New Nation Teachers master some digital tools
In the first term of 2018, teachers from New Nation School in Vrededorp, Gauteng, enjoyed five afternoon workshop sessions on using a range of digital tools in the classroom. These workshops were sponsored by Microsoft Philanthropies in order to help staff to use technology as a catalyst for change at a school that largely provides education to orphans and vulnerable children.
Below is a summary of what was covered at the workshops with links to some of the resources that other teachers may w...Read more
Submitted by Fiona Beal
Recently, in a professional development session, I introduced a group of educators to Microsoft Sway. They were delighted with the application after creating a Sway introducing themselves. The plan was to then join Microsoft’s great one-stop-for-all space, the Microsoft Educator Community, and add the Sway they had created to their profile. I thought I would capture this process in a blogpost.
What is Sway?
Microsoft Sway is Microsoft’s newest, creative, free, online ...
This is the 21st post in the series “MIEExpert Spotlight” for South Africa. The tab with all the posts can be found at: . Today we focus on Fiona Beal. Fiona is a 2016/2017
Microsoft MIE Expert Educator who teaches ICT Technology to Grades 1 – 7 at The Rock Academy in Fish Hoek, South Africa. She adds that she loves this opportunity as she is able to bring technology innovation into her lessons.
Fiona says, “When you combine good pedagogy with technology the learners can a...
This is a guest post from Kathryn Riva, a MIEExpert from
Micklefield Primary in Cape Town. Kathryn Used Sway and other applications in a project with her Grade 7s this year. Follow Kathryn on Twitter @kathriva
“The Grade 7s are required to do a project in the first term in which they have to…
Draw a sketch map(s) of own area
Include symbols, key and scale
Record own observations of land use and kinds of vegetation
Show four cardinal compass directions
I decided to make this...
This is a guest post from Bruce Eyles, a MIEExpert from St David’s Mrist in Johannesburg. Bruce teaches English and RE to Grade 7s and he is head of Life Skills in the Senior Prep. He teaches Life Skills to Grade 6. Apart from that he spends a lot of time coaching sport. In this post Bruce shares the different ways that he uses Sway in the classroom.
Although we have 1:1 devices in the classes that I teach, the students unfortunately 😢 do not use Microsoft devices. In its wisdom our IT...
This is the sixth post in the series “MIEExpert Spotlight for South Africa”. The tab with all the posts can be found at: . Today we focus on Phuti Ragophala, the principal of Pula Madibogo Primary School in Limpopo.
Phuti is in her third year of being selected as one of South Africa’s Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts. Last year she was selected to attend the Global Forum in Dubai to interact, share with and learn from innovative teachers from other countries. She was also ...
This is the fourth post in the series “MIEExpert Spotlight for South Africa”. The tab with all the posts can be found at
Nosithembele Gcobo is a teacher at Sentile Junior Secondary School in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape. She describes herself as ‘an innovative, dynamic teacher, ICT integrated and a TBBT – a transformed born before technology innovator!”
She was selected at the end of 2015 as one of South Africa’s 63 Microsoft innovative Educator Experts for 2016. She say...
You can use Sway to create and share interactive reports, presentations and personal stories.
In this webinar @MeganRademeyer and @VictorNgobeni will show you how to create a Sway and they will give you some ideas for using this fun, free presentation tool in your classroom. Guest presenter @PhutiRagophala, a current Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, will show us some of her Sways and how she’s used this tool in the classroom and to spread her ideas.
Time: 3pm (S...
Submitted by Fiona Beal
I am writing about a new Microsoft product called Microsoft Sway that I have been using with Grades 6,7 and 8 at my school. Sway is a free presentation web app – part of the Microsoft Office family of products. It is also available as a iOS app. All you have to do to get started is go to thisURL https://sway.com/ and join up by creating a Microsoft ID. Then just explore! What I love about Sway is that it allows one to combine text and media to create an online presentat...
Kathryn Riva, one of the Microsoft MIEExpert teachers from South Africa, who recently attended the Global Forum in Dubai with Microsoft, sent information about a blended learning task she did with her Grade 5 girls that used Microsoft Sway. Kathryn teaches at Micklefield School in Cape Town. Kathryn Rsays, “I used Microsoft Sway in my SS Geography: Africa blended learning lesson – the class loved Sway and their presentations were outstanding…success!”
During the Grade 5 Ble...
