What’s New in Microsoft EDU, Bett Edition January 2026
Welcome to our update for Microsoft Education and our special Bett 2026 edition! The Bett conference takes place in London during the week of January 21st - January 23rd, and Microsoft Education has 18 exciting updates to share! Check out the official Bett News blog here, and for our full Bett schedule and session times, be sure to check out our Microsoft EDU Bett 2026 guide. January 2026 topics: Microsoft 365 Updates for Educators Microsoft Learning Zone Microsoft 365 Updates for Students Teams EDU and OneNote EDU Updates Microsoft 365 LTI Updates Minecraft EDU 1. New Educator tools coming to the Teach Module in Microsoft 365 Unit Plans Soon educators will be able to create unit plans in Teach. Using a familiar interface, educators will be able to describe their unit, ground in existing content and educational standards, and attach any existing lesson plans. Unit plans will be created as Microsoft Word documents to facilitate easy edits and sharing. When: Preview in Spring 2026 Minecraft Lesson Plans Minecraft Education prepares students for the future workplace by helping build skills like collaboration, creative problem-solving, communication, and computational thinking. Coming soon, you will be able to create lesson plans in Teach that are fully teachable in Minecraft Education. And if you’re new to Minecraft Education, the lesson plan includes step-by-step instructions to get started. Just like the existing lesson plan tool in Teach, Minecraft Lessons can be grounded on your class details, existing content, and educational standards from 35+ countries. When: Preview in February 2026 Modify Content When: In Preview now Teach supports educators in modifying their existing teaching materials using AI-powered tools that save time and help meet the diverse needs of learners. With Modify existing content, educators can quickly adapt lessons they already use—without starting from scratch—by aligning materials to standards, differentiating instructions, adjusting reading levels, and enhancing text with supporting examples. Each modification tool accepts direct text input or file uploads from cloud storage, making it easy to transform current curriculum resources. These tools help educators maintain instructional intent while ensuring content is accessible, standards aligned, and effective for all learners. Align materials to standards Aligning instructional content to educational standards helps ensure lessons clearly support required learning goals and set the right expectations for learners. The Align to Standards tool rewrites existing lesson instructions so they reflect the intent of the selected standard—focusing on what learners should understand or be able to do—without copying the standard’s wording. Scenario: An educator has a lesson instruction for a reading activity on ecosystems. After selecting a state science standard, the educator uses Align to Standards to produce a revised instruction that emphasizes system interactions and evidence-based explanations while preserving the lesson’s original purpose. This allows the educator to strengthen alignment quickly without rewriting the lesson from scratch. Differentiate instructions Differentiation helps ensure every learner—regardless of readiness, background knowledge, or support needs—can access and engage with instructional tasks. The Differentiate Instructions tool adapts existing instructions based on specific supports an educator selects, such as adjusting reading level, including a single type of scaffold, or targeting a desired length. Because this tool is designed for single shot use, it produces a clear, accurate adaptation that adheres directly to the selected inputs. Scenario: A secondary biology educator has lab instructions written for general education learners but needs versions for learners requiring additional scaffolding. Using Differentiate Instructions, the educator quickly generates modified instructions that include step-by-step breakdowns, sentence starters, or graphic organizers—making the lab more accessible without changing the learning goal. Modify reading level Adjusting the reading level helps ensure instructional content remains accessible while preserving essential vocabulary and core concepts. The Modify reading level tool rewrites text to match a specified grade level, simplifying or increasing complexity as needed while maintaining meaning. Educators can also choose to generate a glossary with clear, age-appropriate definitions of key terms. Scenario: A social studies educator wants students to work with a primary source written at a university reading level. Using Modify reading level, the educator creates a version that maintains the document’s key ideas and important historical terms while simplifying sentence structure for lower secondary learners. By adding a glossary, students can access learner friendly definitions alongside the adapted text. Add supporting examples Concrete examples strengthen understanding by connecting abstract ideas to real world applications. The Add Supporting Examples tool enhances existing instructional content by appending relevant, accurate, and age-appropriate examples—without altering the original paragraph. Scenario: An educator teaching thermal energy transfer has a paragraph explaining that heat moves from warmer objects to cooler ones, but the concept feels abstract. Using Add Supporting Examples, the educator adds