What’s New in Microsoft EDU, ISTE Edition June 2025
Welcome to our monthly update for Microsoft Education and thank you so much for being part of our growing community! We’re thrilled to share new AI innovation and insights for education and show them in action next week at ISTELive 25 in San Antonio, Texas, US. Join us at the show to learn more and hear about the latest from Microsoft Education at our booth and in dozens of sessions. Enjoy, and see you there! ISTE Topics Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat for teens (13-17) Microsoft 365 Copilot – Educator Features Microsoft 365 Copilot – Learner Features Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents Learning Zone on the Copilot+ PC Learning Accelerators Updates Learning Management System Integration Updates We’ve loved seeing the early impact at institutions such as Brisbane Catholic Education and Miami Dade College and exploration of new capabilities like agents. Get started with Copilot Chat, our no-cost AI-powered chat with data protection, and learn more about Microsoft 365 Copilot. Our first two topics today are about even more value we’re bringing to education in Microsoft 365 Copilot with a new set of capabilities designed for relevant and powerful use by educators and students. These features will be included in Microsoft 365 Copilot and will be in private previews over the coming months. Education institutions with any academic license are eligible to purchase Microsoft 365 Copilot, with no minimum, for their faculty, staff, and students aged 13 and older. 1. Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat for teens (13+) Last month, we announced teen student availability coming this summer for Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot and today, we are sharing general availability is expected in late July, 2025. To prepare, administrators should review guidance to enable Copilot Chat for students and ensure appropriate access. Learn more: Enable Copilot Chat access for students Copilot Chat is included with Microsoft 365 at no additional cost and offers secure AI chat powered by GPT-4o with the ability to maintain IT control through enterprise data protection and management. It also includes features like file upload, image generation, Copilot Pages, and agents. We’re optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead to help students increase their agency and build skills to prepare for future success. Read more about use cases, reflections, and advice from our global private preview educators and students in the announcement blog and from Johns Creek High School in the following video. When: Late July, 2025 2. Microsoft 365 Copilot – Educator Features Teach in the Microsoft 365 Copilot App Microsoft 365 Copilot delivers the latest AI innovations whether through reasoning agents like Researcher and Analyst, or advanced functionality like Copilot Tuning. We recently introduced the updated Microsoft 365 Copilot app, your hub for the latest functionality and later this year in preview, for AI-powered features for educators. In one place, educators will be able to easily create lesson plans, draft materials like quizzes and rubrics, and quickly make modifications like translation, adjusted reading levels, length, difficulty, alignment to relevant standards, and more. This module will be your one stop shop for creating and adapting education content in a guided interface, designed for Education institutions. Teaching capabilities can assist you in drafting the best content for your class, including lesson plans, rubrics, learning activities and more! Guided: Create and adapt content in guided interfaces, reducing the need for advanced prompting techniques, while still giving you full control over Copilot. Grounded: Leverage Education standards from 35 countries, your own content, and your class details to ground Copilot and create content relevant to your class. Available where you are: In the Microsoft 365 Copilot App on Web, Windows or Mac. When: First functionality previews in August 2025 Lesson Plans in Classwork AI generated lesson plans will also be coming to Classwork in Microsoft Teams. Bring your class details and a lesson description, and Copilot will create a lesson outline with suggestions for enhancements. Provide Copilot with relevant files and your education standards for an even more grounded lesson plan. When: In Private Preview July. General Availability end of summer 2025 Education data integration At ISTE this year, we’re thrilled to showcase how Microsoft 365 Copilot is becoming even more powerful for educators with the integration of Assignments and Classwork data. By bringing this rich, contextual classroom information directly into the flow of work, Copilot can now help teachers save time, gain insights, and support students more effectively. Educators can quickly surface upcoming assignments, generate summaries, and even tailor instruction based on the needs of each student— all from within familiar Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Outlook, and Teams. This integration marks a significant step forward in enabling AI-powered teaching, helping educators focus more on what matters most: meaningful student learning. When: Private Preview: Summer 2025 Standards alignment and creation We are excited to share updates on our efforts to bring standards aligned content to our education features. We are partnering with EdGate to integrate learning standards from over 36 countries into our AI features in Teams for Education and Microsoft 365. Integrating EdGate’s comprehensive and global standards set will empower educators to select standards that are relevant to their classes and assignments, allowing them to create high-quality, tailored content. Educators will have the flexibility to choose standards based on location, subject, language, and other criteria. Standards will be seamlessly integrated into all our AI processes in the future. For ISTE, we are happy to announce that our AI Rubric Generator and our new AI Lesson Plan creation tool will be the first features to support standards alignment. Standards alignment will help educators create class materials that are not only relevant and engaging but also pedagogically aligned. When: Summer 2025 Suggested AI feedback for Educators AI feedback suggestions is a new feature that makes it easier for you when you want to provide feedback to students as part of your Assignments flow using Microsoft 365 Copilot. Use the Feedback field as a scratchpad as you review the