windows Server 2003 that can host applications that would otherwise not run on the older computer. This solution offers the interoperability and application compatibility of using genuine Windows solutions to help you get the most out of your existing hardware investment. If you want to enhance the capability of your Macintosh computers, Terminal Server for Macintosh can be used to give your Mac users access to the rich client applications previously available only to PC users.

Mobility Solutions

Mobility is about anytime, anywhere learning. Take your operating environment, applications, files, and data with you. You don’t even need a high-cost, handheld device. Give everyone the freedom of portability with protective technologies. And best of all, you can start building mobility solutions into your current resource environment, ensuring that schools with any budget have access to the possibilities of a connected world.

Learning Gateway Framework

Microsoft Learning Gateway Framework, an integrated solutions platform for connecting the people, information, and processes that make education happen.

Microsoft Education Solutions

Microsoft has a sustained vision for the future of technology in education, a vision inspired by educators like you. We are partnering with educators around the world to address the evolving needs of today’s education environment. The diverse resources, programs, and products we offer can help you meet your high standards for delivering immediate value and relevance to today’s classrooms.

Find a list of partners in your area and learn more about how Microsoft can provide valuable school solutions tailored to suit your needs at:www.microsoft.com/education

Bring your education vision to life in an environment where students are engaged, parents are connected, and teachers are inspired.

Manage all the elements of today’s learning environment.

www.microsoft.com/education

Microsoft CorporationOne Microsoft WayRedmond, WA 98052-6399USA

© 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, BizTalk, Encarta, Excel, FrontPage, MSDN, Outlook, PowerPoint, Windows, Windows Server, and Your potential. Our passion. are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. This document is for informal purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT.

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