real world examples—such as a metal spoon warming in hot soup or an ice cube melting on a countertop—to help learners visualize how heat transfer works. These examples reinforce understanding and make the concept more accessible for secondary learners. Fill in the Blanks, Matching and Quizzing New Learning Activities are coming soon! We’re excited to introduce three new Learning Activities designed to make classroom experiences more dynamic and personalized: Fill in the Blanks, Matching, and Quizzes. Whether it’s completing paragraphs to strengthen comprehension, pairing terms with definitions in a timed matching game, or testing knowledge through quick self-assessments, these activities bring variety and fun to learning. Fill in the blanks creates paragraphs where learners can check their understanding by filling in missing terms. Matching is a game where learners can match terms and definitions while racing against the clock, aiming for fast completion and accuracy. And Quizzes allows students to quiz themselves and assess their comprehension. Learning Activities are available across our education products, in a standalone web app, in the Teach Module, in Teams for Education, in the Study and Learn agent and Study Guides. When: Spring 2026 Teach Module updates in Teams Classwork In Teams Classwork, you can already use Copilot to create Lesson Plans, Flashcards, and Fill in the Blank Activities. Coming this Spring, you will see the ability to create and modify more content, better matching the capabilities of Teach in the Microsoft 365 Copilot App. This includes modifying content with AI, Minecraft Lessons, and more! When: Coming soon Teach Module and Class Notebook integration We're bringing Copilot-powered creation tools directly into OneNote Class Notebook. Teachers will be able to generate Learning Activities and quizzes or modify existing content (like adjusting reading level or adding supporting examples) without leaving the page where they're already planning. When: Coming soon 2. Spark classroom engagement with Microsoft Learning Zone Educators worldwide are always looking for innovative ways to engage students, personalize learning, and support individual growth, yet limited time and resources often stand in their way. Microsoft Learning Zone, a new Windows app, empowers educators to transform any idea or resource into an interactive, personalized lesson using AI on Copilot+ PCs. The app also provides actionable insights to guide instruction and support every student’s progress. Learning Zone is now available to download from the Windows app store and included at no additional cost with all Microsoft Education licenses. Just in time for Bett 2026, Learning Zone has earned the prestigious ISTE Seal of Alignment - a recognized mark of quality, accessibility, and inclusive design. This recognition reflects our commitment to delivering meaningful, inclusive, and research-backed digital learning experiences for every learner. As noted by ISTE reviewers: "Microsoft Learning Zone saves educators valuable time while delivering personalized instruction that addresses individual learning needs." Getting started with Microsoft Learning Zone is simple. Educators begin by defining their lesson goals and preferences and can also choose to reference their teaching materials or trusted in-app resources by OpenStax. From there, AI does the heavy-lifting, generating a complete, interactive lesson with engaging content slides and a variety of practice activities. Educators can also quickly create Kahoot! quizzes using AI, bringing live classroom gamification into their lessons with just a few clicks. Learning Zone is more than content creation; it provides a full classroom-ready solution: from assignment to actionable insights. Once a lesson is created and reviewed, educators can assign it to students. Students complete lessons at their own pace, on any device, while the lesson flow adapts to their responses, helping reinforce understanding, revisit missed concepts, and build confidence over time. Educators, in turn, gain clear, actionable insights into student progress and mastery, enabling them to personalize instruction and better support every learner’s growth. Learning Zone is a classroom ready solution including management and actionable insights Learning Zone also includes an extensive library of ready-to-learn lessons developed in collaboration with leading global organizations, including the Nobel Peace Center, PBS NewsHour, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), NASA, OpenStax, Figma, and Minecraft Education. Ready-to-learn lessons are available to educators and students on any Windows device and are a great way to inspire curiosity and bring meaningful learning of different subjects into the classroom. Ready-to-learn library in partnership with trusted global organizations Learning Zone is available today: Visit https://learningzone.microsoft.com to learn more and download the app. 3. New AI-powered tools for student learning in Microsoft 365 Study and Learn Agent Bring the interactive, conversational Study and Learn Agent in the Microsoft 365 Copilot App to your students. Available to all Microsoft EDU customers, the agent does not require an additional Copilot license. It is going into preview now, in January 2026. Join the Microsoft Education Insiders community at https://aka.ms/joinEIP and get information about getting access to the Preview. Study and Learn helps learners understand