Australian teachers go to the top of the class

Microsoft announces the winners of the 2007 Innovative Teachers Award

Sydney, Australia - 12 October 2007:Today Microsoft recognised the pioneers of the education frontier by announcing the state and territory winners of its annual Innovative Teachers Award. The 9 winning teachers will be honoured at the Australian Council for Education Leaders Conference in Sydney, where they will demonstrate their innovative teaching methods to their peers from across the country.

As part of the award, Microsoft will host the teachers at the joint Microsoft and UNESCO Innovative Teachers Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam in April 2008, where they will compete for the national title and the opportunity to represent Australia at the global competition. The annual competition is open to teachers from government and non-government schools and recognises teachers whose use of technology in the classroom has enhanced student learning.

“According to the recent OECD report, Australia spends less than any other developed country on education,” said Microsoft's Academic Programs Manager, Felicia Brown. “As part of its Partners in Learning Program, Microsoft Australia has made a $10 million five year commitment to integrate technology in the curriculum of Australia's schools.”

“The work of these Australian teachers is an excellent opportunity to showcase the outcomes and possibilities created by technology in the classroom. These teachers go beyond the chalk and talk method of their predecessors – and the kids love it,” continued Ms Brown.

The 2005 winners from Tasmania walked away with the global prize; this year's Tasmanian state winners were acknowledged for a project named ‘Cool Chemistry Online'.

The teachers, Ms Roxanne Steenbergen and Ms Wendy Fletcher, created a collaborative learning community by connecting their primary school students through a ‘virtual classroom' to share ideas, questions and reports. As part of the project, they leveraged the virtual support of a practicing chemist to provide scientific input to their experiments.

Other winners worked to incorporate new technologies and digital media, such as robotics, podcasts and video conferencing into the classroom to meet the needs of technology savvy kids, as 90 per cent of Australian students have access to a home computer yet only 60 per cent in the classroom.

Ms Brown said, “As the competition has evolved – so have the projects. Over the years teachers have embraced technology capabilities and unified them to create an entirely new way of interacting with students. It's not just about retrofitting technology to the 20th century classroom, it's about creating 21st century teaching methods to engage students with the help of technology. The Innovative Teacher Awards helps teachers share and spread their ideas.”

“Microsoft's Innovative Teachers Award provides Australian teachers with a platform to showcase and share their leading practices with teachers on a local, national and international stage” said Ms Brown.

The Innovative Teachers Award is an initiative under Microsoft Australia's Partners in Learning program. Partners in Learning, in partnership with State governments, aims to increase Information and Communications Technology skills in teachers and improve educational outcomes for Australian students. Through a series of programs, key investments, software and training, Microsoft seeks to reward outstanding teachers, as well as provide professional development to teachers who act as technology and educational change agents at their school. To date, the program has reached 64,000 Australian teachers.

A2007 Microsoft Innovative Teachers Award Winners Western Australia
Mrs Robin McKean, St Hilda's ASG, Mosman Park
Mrs Raelene Beecher, St Hilda's ASG, Mosman Park

For more information please contact:

Sarah Treharne
Howorth Communications
Ph: 02 8281 3855
Email: saraht@howorth.com.au

www.microsoft.com/australia/presspass