student work, and have Copilot enhance and summarize it for you. Or, if you are using rubrics, you can have Copilot review your rubric selection and summarize it. Copilot always uses your input as the basis of the suggested summarized feedback, and you will always need to confirm the suggested update and add potential edits, before returning to the student. When: In Private Preview – General Availability Summer 2025 3. Microsoft 365 Copilot – Learner features Study guide in Copilot Notebooks Copilot Notebooks in Microsoft 365 Copilot is your AI-powered workspace to stay focused on what matters most. Bring together Copilot chats, Microsoft 365 files, OneNote pages, meeting notes, and links—all in one place. Listen to an audio overview hosted by two voices. Ask questions and Copilot will analyze your notebook content, surface insights, and help you draft new content. Copilot Notebooks available now at microsoft365.com/copilot, (A Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required.) Coming to preview in fall 2025, the new study guide feature will help learners turn scattered materials into an organized study space. Upload notes, lecture slides, handouts, and links to generate a custom guide with engaging activities, quizzes, and topic deep dives. Summary and topic pages include explanations, worked examples, and questions that help learners understand, think and apply their learning. With flashcards, quiz, fill-in-the-blanks learning becomes active and personalized – for college, K-12, and adults learners alike. Copilot Notebooks are available inside OneNote alongside all the rest of your classic Notebooks to keep everything together and easy to find. When: Copilot Notebooks available now, Study Guide coming in fall 2025. Learning activities We’re excited to share that Learning Activities will be coming to Microsoft 365 Copilot this summer! Learning activities is a new Microsoft Education experience designed to help educators and students transform passive content into active learning. With just a few clicks, educators and students can now create engaging practice activities like flashcards directly from existing learning content. Learning Science tells us that when students can engage actively with the material that they are more likely to understand and retain what they are learning. Drawing on frameworks like ICAP and Generative Learning, learning activities supports deeper understanding by encouraging students to actively organize and apply new knowledge. Educators and students benefit from time-saving automation, built-in feedback loops, and tools that support differentiated instruction, all while maintaining control over the learning experience. Our first learning activity will be AI generated flashcards in Classwork. Educators will be able to add their learning content, select question type and hints, and generate cards. They can then make edits, add images, and even enhance the cards with AI before sharing them with their students. In the future, we will add more activities like fill-in-the-blanks, mind maps, and matching. Students with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses will be able to generate their own learning activities in the future, too. When: Summer 2025 4. Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents On top of the wide range of pre-built agents from Microsoft, teaching and learning agents will be available in the coming months. Eligible students are proactively prompted with questions to engage them in the learning process and provide tailored coaching on specific subjects or assignments. Educators receive the support of an instructional designer with responses grounded in pedagogical expertise and educational standards. Teaching Agent When: private preview later this year Learning Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Canvas Agents We have developed two agent samples to assist educators and students in engaging with the Canvas LMS. Canvas Teacher and Canvas Student connect Copilot with Canvas via Microsoft 365 apps that include BizChat, Word, and PowerPoint. These can be accessed through open-source, customizable samples. Get and customize Canvas Teacher and Canvas Student. When: Available now as open-source Moodle Agents We also have developed two agent samples to assist educators and students in engaging with the Moodle LMS. Moodle Teacher and Moodle Student allow Copilot to interface with Moodle via M365 apps that include BizChat, Word, and PowerPoint. These can be accessed through open-source, customizable samples. Get Moodle agents and customize them to your needs. When: Available now as open-source 5. Introducing Microsoft Learning Zone: A new way to create interactive, personalized lessons on Copilot+ PCs Earlier this year at Bett, we introduced a new app—code-named “Project Spark”—designed to help educators deliver meaningful, AI-enhanced learning experiences. We’re excited to share that this free app is coming to public preview later this summer with its official name: Microsoft Learning Zone. Microsoft Learning Zone helps you save time by turning your existing teaching materials into interactive lessons that students can engage with directly. Whether you’re introducing a new topic, reinforcing key ideas, or creating personalized practice, the app uses on-device AI to help you build student-ready content in minutes. Built for Copilot+ PCs, it brings AI into your workflow responsibly and privately, so you stay in control while focusing on what matters most: great teaching and learning. Experience Microsoft Learning Zone on a 12-inch Surface Pro Create interactive learning experiences students can engage with instantly The app generates interactive slides, questions, and explanations based on your content, which you can review, reword, or adjust with just a few clicks. Lessons include checks for understanding, instant feedback, and opportunities for students to revisit what they missed—supporting deeper learning over time. When you’re ready, you can share the lesson with a short code, a link, or directly in Microsoft Teams. And with built-in insights, you’ll see how students are progressing and know exactly where to follow up. Edit an AI-generated interactive lesson in Microsoft Learning Zone Built in partnership with educators and trusted voices We know that great content matters. That’s why we’ve teamed up with leading organizations to bring real-world, relevant material into your classroom. From NASA and Minecraft Education to PBS, OpenStax, and Figma, you’ll find interactive, ready-to-learn