concepts, practice skills with activities like flashcards, and prepare for tests with study guides and quizzes. Additional activities including fill-in-the-blanks, matching, and others that will continue to be added. Purpose-built for learning in collaboration with learning science experts, Study and Learn aims to help foster reflective and critical thinking. Over time, it will provide a more personalized, adaptive, inclusive experience to make learning relevant and bolster motivation. When: January 2026 Preview Learning Activities app The Learning Activities Web App is now here! This web-based experience brings all your favorite activities together in one place, making it easier than ever to create, customize, and share engaging content. Whether you’re an educator designing lessons or a student building study sets, the web app offers a streamlined interface for finding or creating Flashcards and Fill in the Blanks with Matching, and Quizzes coming soon. You can easily access all your activities that you have created in other products from the web app, too. When: Available now! 4. Updates for your favorite teaching tools - Teams EDU and OneNote EDU Set AI Guidelines in Teams To help bring clarity to AI use in the classroom, AI Guidelines in Assignments allow educators to set clear expectations for when and how students can use AI—directly within the assignment experience. Educators start with a set of default, standardized AI use levels, and can apply them at the class or assignment level, with the ability to customize descriptions to reflect their school or district guidelines. These guidelines are clearly visible to students, reducing confusion and supporting responsible, transparent AI use, while also encouraging learners to use secure, education-ready Copilot. When: In Preview Q1 Add Learning Activities to Teams Assignments Learning Activities are coming to Teams Assignments and supported LMS platforms in preview, helping educators integrate interactive practice into the assignment workflows they already use. Educators can add activities such as Flashcards, Fill in the blanks, and Matching, and share resource documents that enable students to create their own learning activities within an assignment or the Classwork module. Students complete activities seamlessly within Assignments or their LMS, with progress captured as part of the assignment experience—supporting active, student driven learning while keeping setup, instruction and review in one familiar place. Students can create their own learning activities from educator-shared resources within an assignment or Classwork. When: In Preview Q1 New information literacy features in Search Progress in Teams Assignments Now students don't just gather sources—they investigate them. Four new research prompts (Source Reputation, Factual Importance, Cross-check, Source Purpose) make their thinking visible as they research. Read more about these new features in the preview blog here, and stay tuned for Microsoft Learn course updates to come. When: Available now Add Learning Zone lessons to Teams Assignments and LMS Learning Zone lessons are coming to Teams Assignments and Microsoft 365 LTI for LMS platforms in preview, allowing educators to bring interactive lessons directly into the assignments and grading workflows they already use. Educators can attach Learning Zone lessons during assignment creation, while students complete them fully embedded within Assignments or their LMS, with progress and scores automatically synchronized for review. This preview helps educators save time, reduce manual setup and grading steps, and confidently deliver interactive learning experiences—while keeping assignment creation, student work, and review all in one place. When: Preview in February Embed Learning Activities in OneNote You asked, we're building it. Soon, learners and educators alike will be able to copy a Learning Activity link, paste it into any OneNote classic page, and have it render inline – all to help folks engage without leaving the page. When: NH Spring 2026 5. Create with Copilot in your LMS In addition to supporting the new Learning Zone lessons in assignments, we are adding exciting new Create with Copilot options in Microsoft 365 LTI which bring the AI-powered capabilities of the Teach Module directly into LMS content creation workflows. From within their course, educators can use Copilot to draft lesson materials and other instructional content which is seamlessly published to the course using familiar Microsoft 365 tools. Create with Copilot is also available in LMS content editors to help educators compose content, discussion posts, and more. This includes the ability to modify existing content, if supported by the LMS platform. By embedding the creation experience where courses are designed and managed, Microsoft 365 LTI helps educators preserve instructional intent, reduce context switching, and move more quickly from planning to teaching. Microsoft 365 LTI is available to any Microsoft Education customer without additional licensing. LMS administrators can deploy the integration to an LTI 1.3 compatible LMS like Canvas, Blackboard, PowerSchool Schoology Learning, D2L/Brightspace and Moodle to get started! When: Preview in February 6. Dedicated servers coming to Minecraft Education Minecraft Education is launching a new feature that enables IT administrators and educators to run dedicated servers to host persistent worlds for use in classrooms and after-school programs, similar to Minecraft Bedrock’s dedicated servers (for the consumer version of the game). Dedicated servers enable cross-tenant gameplay, which is a gamechanger for expanding multiplayer experiences in the classroom or running Minecraft esports programs with other schools. This feature is currently in Beta to release in February for general availability for all Minecraft Education users. (Minecraft Education is available in Microsoft A3 and A5 software subscriptions for schools.) ___________________________________________________________________________________ And finally, just to recap all the news we have for you this month, here’s a quick review of all the features that are generally available or are rolling out soon: Teach Module Microsoft 365 Updates for Educators • Unit Plans – available in spring • Minecraft Lesson plans – preview in February • Modify content – align to standards. Private preview now • Modify content – modify reading level. Private preview now • Modify content – add supporting examples Private preview now • Modify content – differentiate instructions. Private preview now • Teach Module integration into OneNote Class Notebooks – preview in spring Microsoft Learning Zone • Available to download from the Windows store, at no additional cost • Provide full classroom ready solution including lesson management and insights • Teach Module, Teams Assignments and LMS integration in March Microsoft 365 Updates for Students • Study and Learn Agent – preview in late January • Learning Activities – Fill in the Blanks generally available • Learning Activities – Matching Activities in private preview now • Learning Activities – Self-quizzing available in private preview in February Teams and OneNote EDU Updates • Set expected AI use in Assignments – private preview end of January • Add Flashcards to Assignments – private preview in February • New information literacy features in Search Progress • Embed Learning Activities in OneNote – private preview in spring Copilot in your Learning Management System Dedicated Minecraft EDU servers Have any feedback to share with us? As always, we'd love to hear it! Mike Tholfsen Group Product Manager Microsoft EducationUsing Reading Coach in the classroom: Microsoft 365 LTI app + educator tools
Hi everyone! As we work to better support learners on their journey to becoming confident readers, I’m excited to share a few updates about Reading Coach – our free, AI-powered reading fluency tool – and highlight how it’s now even more accessible for your classroom. 📣 What's new: Reading Coach in the Microsoft 365 LTI We've heard from educators that managing multiple LTI® integrations can be overwhelming. That's why we're thrilled to announce that Reading Coach is now available in the unified Microsoft 365 LTI! This means you can access Reading Coach alongside other Microsoft education tools – like Class Notebook, Assignments, Reflect, and more – all from a single integration in your Learning Management System (LMS). What does this mean for you? ✅ One integration, many tools: No need to install separate LTI apps for each Microsoft education tool ✅ Simpler for IT admins: A single app to configure and manage ✅ Same great Reading Coach experience: All the AI-powered fluency features you love If your school uses Canvas, Schoology Learning, Blackboard, Brightspace by D2L, Moodle ™, or another LTI 1.3 Advantage platform, ask your LMS administrator about enabling the Microsoft 365 LTI. Where to find Reading Coach in the Microsoft 365 LTI Navigate to the Microsoft Education placement in your LMS and select Course settings in the top right under your profile image. Ensure Reading Coach is toggled on. If you don’t see it, your administrator might need to enable it for your district. To learn more, check out these resources: For educators: Microsoft 365 LTI User Docs For administrators: Microsoft 365 LTI Deployment Guide 📖 How-to: getting started with guided practice in Reading Coach Guided practice allows educators to create reading assignments that students can join with a simple link or code – no complex setup required. What is guided practice? Guided practice features bridge the gap between free reading and formal assignments. Educators can create two types of practices: Practice Type What It Does Open Reading Set a time goal (for example, "Read for 20 minutes"). Students can read anything in the app – AI stories, library passages – to reach their goal. Single Passage Share a specific text for students to read. Paste your own content or choose from the built-in ReadWorks library. 🎬 See It in Action Watch this quick demo video to see guided practice features in action: Step 1: Access Reading Coach as an educator Go to coach.microsoft.com or access Reading Coach through the All Apps list on microsoft365.com. Keep an eye out for a lightweight guided practice preview in Reading Coach in the Microsoft 365 LTI soon! Sign in with your school Microsoft account (Microsoft Entra ID). Look for the Teacher/Student toggle at the top of the home page – make sure you're in Teacher view. Step 2: Create a new practice Select Create a Practice. Choose your practice type: Open Reading: Set a time goal. Single Passage: Paste custom text or browse the ReadWorks library. Give your practice a name that students will recognize. Select Create. Step 3: Share with students Once your practice is created, you'll see: A unique Join Code (for example, "567123") A direct