Network and collaborate with our community of teachers.
The Microsoft Innovative Teachers Programme aims to create a community of teachers who learn from and inspire each other. It supports IT innovation and best practice in schools and helps teachers use technology to connect and collaborate with colleagues, by providing training on and access to e-resources that integrate ICT into the learning process.
Online registration for the Innovative Teachers Programme is only available within the UK. If you are outside of the UK, please email itn-uk@microsoft.com for details of how you can register.
Virtual Classroom Tours enable teachers to experience and reproduce the classroom successes of other teachers through proven sets of learning tools, plans and practices. Each tour features a learning project that has been used in real life, and comes with National Curriculum references and guidance on assessment.
The Innovative Teachers Network is a secure, online portal where educators can come together to share classroom success based on high-quality professional learning resources and teacher-driven content. Within the community, teachers will have access to a library of resources including articles, tutorials, learning materials and samples of content made available free by Microsoft and its content partners. Members can use collaboration tools to engage in communities of practice and will be able to access a personal thinking and working space within the network, built easily with 'MySite' tools.
Education professionals will be able to:
Create and share digital content using ready-made templates
Search, browse and rate educational content
Access and use services offered by content providers and other partners
Initiate or join communities, forums, discussion groups and online projects
Define, initiate, individualise and share personal web pages
Use online tutorials, easy-to-use training manuals and wizards that can be accessed 24/7
Use email, file storage and message boards to communicate and collaborate
The Innovative Teachers Software Grant is designed to encourage innovation and collaboration. It will be awarded to applicants who satisfy the selection criteria outlined in the Innovative Teachers Programme Software Grant Application Pack.
There are two application periods, allowing projects to start in the autumn or spring terms.
In addition to other benefits, those who receive a grant can also expect:
Software licences for current Microsoft desktop applications and operating systems, including the current Microsoft operating system and Microsoft Office
Access to professionally produced online software support materials
Online collaboration for designing and sharing best practice models
Details on closing dates and how to apply for a Microsoft Teachers Software Grant can be found by downloading the Word documents below. Applications for the grants are open for a limited period only, so please submit yours without delay.
Accreditation and Continuing Professional Development
We encourage teachers on the programme to gain accreditation for their continuing professional development. By joining online communities and producing virtual classroom tours, they can achieve Innovative Teacher status. This enables them to apply for a Microsoft grant to fund further development of their work, and establish collaborative learning projects.
Those who gain Innovative Teacher status are authorised to use the Innovative Teachers toolkit to deliver CPD, and are supported in working towards a nationally recognised accreditation.
Please note that online registration for the Innovative Teachers Programme is only available in the UK. If you are outside the UK and would like to register, or you simply want to find out more about the programme, please email us at the address below:
