Microsoft Puerto Rico to host innovative teachers summit
From left: Education Secretary-Designate Rafael Román-Meléndez and Marco Casarín-Junco, general manager of Microsoft Puerto Rico.
As part of its commitment to transform education through the integration of technology into the teaching and learning process, Microsoft Puerto Rico will sponsor the 2nd “Innovative Teachers Forum” in Puerto Rico, an event slated for May 29th that is expected to draw more than 200 K-12 teachers from public and private education systems interested in developing innovative projects in the classroom.
“Providing quality education to more than 200 million students in Puerto Rico and Latin America is essential for the future of the region and it’s Microsoft’s commitment to contribute to the achievement of that goal,” said Marco Casarín-Junco, general manager of Microsoft Puerto Rico.
“At Microsoft, our goal is to promote and recognize the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning for innovators, which is the reason for this forum. We seek to acknowledge that an excellent education is a basic right and a social and economic imperative to promote employment. Technology can accelerate the economic and educational impact exponentially,” he said during a news conference held earlier this week, in which Education Secretary-Designate Rafael Román-Meléndez took part.
Educators participating in the event will be selected through a pre-competition to represent their school, demonstrating classroom excellence and innovation. With a panel of experts in the fields of education and technology, Microsoft will pick those outstanding teachers who through innovative practices and use of technology have transformed classrooms into sources of knowledge and development and consequently have transformed the lives of their students.
Román-Meléndez called the forum an initiative that exemplifies the spirit of co-operation that must exist between teachers, the community, the private sector, and the government to meet education challenges of the 21st century.
“Promoting the advancement of educational technology in the island is one of our goals and therefore we encourage our educators to participate in this initiative,” he said.
Educators interested in participating in the forum can access the rules to register their projects via Facebook or email ([email protected]), and must sign up by May 3, organizers said.