link to share Share either of these with your students via: Your LMS announcement or assignment Projected on your classroom board Email or messaging Step 4: Monitor student progress From each practice in the Teacher tab, you can track: Completion status: Who has started? Who has finished? Time spent: How long did each student practice? Fluency metrics: Words Per Minute (WPM) and Accuracy percentage Individual history: Drill down into any student's reading journey Requirements To use Guided Practice: Accounts: Requires Microsoft Entra ID (school) accounts Same tenant: Educators and students must belong to the same Microsoft 365 tenant No-cost: No additional licenses required beyond Microsoft 365 Education Get Started Today! Reading Coach is free for all Microsoft 365 Education users. Whether you're using it standalone at coach.microsoft.com or through the Microsoft 365 LTI app in your LMS, we're here to help every student build reading confidence. Helpful Links: 📘 Reading Coach on Microsoft Learn 💬 Share feedback with us by joining our EDU Insider Program Have questions? Drop them in the comments below – I'd love to hear how you're using Reading Coach in your classroom! Until next time, Emma Gray Microsoft Education Learning Tools Interoperability® (LTI®) is a trademark of the 1EdTech Consortium, Inc. (1edtech.org) The word Moodle and associated Moodle logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Moodle Pty Ltd or its related affiliates.Hands-On Session: Teach Module in Copilot (available for all educators)
Join us on Wednesday, December 10th, 2025 @ 8am Pacific Time for an in-depth professional development webinar on the new AI-powered "Teach" module in Microsoft 365 that is fully rolled out and available to all educators. This will be a 45 minute hands-on webinar where the Product team will walk through the new updates in detail and you can follow- along at home with your own M365 account! Sign up for the session at this link. And don’t worry – we’ll be recording these and posting on our Microsoft Education YouTube channel so you’ll always to able to watch later or share with others! Here is our training agenda for the webinar 👇 How to use the new AI-powered "Teach" module in M365. Includes: ✅ Lesson plans ✅ Copilot Quizzes ✅ Standards integration ✅ Learning Activities ✅ Differentiate reading materials ✅ Teams EDU integration and Classwork ✅ First look at OneNote EDU and Teach Module integration We look forward to having you attend the event! Mike Tholfsen Group Product Manager Microsoft EducationWhat's New in Microsoft EDU - October 2025 (AI for all edition)
Join us on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025 for our latest "What's New in Microsoft EDU" webinar! This will be a special one where we go into depth about all of the AI powered tools for educators and students who use Microsoft 365 in Education that we just announced. These 30-minute webinars are put on by the Microsoft Education Product Management group and happen once per month, this month both 8:00am Pacific Time and 4:00pm Pacific time to cover as many global time zones as possible around the world. And don’t worry – we’ll be recording these and posting on our Microsoft Education YouTube channel in the new “What’s New in Microsoft EDU” playlist, so you’ll always to able to watch later or share with others! Here is our October 2025 webinar agenda: M365 Copilot and AI updates for Educators and Students Learning Zone public preview and the Copilot+ PC Microsoft 365 LTI for Learning Management Systems AMA - Ask Microsoft EDU Anything (Q&A) We look forward to having you attend the event! How to sign up OPTION 1: October 22nd, Wednesday @ 8:00am Pacific Time Register here OPTION 2: October 22nd, Wednesday @ 4:00pm Pacific Time Register here This is what the webinar portal will look like when you register: We look forward to seeing you there! Mike Tholfsen Group Product Manager Microsoft EducationWhat's New in Microsoft EDU webinar - August 2025
Join us on Wednesday, August 20th, 2025 for our latest "What's New in Microsoft EDU" webinar! These 30-minute webinars are put on by the Microsoft Education Product Management group and happen once per month, this month both 8:00am Pacific Time and 4:00pm Pacific time to cover as many global time zones as possible around the world. And don’t worry – we’ll be recording these and posting on our Microsoft Education YouTube channel in the new “What’s New in Microsoft EDU” playlist, so you’ll always to able to watch later or share with others! Here is our August 2025 webinar agenda: Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Chat for students 13+ M365 Copilot updates for Educators and Students Learning Zone public preview and the Copilot+ PC Microsoft 365 LTI for Learning Management Systems Learning Accelerator updates Microsoft 365 app updates AMA - Ask Microsoft EDU Anything (Q&A) We look forward to having you attend the event! How to sign up OPTION 1: August 20th, Wednesday @ 8:00am Pacific Time Register here OPTION 2: August 20th, Wednesday @ 4:00pm Pacific Time Register here This is what the webinar portal will look like when you register: Look forward to seeing you there! Mike Tholfsen Group Product Manager Microsoft EDUNow generally available: new educator features in the AI-powered Reading Coach