lessons that spark curiosity, critical thinking, and deeper discussion with your students. Our collaboration with OpenStax - a leader in open educational resources - lets you generate lessons based on high-quality, peer-reviewed academic content. Whether you’re teaching science, history, or economics, you can trust the materials that Learning Zone helps you build from. Learn more here. Generate Kahoot! quizzes with AI We’re proud to partner with Kahoot! to make it even easier to create interactive and gamified learning experiences. Directly within Learning Zone, you can generate Kahoot! games using AI on your Copilot+ PC - perfect for quick checks for understanding or fun group reviews. It’s the energy of Kahoot! with the speed of AI. Generation of a Kahoot! quiz using on-device AI When: Microsoft Learning Zone is currently in private preview and will be available in public preview later this summer. To learn more and get notified when the app is ready to download, visit https://aka.ms/zone. 6. Learning Accelerator updates Reading Progress Reading Progress is our no-cost Learning Accelerator that helps students build reading fluency while giving educators valuable insights. The #1 educator request has been to allow students to see comprehension questions next to the reading passage that a student sees. Up until now, the comprehension questions would always appear after the reading passage was finished, but students could not reference the original passage. With today’s update, educators now have the option to have the comprehension questions show side-by-side with the reading passage. When: Available now Math Progress Our newest Learning Accelerator Math Progress rolled out globally in December 2024. We’ve been listening to educator feedback and we’re excited to announce the top two requests have been added! You can now add images or generated graphs to your Math Progress assignment questions. When: Available today Speaker Progress We have some great new features coming to Speaker Progress! Speaker Progress is our Learning Accelerator that helps students build confidence in their presentation and public speaking skills with real-time coaching and feedback. Educators can then view speeches and track student progress over time. AI Transcript Feedback in Speaker Progress We are bringing generative AI to Speaker Progress with our new AI Transcript Feedback feature. Educators can choose to enable AI feedback, select a speech type, and evaluation criteria. Student speeches will then receive summary feedback and in line comments to help them improve the content and qualitative aspects of their presentations. The educator is fully in control and must review AI Feedback before it is shared with students. Educators can create AI feedback: Educators can review AI feedback: When: Summer 2025 More languages in Speaker Progress More languages are now available in Speaker Progress, including Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, German, French, Dutch and Danish. Keep checking back regularly as we are adding new languages to Speaker Progress every month! When: Available globally now! Reading Coach Educators can now share custom passages, set time goals for learners, and track progress over time through the new guided practice feature in Reading Coach. Check out the new Microsoft Learn unit here. When: Available now Leveled fiction and non-fiction Spanish passages in Reading Coach curated content library. When: Available now Using the Insights Leader Graph API, education institutions and partners can build custom dashboards to track students’ reading progression in Reading Coach. When: August 2025 7. Learning Management System Integration Updates In response to feedback from our educator community, we are making Microsoft Education tools easier to deploy and use within learning management systems. Learning Accelerators and AI-enhanced assignments (without Microsoft Teams) You will soon be able to use Learning Accelerators, standards alignment, rubric generation, instructions generation, suggested feedback, and other Microsoft EDU assignments capabilities directly within your learning management system (LMS), without Microsoft Teams. The current Teams Assignments LTI is transforming into Microsoft Assignments LTI, enabling more LMS users to benefit from advanced, AI-enhanced capabilities that were formerly exclusive to Microsoft Teams for Education. Assignments will be created, managed, completed, and graded, entirely within the LMS user experience. The change will automatically roll out to users of the current Teams Assignments LTI tool, where use in new courses will no longer require Teams. Existing Teams-based assignments will continue to work, so no migration is necessary. This enhancement will apply to all currently supported LMS platforms, including Instructure Canvas, Powerschool Schoology, Anthology Blackboard, D2L Brightspace, and Moodle. When: Public Preview Summer 2025; GA Fall 2025 New, streamlined learning management system experience We are bringing our Microsoft Education capabilities for learning management systems together into a single tool and streamlined user experience. You will be able to access Learning Accelerators, Reflect, OneDrive, Teams, and more in their LMS courses, without having to enable multiple tools, and without overcrowding the menus where LTI tools are surfaced. Whether adding content to a module, creating an assignment, or scheduling a meeting for a class, you will be able to easily access Microsoft Education’s related features directly in your LMS workflow. The new LTI tool will debut this Summer as a replacement for the deprecated Teams Meetings and Team Classes LTI tools. The capabilities of OneNote, OneDrive, Reflect, and Microsoft Assignments will be added to the new tool in the following months. The tool will be available for all currently supported LMS platforms, including Instructure Canvas, Powerschool Schoology, Anthology Blackboard, D2L Brightspace, and Moodle. When: Public Preview Summer 2025; GA Fall 2025 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 now: Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat for teens (13+) Microsoft 365 Copilot – Educator updates Teach module in the Microsoft 365 Copilot App Classwork integration AI Feedback Standards integration Learning Activities Microsoft 365 Copilot – Learner updates Study Guide and Copilot Notebooks Learning Activities Microsoft 365 Agent updates Teach agent Learn agent Canvas agents Moodle agent Microsoft Learning Zone for Copilot+ PC Learning Accelerator updates Reading Progress updates Math Progress updates Speaker Progress updates Reading Coach updates Learning Management System Integration Mike Tholfsen Group Product Manager Microsoft EducationIntroducing Python and Jupyter Notebooks Support in Microsoft Teams
