Microsoft Educator Center is a program that helps provide resources to educators. Teachers can find lessons and material along with doing learning paths and taking courses. The courses help to teach specific skills and each course that is completed gives the user points. The learning paths are a number of related courses and lessons that are put together to help teach educators, they also give the users points. After a number of points collected from completing courses and learning paths the teacher will become a certified Microsoft Educator. Microsoft Educator Center is a great tool to help encourage the growth mindset and for teachers to continue to learn.
Accessibility tools: Meeting the needs of diverse learners
Microsoft has an Ease of Access Center that allows students and teachers to magnify the screen either the whole screen or a lens or doc that only magnifies a part of the screen, and use a narrator to read what is written on the screen. They can also change the contrast of the screen, closed captions add text to an audio file, which is good for ELL. There are many other features that the Ease of Access Center provides.
To help minimize distractions for students Microsoft Edge has a reading view that simplifies the article or website to just make it the text and pictures and remove distractions. Make a Web note adds a tool bar that allows students or teachers to take notes directly on the website. Websites can also be add to a reading list to be read later. In word the tool bar can be minimized so it is not as distractions. The document can also be switched to read mode so they view their document free of distractions. There is also a translate tab under the review tab. This is helpful for second language learners. Teachers can also use the accessibility finder so that their document is reviewed to make sure it is accessible for students with disabilities, especially students with visual impairments.
Microsoft also has many programs that help students and teachers express their creativity. Smart art, in word, allows students to use creative graphic organizers, this helps them organize their thoughts. Smart Lookup can look up information on the word highlighted in the text. The language tool bar allows students to translate whole documents or just words. The students can also set up their own language for typing. OneNote can also convert handwritten notes into typed text. Teachers can also incorporate audio into worksheets that can read the instructions to the students.
Microsoft has many tools to help students who for any reason may struggle with reading text, like students with dyslexia, students with visual impairments, or students with learning disorders. Learning Tools has immersive reader, where it's only the text on the screen and then the students can also have the words read to them. Immersive reader also has a setting that allows you to highlight certain types of words, like adjectives. Dictation in OneNote can also be used to help students, it allows students to talk through their ideas. Windows 10 can help students with dyslexia, visual impairments, or limited mobility to use speech activation. Students using voice activation can open internet browsers, word documents and then type and search things. Students can dictate the words, go back and spell things, tell articles to scroll down and basically everything else the computer does.
Cortana can also be a useful tool for students with disabilities or help teachers stay organized. Cortana can use voice activation or typing to look material up for students. No matter where a file was saved by asking Cortana she will search the computer to find the file. By putting things on the calendar students or teachers can ask what is going on on certain days.
Microsoft has worked to create many helpful tools for students with disabilities.
After completing these two course I was certified as a Microsoft Educator.