Just in time for applications to open for the 2025-2026 cohort of MIE Experts, we are thrilled to announce the general availability of new educator features in Reading Coach. These new features address our top educator requests, making it easier to guide learner practice by sharing custom passages, setting time goals for learner-led practice, and monitoring practice data over time. You can find detailed instructions for creating your first practices here, or take the updated Reading Coach module on MSLearn. Read on for an overview! As a reminder, Reading Coach is a FREE reading fluency application that provides personalized, engaging practice with safeguarded one-of-a-kind AI generated stories that keeps even the most reluctant readers coming back. Create and share practices Whether you want to set a time goal for independent, learner-led reading (they can choose to read anything in the app, including AI-generated stories), share a custom passage, or select an existing one from the built-in ReadWorks library, Reading Coach makes it easy to tailor practices to your learners’ needs. Learners then join the practice with a simple link or code. Monitor learner progress With the new Teacher mode, educators can monitor learner progress per practice and over time. You can track progress toward a time goal or completion status of a shared passage, average correct words per minute, and average reading accuracy. This data helps you understand how your students are progressing and where you might want to support. Requirements To access these features, educators and learners must have Microsoft Entra ID (School) accounts and belong to the same Microsoft 365 tenant. While Reading Coach is also available at home with personal Microsoft accounts, these educator features require a school account. We are so excited to see how you use these new features to create new and engaging reading practice opportunities for your learners. Stay in touch! Emma Gray Product Manager Microsoft EducationAnnouncing new educator preview features in the AI-powered Reading Coach
<today's post was written by Emma Gray, Product Manager on the Microsoft Education team> We are thrilled to announce the preview release of new educator features in Reading Coach, including sharing custom passages with learners, setting time goals for learner-led practice, and monitoring practice data over time. While these features will be generally available in the coming weeks, you can find detailed instructions for unlocking early access and creating your first practices here. Complete, detailed instructions for unlocking preview and creating your first practices can be found here. Read on for an overview! As a reminder, Reading Coach is a FREE reading fluency application that provides personalized, engaging practice with safeguarded one-of-a-kind AI generated stories that keeps even the most reluctant readers coming back. One-time preview unlock As an educator, sign into Reading Coach with your School (Entra ID) account. Right-click the Coach (Sunny, the sun, by default). If you’re on a touch-enabled device, long-pressing on Sunny will work too. You will see a new box appear that encourages you to "Find out more." Selecting that will bring you to a preview consent page, and selecting “Accept” from there will enable preview! Once you’ve created your first practice, your learners can enable preview by clicking a valid practice join link or entering a valid join code themselves by right-clicking or long-pressing the Coach. Create and share practices Whether you want to set a time goal for independent, learner-led reading (they can choose to read anything in the app, including AI-generated stories), share a custom passage, or select an existing one from the built-in ReadWorks library, Reading Coach makes it easy to tailor practices to your learners’ needs. Learners then join the practice with a simple link or code. Monitor learner progress With the new Teacher mode, educators can monitor learner progress per practice and over time. You can track progress toward a time goal or completion status of a shared passage, average correct words per minute, and average reading accuracy. This data helps you understand how your students are progressing and where you might want to support. Requirements To access these features, educators and learners must have Microsoft Entra ID (School) accounts and belong to the same Microsoft 365 tenant. While Reading Coach is also available at home with personal Microsoft accounts, these educator features require a school account. Join the Preview Community Joining the Reading Coach feedback community in Microsoft Teams is a great way to shape future releases, with direct access to the product team and twice-weekly office hours. To join the community, sign up here! We are so excited to see how you use these new features to create new and engaging reading practice opportunities for your learners. Stay in touch! Emma Gray Product Manager Microsoft EducationCopilot Agents in Education - join us for a webinar to learn more about AI agents
Join us for an session about AI Agents in Microsoft Copilot, tailored for educators. We'll delve into what Agents are, using them and even creating them. We'll highlight how educational institutions can use AI to enhance user engagement, teaching and learning, and productivity. Discover how the Microsoft Copilot Stack can empower educators and students alike.What's New in Microsoft EDU webinar - March 2025