Python is the fastest-growing language in popularity and is increasingly used in education for a variety of fields such as data science, mathematics, physics, and statistics. Jupyter Notebooks, interactive documents that comprise code, rich-text, and visualizations, are widely used and loved by data scientists and machine learning practitioners.What's New in Microsoft EDU, BETT 2025 Edition
Welcome to our update for Microsoft Education and our special Bett 2025 edition! The Bett conference takes place in London during the week of January 22th - January 24th, and Microsoft Education has a bunch of exciting updates to share! Check out official Bett News blog here, and our full Bett schedule and session times, be sure to check out our Microsoft EDU Bett 2025 guide. January 2025 topics: New Learning app for Copilot+ PC M365 Copilot Chat M365 Copilot updates for Educators and Students Learning Accelerators Teams Minecraft EDU OneNote 1. Project Spark, a new learning app for Copilot+ PCs Last year, Microsoft introduced Copilot+ PCs; a groundbreaking category of Windows PCs designed for AI. These are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built, featuring powerful silicon capable of over 40 TOPS (trillion operations per second), all-day battery life, and access to advanced AI models. Copilot+ PCs unlock capabilities you won’t find on any other PC. At Bett, we’re excited to announce Project Spark, a new free AI-enhanced learning app coming later this year to Copilot+ PCs. Via the power of AI Spark empowers educators to create interactive, personalized lessons quickly and with no-cost. Whether using their own materials or leveraging trusted resources available in the app, it makes teachers’ day-to-day easier by cutting the manual work and tech knowledge needed for content creation, and enables educators to provide active, meaningful, personalized and engaging learning experiences for their students. Project Spark is built on trusted partnerships with leading organizations: OpenStax: Harness the power of the world’s largest publisher of open educational resources (OER) and a leader in interactive learning technology, based at Rice University, to generate lessons tailored to your needs. NASA, Figma and Minecraft Education: Explore ready-to-learn interactive lessons that inspire creativity, curiosity, and next-level engagement both in the classroom and beyond. Kahoot!: Effortlessly create personalized, interactive Kahoot! games with on-device AI, to engage your classroom with fun and effective learning experiences. Project Spark brings learning value to the entire Windows classroom; while lesson generation is only available on Copilot+ PC devices, anyone with a Modern PC can use the extensive ready-to-learn lesson library or any lesson created by their colleagues to share with students, and students can play lessons on any Windows device. Grounded in learning science and developed with responsible AI principles in mind, Project Spark is the first educational solution natively built for Copilot+ PCs, harnessing on-device AI (NPUs) to elevate teaching and learning and ensures lessons are not only impactful but also inclusive, engaging, and safe. With Project Spark, we’re taking the next step in transforming classrooms, enabling educators to create meaningful learning experiences powered by cutting-edge technology. 2. M365 Copilot Chat updates Our vision is for everyone to have access to a Copilot and for educational experiences to be transformed with agents. Education institutions from Auburn University to Northern Ireland Education Authority are already saving time and improving learning outcomes with Copilot. Today, we’re introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, a new offering that adds pay-as-you-go agents to our existing free chat experience for Microsoft 365 education customers. Copilot Chat includes: Free, secure AI chat powered by GPT-4o Agents accessible right in the chat and priced on a metered basis IT controls, including enterprise data protection and agent management It’s the chat experience you can use every day—powered by broad knowledge from the web, built on the latest AI models, and designed to be safe and secure. It offers foundational capabilities of the Copilot Control System, including enterprise data protection and agent management. Moving forward, institutions will have a mix of Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot, our best-in-class offering. Try Copilot Chat today at m365copilot.com and learn more in the announcement blog. 3. M365 Copilot for Educators and Students updates AI Suggested Feedback for Educators The new Suggested Feedback feature helps educators streamline their feedback process by combining student work with the selected rubric or initial teacher-provided comments. Using AI, it generates updated, summarized feedback that aligns with student performance and expectations. Teachers remain in full control, with the ability to review and edit suggestions before returning feedback to students. This ensures that feedback remains personal, accurate, and reflective of the teacher’s expertise while saving valuable time. When: Entering private preview in Q1 2025 for M365 Copilot subscribers Education agents On top of the wide range of pre-built agents from Microsoft, teaching and learning agents will be available in the coming months. Eligible students are proactively prompted with questions to engage them in the learning process and provide tailored coaching on specific subjects or assignments. Educators receive the support of an instructional designer with responses grounded in pedagogical expertise and educational standards. When: Microsoft agents in private preview for M365 Copilot subscribers. Register here. One of our partners, Clever, the global identity platform for education, understands the importance of connected data to maximize educational value and insights. Clever's agent, currently in private preview, helps teachers generate customized lesson plans by incorporating applications their districts already use. Districts interested in piloting the Clever agent for Microsoft 365 Copilot with their teachers can express interest here. When: Clever’s agent is in private preview for M365 Copilot subscribers. Register here. We will also be releasing open-source agents designed to facilitate interactions between educators, learners, and their course materials within learning management systems such as Canvas LMS, part of the Instructure Learning Platform, and Moodle LMSTM. Institutions will be able to download, customize, and deploy them to address their specific needs and get the most out of their investments. When: Canvas agent entering private preview in Q1 2025 for M365 Copilot subscribers. When: Moodle agent entering private preview in Q2 2025 for M365 Copilot subscribers. The word Moodle and associated Moodle logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Moodle Pty Ltd or its related affiliates. 4. Learning Accelerator updates Math Progress at general availability We’re pleased to announce Math Progress, a new Learning Accelerator, is now generally available in Microsoft Teams for Education for all supported languages. Math Progress streamlines assignment creation and provides student performance insights to help educators identify course trends at the individual or class level. And it’s easy to keep students on track by addressing mistakes or common misconceptions to accelerate learning. As a powerful formative assessment tool, Math Progress simplifies lesson planning by providing educators with activities and quizzes designed on math concepts that students are prepared to learn. When: Available globally now Speaker Progress updates We are so excited to announce some incredible updates to Speaker Progress, our Learning Accelerator that helps students build confidence in their presentation and public speaking skills with real-time coaching and feedback. AI Transcript Feedback in Speaker Progress We are bringing generative AI to Speaker Progress with our new AI Transcript Feedback feature. Educators can choose to enable AI feedback, select a speech type, and evaluation criteria. Student speeches will then receive summary feedback and in line notes to help students improve the content and qualitative aspects of their presentations. The educator is fully in control and must review AI Feedback before it is shared with students. When: Spring 2025 More languages in Speaker Progress More languages are now available in Speaker Progress, including Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish and Danish. More languages including French, German, and Dutch are in progress as well. Keep checking back regularly as we are adding new languages to Speaker Progress every month! When: Available globally now! PowerPoint Sharing in Speaker Progress Our top user ask is now here! Students can now upload PowerPoints and present them in Speaker Progress. They’ll be able to share their PowerPoints while getting real-time feedback from Speaker Progress. Students can upload a PowerPoint from OneDrive or their device and then allow screen sharing to access this experience. When: Available globally now! Moodle and D2L Brightspace support Learning Accelerators via LTI The Teams Assignments LTI tool brings Learning Accelerators directly into your LMS! In addition to Canvas, Schoology and Blackboard integration which are generally available today, Teams Assignments LTI integration is now in preview with Moodle, and D2L Brightspace, and we will open up self-onboarding for additional partners shortly. To keep up to date with LMS integrations, and to receive preview invitations, please sign up at: https://aka.ms/LMSPreview. For deployment instructions for your LMS, please visit: https://aka.ms/LTIAdminDocs When: Moodle and D2L in preview now, Canvas and Schoology - available globally. Reading Coach at general availability The standalone Reading Coach standalone app is now Generally Available in multiple languages, and with new engagement features. Reading Coach is a FREE reading fluency application that provides personalized, engaging practice. It can be used in the classroom or home with a Microsoft account as a Windows application or on the web that can be accessed from any web connected device, including Chromebooks, iPads and any browser-enabled device. You can check out a detailed demo video here. Reading in multiple languages Add your own content in 80+ languages include 14 different English dialects. Reading Coach will listen to you read in the language of your choice, note mispronunciations and coach you on challenging words. Readers can also create stories using AI in 14 languages. Like in English, the stories have multiple chapters and learners can pick their own path through the story. Find it easily Users will be able to find Reading Coach more easily at www.microsoft365.com alongside the rest of the M365 applications when logged in as a consumer or Entra ID education user. Reading streaks and progress over time Earn Reading 3-day, 5-day and 7-day streaks to earn rewards in Reading Coach. Readers can also see their progress over a week, 30-days and all-time through an easy-to-read dashboard made usable for learners of all ages. When: Available globally now Formatted feedback support We're excited to introduce Formatted Feedback for Teams Assignments, offering enhanced options for feedback to your students! Now, you can provide detailed and visually engaging feedback with support for bold, italic, underline, bullet points, font color, highlights, and even emojis (Windows + . shortcut). With up to 10,000 characters of space, teachers have plenty of room to give comprehensive feedback. Need more space? Switch to Expanded View for a larger text input, making it easier than ever to craft detailed responses. When: Available Now Refreshed grid view experience Microsoft Teams for Education now has a new refreshed grid view, wherein you will directly be able to get to your assignments or classwork for your classes in grid view. This feature will make it easier and faster for you to get to your assignments, classwork or channels. When: Generally Available Class team templates Education users of Microsoft Teams admin center will now be able to create team templates for their organization. A team template in Microsoft Teams is a definition of a team's structure designed around a business need or project. As an admin, you can use templates to easily deploy consistent teams across your organization. With templates, your users can quickly create rich collaboration spaces with predefined settings, channels, and apps. EDU IT admins will now have an option to add a new template on top of existing default templates for Education. While creating the template, users will have 3 options to choose as a starting point Create a new template to create from scratch Use an existing team as a template to use one of your existing teams as a starting point Start with an existing template to using existing template as a starting pointA screenshot of a computer 3. Next, user will be required to add basic details for the template like name, description and locale. 