-- Annual Microsoft in Education Global Forum in Barcelona kicks off with strong momentum on Windows 8 and Office 365 with key content partners.
BARCELONA, Spain, March 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday opened its annual Microsoft in Education Global Forum by emphasizing the importance of student privacy and reaffirming its commitment to helping ensure that student data is never mined for advertising and marketing purposes. The opening keynote speech, which took place in front of an audience of 1,100, including innovative educators, school leaders and government officials from nearly 100 countries, also saw Microsoft highlight its end-to-end, best-in-class solutions with student success and career and college readiness at the forefront.
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"Privacy concerns are holding educators back from making the most of modern technology and preparing students to succeed in today's workplace. At the same time, many solutions being used in the classroom are unintentionally putting student data at risk," said Anthony Salcito, vice president, Worldwide Education, Microsoft. "The private sector has a responsibility to give educators the tools and resources that inspire real learning and have a real impact, while ensuring privacy isn't a barrier to bringing new and innovative technologies into the classroom. This is why Microsoft is committed to taking every measure it can to ensure student information remains safe around the world. We will not, under any circumstance, mine students' data."
Microsoft technology is used in 98 percent of schools worldwide. The company's end-to-end education solutions take the risk out of deploying the latest technologies and solve educators' most pressing challenges across the following key areas:
"We've chosen Microsoft because the company provides an end-to-end solution that meets all our needs — innovative and secured devices, best-in-class productivity, and collaboration apps and comprehensive management capabilities. In addition, the company provides the training and resources our educators need to ensure that our technology investments are successful," said Clayton Carnes, school leader, Hermit Park State School in Australia. "Microsoft's unwavering commitment to student privacy is also extremely important to us because we can rest assured that our students' data isn't being mined for advertising and marketing purposes. This commitment really sets Microsoft apart in the market."
Other news announced today included the following:
Now in its 10th year, the Microsoft in Education Global Forum brings together more than 1,100 of the most innovative and committed educators, school leaders and government officials from around the world — including more than 250 Expert Educators and 75 Mentor School leaders. Each year, the Global Forum provides an opportunity for education's best and brightest to learn from their peers, share classroom triumphs and challenges, and collaborate to help transform education for the 21st century.
Microsoft's focus on privacy in education is part of the YouthSpark initiative, our global commitment to empowering youth through opportunities for education, employment and entrepreneurship. In its first year alone, YouthSpark created new opportunities for more than 103 million young people in over 100 countries around the world.
The Microsoft in Education Global Forum is supported by Platinum- and Gold-level sponsors Pearson, Promethean, Dell Inc., Intel Corporation, Acer and the School Improvement Network.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