Join us on Wednesday, March 12th, 2025 for our latest "What's New in Microsoft EDU" webinar! These 30 minute webinars are put on by the Microsoft Education Product Management group and happen once per month, this month both 8:00am Pacific Time and 4:00pm Pacific time to cover as many global time zones as possible around the world.Learning Accelerators, Teams Assignments Generally Available for Blackboard by Anthology
Today we are pleased to announce general availability of the Teams Assignments integration for Blackboard by Anthology! Blackboard is the latest Learning Management System to move to GA with this powerful integration, with more on the way. The Teams Assignments integration brings the power of Microsoft Learning Accelerators and generative AI educator tools to your LMS, along with other engaging activities such as Flip videos, Auto-graded Forms, MakeCode projects, Whiteboards, and Reflect check-ins. Grades and feedback are automatically returned to the LMS gradebook. LMS admin resources for deployment: Blackboard Admin Deployment Guide NOTE: If you have already deployed the preview, you do not need to re-install - just keep enjoying the app! Educator resources for readiness: Using Microsoft Teams Assignments in Learning Management Systems Additional readiness for Microsoft Learning Accelerators: Support reading fluency practice with Reading Progress Develop confident presenters with Speaker Progress Develop search strategies with Search Coach and Search Progress Support building mathematics skills with Math Progress Build social and emotional skills in your classroom community with Reflect Achieve More with Assignments in your LMS The new Teams Assignments integration brings unique new capabilities into your LMS, saving educators time, and providing powerful tools to accelerate learning. For example, with Teams assignments you can: Leverage AI during assignment creation to rapidly draft assignment descriptions and rubrics Accelerate student learning and educator insights with Reading, Math, Search, and Speaker Progress assignments Deliver auto-graded quizzes with Microsoft Forms Access unique assignment types such as Microsoft Whiteboard, MakeCode, and Flip video Use Reflect exit check-ins to gain insights into student sentiment related to assignments Teams Assignments are seamlessly integrated with LMS assignments via the Learning Tools Interoperability® (LTI®) v1.3 Advantage standard. As an educator, you can create new Teams assignments or link existing Teams assignments in your LMS course. Once linked, you can view and access those assignments as you would any other assignment in the LMS course. Your students can view and access their Teams assignments in the same way as their other LMS assignments. Assignment grades in Teams are automatically imported into the LMS gradebook. You can now use the best that Teams assignments and your LMS offer working together, instead of working alongside each other. Support for additional LMS platforms will be added soon! You can sign up here to receive information on current and future LMS integration previews. Choose the Right Tool for the Right Assignment Many educators are already using the OneDrive LTI® tool to bring M365 documents into LMS assignments. The new Teams Assignments LTI® tool is a complementary solution that brings unique capabilities of Teams for Education to LMS users. When creating an assignment in your LMS, you should choose the tool that best meets the needs of the specific assignment. Whatever the choice of tool, the assignment can be viewed and accessed like any other assignment in the LMS, and grades will be added into the LMS gradebook. Teams Assignments LTI® OneDrive LTI® What is it best used for? Learning Accelerators, Forms Quizzes, Whiteboard, MakeCode, Flip video, and other activities exclusive to Teams Assignments. AI-assisted assignment and rubric creation. Multiple Word, PowerPoint, Excel documents along with other activities can be required to be submitted by the student as part of a single assignment. Embedding or linking M365 documents in course content, discussions, announcements, or other LMS content. When a single or several documents are the focus of the assignment, announcement or discussion, and other Teams Assignments features are not needed. Collaborative editing of documents. Where are assignments graded? In Microsoft Teams, with grades and feedback automatically syncing back to the LMS gradebook. In the LMS, using the native LMS rubrics and gradebook. Requires Microsoft Teams for Education? Yes No How to get Help or give Feedback For any issues deploying the integration, our Education Support team is here to help: Please contact https://aka.ms/EduSupport Once deployed, the Teams Assignments integration has links to Contact Support and Send Feedback from right within the app. These can be found in the user voice menu in the upper right on any view that appears within the LMS. Leverage Microsoft Education for more than Assignments in your LMS The new Teams assignments integration is the latest advancement in our continued efforts to bring the full value of Microsoft Education to users of learning management systems. You can already use the capabilities of Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, OneNote Class Notebooks, Microsoft Reflect directly within LMS courses. You can learn more about these integrations with leaning management systems such as Blackboard, Brightspace, Canvas, Schoology Learning and Moodle in our previous overview, and our support page. Learning Tools Interoperability® (LTI®) is a trademark of the 1EdTech Consortium, Inc. (www.1edtech.org)