4. Once created, these templates should start showing up for Teachers & Students on Teams while creating classes/teams. If you wish to limit the access, you can use template policies which is a Teams premium feature. 5. Lastly, users can customize the channels & apps for the template and save it.A screenshot of a computer When: Available now Rename General channel Up until now, every team in Microsoft Teams had a default General channel. All team members are part of this channel, and it can’t be archived or deleted. We’ve heard from users that they wanted the option to retitle this channel to something more meaningful. So, we made it happen! The General channel can now be renamed by the team’s owners. It will then show up in alphabetical order like other channels in the teams and channels lists for all members. When: Available now 6. Minecraft EDU updates Try Lesson Crafter, now in Preview, a new tool to help educators create Minecraft lesson plans to fit their classroom. Minecraft Education is also expanding its AI skills program with a new student credentialing pathway offered through Prodigy Learning. 7. OneNote Updates Pick any color with the new Eyedropper tool in OneNote With the new Eyedropper tool in OneNote, you can easily choose a color from any image, shape, or inked notes found in the app. The tool also allows you to build your own personalized set of pens in the drawing toolbox. When: Available now New ink pens We have added two new pens to your Draw tab in OneNote on Windows: Fountain Pen and Brush Pen. Also, we have updated pen icons, bringing a new refreshed and coherent look across your favorite productivity apps. When: Available now 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 now: Project Spark, a new learning app for Copilot+ PCs M365 Copilot Chat M365 Copilot for Educators and students Learning Accelerator updates Math Progress at general availability Speaker Progress updates LTI integration with Moodle Reading Coach at general availability General Teams Updates AI Feedback and grading expanded dialog New grid layout updates Rename the General channel Unified calendar with Outlook Minecraft EDU updates OneNote updates Ink eyedropper New ink pens Have any feedback to share with us? As always, we'd love to hear it! Mike Tholfsen Group Product Manager Microsoft EducationSafeguarding data with Microsoft 365 Copilot security and compliance
As AI transforms education—an industry already the third most at risk of digital attack in the world [1]— protecting student and organizational data is non-negotiable. Microsoft 365 Copilot doesn’t just help students, educators, and faculty save time and boost productivity through enhanced AI capabilities and data integration, it provides the same inherent data protection found in other Microsoft 365 apps and content, like Microsoft SharePoint files or Microsoft Exchange emails. Now available to students 13 and older, Microsoft 365 Copilot’s secure-by-design safety features—including Copilot Control System, which empowers IT to confidently lead AI transformation through integrated controls and capabilities—make it a comprehensive cybersecurity tool across all levels of the education journey. In this blog, we’ll review the myriad ways Microsoft 365 Copilot offers protection of your data estate on Day 1. Rely on built-in security with Microsoft 365 Copilot protections Microsoft 365 Copilot is engineered to be a safe, secure, and compliant AI option for education, with built-in protections that secure data while enabling innovative learning experiences. Educational institutions can rely on these default safeguards to provide a secure environment for students, educators, and faculty alike. See Microsoft 365 Copilot’s default security protections in action Enterprise data protection and responsible AI principles Like other industries, educational institutions face growing threats from cyberattacks, data breaches, and misuse of sensitive information. Addressing these challenges at enterprise scale requires solutions that can protect large, complex environments with diverse users and data types. Microsoft 365 Copilot encrypts all data at rest and in transit, safeguarding data from unauthorized access. The AI follows strict security compliance standards, reducing risks of data breaches, leaks, or misuse of sensitive academic and administrative data. These protections are also bolstered by Microsoft’s responsible AI principles, emphasizing fairness, reliability, privacy, inclusivity, and accountability. Microsoft 365 Copilot only uses your data as you instruct, never uses it to train foundation models, and respects your identity model and permissions. AI content safety Protecting users from inappropriate or harmful content is another essential part of Microsoft 365 Copilot’s default security framework. Built-in safeguards block harmful content, mitigating risks related to adult content, violence, hate speech, and self-harm, helping to maintain a safe, supportive, and fair digital environment for students, educators, and faculty. Furthermore, Microsoft 365 Copilot implements advanced defenses against prompt injection attacks, ensuring that AI-generated responses remain appropriate and secure regardless of user input. This stops users from manipulating AI-generated responses to produce misleading or harmful content. Default data protection measures Microsoft 365 Copilot also enforces default data protection measures that respect existing Microsoft 365 permissions. This means users can only access data they are authorized to view, effectively preventing unauthorized access to protected academic records. Similarly, Microsoft 365 Copilot supports data residency compliance, ensuring that institutional data is stored and processed within designated geographic boundaries, adhering to local and international data protection laws. Strengthen institutional security with customizable data protections Beyond its robust default protections, Microsoft 365 Copilot offers advanced data management features that allow education administrators to further strengthen security and compliance. Watch how Microsoft 365 Copilot takes security and compliance to the next level Enabling reports for data protection, readiness, and usage One of these features is the ability to generate comprehensive reports on data protection status, system readiness, and user activity. These reports help administrators monitor Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, track potential vulnerabilities, and ensure compliance with institutional IT governance policies. Enabling critical data features Institutions can also enable critical data features like secure Microsoft Teams meeting recordings and transcription services. Meeting recordings are securely stored and access-controlled, preventing unauthorized sharing of sensitive content, such as lectures or faculty discussions, while enriching responses for Microsoft 365 Copilot users. Transcription services convert speech to text securely, supporting accessibility needs while ensuring data integrity and privacy. Securing your data estate Educational institutions face significant challenges protecting sensitive information in their data estate from unauthorized access while maintaining operational efficiency. Microsoft 365 Copilot addresses these concerns with advanced security capabilities that intelligently restrict content visibility, filter search results, and enforce data classification protocols. Administrators can leverage powerful tools such as: Restricted content discovery: Limit the visibility of sensitive data, ensuring that only authorized users can locate specific content Restricted search: Filter sensitive information from general search results Inactive site cleanup and access controls: Reduce security vulnerabilities from forgotten or unmonitored locations Sensitivity labels: Classify and protect data based on its level of sensitivity, automating security protocols accordingly Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Detect and prevent the accidental sharing of confidential information Data lifecycle management: Ensure the secure handling of data from creation to deletion App protection policies: Secure institutional data even when accessed from unmanaged devices This comprehensive approach prevents accidental data exposure, manages information throughout its lifecycle, and extends protection across all devices—giving administrators peace of mind while simplifying complex data security and compliance management. Detecting harmful communication and potential vulnerabilities Beyond simplifying security management across the data lifecycle and devices, Microsoft 365 Copilot further enhances institutional protection by providing tools to actively detect harmful communication and content. Communication monitoring identifies and flags inappropriate language or harmful messages, ensuring that AI-generated responses meet institutional standards, preventing inappropriate language from affecting educational materials. Administrators can also enhance site security by integrating SharePoint Advanced Management with Microsoft 365 Copilot. This integration allows institutions to identify and remove inactive SharePoint sites, reducing vulnerabilities from unmonitored locations. Administrators can restrict access to sensitive sites and monitor permission changes or data updates, maintaining institutional compliance and protecting the data of students, educators, and faculty. Empower AI-driven innovation securely with Microsoft 365 Copilot For educational institutions looking to implement AI solutions, Microsoft 365 Copilot offers a powerful balance of innovation, safety, security, and compliance. Its comprehensive protection features let educators and faculty focus on what matters most—providing quality education—while having confidence that their digital environment remains protected. Learn more about preparing your organization for Microsoft 365 Copilot in our curated training path, then take an assessment that will provide optimization recommendations. In addition, you can check out the full Microsoft 365 Copilot technical readiness guide, learn more about Microsoft’s Zero Trust principles, and stay up to date with the latest Microsoft 365 Education product news by joining the Education Insiders Program (EIP). [1] Microsoft Threat Intelligence. 2024. Cyber Signals Issue 8 | Education under siege: How cybercriminals target our schools.
A Seamless Shift: New Outlook for Windows Coming to Microsoft 365 Education
We’re making it easier than ever for Microsoft 365 Education users to experience the modern, AI-powered Outlook for Windows. Starting in January 2026, a new toggle will be available that allows users to switch from classic Outlook to the new Outlook for Windows—bringing with it a host of enhancements designed to streamline communication, boost productivity, and personalize your experience. What’s new in the new Outlook? The new Outlook for Windows is designed to support the way educators and students work today. With a refreshed interface and deep integration with Microsoft 365 Copilot, users can expect: Smarter email and calendar management with features like Pinning and Snoozing Personalized themes to match your style and preferences Copilot-powered assistance to help you draft, summarize, and organize with ease And if you’re not quite ready to make the switch, you’ll still have the option to revert to classic Outlook. When will this be available? The toggle enhancement will begin rolling out globally in January 2026. Microsoft 365 Education users will receive in-app notifications ahead of the change, and educational organizations will have the ability to opt out or manage the experience through administrator settings. Who will see the toggle? Most users will see the toggle, but there are a few exceptions: Organizations that have opted out of automatic migration Users with perpetual licenses On-premises account holders Devices where the toggle is hidden via policy For more details, see Manage user setting for new Outlook automatic migration. How to prepare No administrative action is required for the rollout. However, we recommend: Notifying your users about the upcoming change Updating internal documentation Reviewing the documentation for Admin control over migration Shortly after the rollout, policy controls will also be available via Group Policy Objects (GPO), Cloud Policy, and Intune. Is this supported on Mac? The new Outlook for Windows is designed to be compatible with various platforms, including Mac. Users can access their Outlook accounts on Mac devices through the Outlook web app or by using the Outlook app available for macOS. This ensures a seamless experience across different devices and operating systems. Share your feedback We’re committed to making Outlook work better for you. Try the new Outlook experience and let us know what you think using the Feedback option in the Help ribbon.Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat for Students 13+
With Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat coming to students aged 13 and older this summer, we’re ushering in a new era of AI-assisted learning while maintaining a strong focus on privacy, security, and keeping administrators in control. This blog post is your admin-ready guide to ensure your organization is set up to deliver safe, compliant, and productive experiences with Copilot Chat. Learn more and hear from K-12 institutions who participated in our private preview in today’s announcement: Empowering teen students to achieve more with Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot Copilot Chat is an AI-powered assistant, offered with Microsoft 365, that helps users find answers, generate insights, and complete tasks—drawing from web-based content and, publicly available information, and limited user file uploads. Unlike Microsoft 365 Copilot, it does not have access to organizational data like emails, documents, or meetings through the Microsoft Graph. This version is ideal for institutions who are looking for a free AI chat solution while maintaining a strict boundary from internal or sensitive data sources. Review an overview of AI solutions from Microsoft Education: aka.ms/EducationAIPortfolio 🏷️ Tenant Identifier: Set the Education Segment for Proper Feature Access We recommend all Education customers take additional steps to manage appropriate deployment: Validate your school type as Higher education, Primary/Secondary/K-12, or Other (research institution, academic library, etc.) to help us tailor the search and chat experience for your users. To do this, you will need a PowerShell script: ConfigureTenantEduType.ps1 that you can download here. To run the script, open PowerShell in administrator mode. Also make sure you have the username and password available of a global administrator on your tenant. On your first run, the necessary packages will be installed, hence the administrator mode. Usage: .\ConfigureTenantEduType.ps1 - When no parameter is used the actual setting of the tenant will be retrieved. .\ConfigureTenantEduType.ps1 1 - This sets the tenant identifier to K-12 .\ConfigureTenantEduType.ps1 2 - This sets the tenant identifier to HED. .\ConfigureTenantEduType.ps1 3 - This sets the tenant identifier to other. 📘 Please read our Managing Copilot Chat access for Faculty and Higher Education 18+ student | Microsoft Community Hub for full details. ✅ Why AgeGroup Matters—and How to Set It To enable Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat for students, the ageGroup attribute in Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) must be set correctly. This field ensures compliance with child privacy regulations like COPPA and FERPA by verifying whether a user is under 18. Here’s how to check and set it: Use Microsoft Graph API or Microsoft Entra Admin Center to view and update the ageGroup attribute. Acceptable values: Minor, NotAdult, Adult For students aged 13 and up, use NotAdult. Any student set to NotAdult will have access to Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. Use bulk update tools or provisioning solutions to automate setting this for all student accounts. 📘 Please read our AgeGroup blog post for full details. 🛠️ Managing Agents in Microsoft 365 Admin Center Copilot now supports agent-based AI experiences that can be scoped, customized, and secured. With the Microsoft 365 admin center, you can: Enable/disable Copilot features for specific user groups Manage access to custom Copilot agents Use the Copilot Control System to monitor usage and enforce security policies from day one To learn more, check out the Manage agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot in Integrated Apps - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn and leverage the Agent Success Kit – Microsoft Adoption 🔐 Security and Data Protection You Can Trust Copilot Chat brings the same enterprise-grade security and compliance protections you've come to expect from Microsoft 365. As a part of this enterprise data protection your data stays private (we won’t use your data except as you instruct) and your data isn’t used to train foundation models. Learn more about enterprise data protection. Highlights include: Built-in data residency and encryption Access controls and permission-based data retrieval Protection from prompt injection and harmful content Advanced reporting on readiness, usage, and security posture One important consideration: Copilot does not change or override your existing permissions model. It respects the access a user already has in Microsoft 365—whether that’s to files, emails, chats, or other content. However, this also means that if a document is overshared or accessible more broadly than intended, Copilot may surface its content to anyone with permission to see it. Access to the content is not caused by Copilot—it’s visibility and access that already exists in your tenant. Copilot simply makes that visibility more transparent. Admins should review and remediate over-permissioned content using tools like Microsoft Purview, SharePoint access reviews, or sensitivity labels to avoid unintended exposure of sensitive data. Administrators can go further by using features like SharePoint Advanced Management, sensitivity labels, and Restricted SharePoint Search. 🔍 Next Steps 🏷️ Set your tenant’s education segment (K-12/HED/Other) ✅ Audit and update ageGroup attributes. 🛠️ Configure Microsoft 365 Admin Center to have the right settings for Agents creation and consumption. 🔐 Review your security and data protection settings for Copilot. ⚙️ Explore the Microsoft 365 Copilot technical readiness guide. Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat – Microsoft Adoption With these steps, you’re not just enabling Copilot—you’re empowering safer, smarter learning with AI.What’s New in Microsoft EDU | 22 updates for March 2024
Welcome to our regular “What’s New in Microsoft EDU” update and thank you so much for being part of our growing community! Following on the heels of our Reimagine Education event on March 6th, we want to share some great new updates that we’re excited to share with you, so here’s what’s new this month.Now 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 Education
