During the pandemic, Microsoft Education was extremely responsive to the needs of educators,. With inclusion and equity at the center of their education initiatives, Microsoft delivered game-changing products for teachers and students. 

Tools like Microsoft Teams for Education, Microsoft Sway, and Microsoft Powerpoint evolved to meet the needs of remote educators and learners at break-neck speeds thanks to the constant collaboration and responsiveness to feedback.

Robyn Hrivnatz is the director of  Microsoft Education’s U.S. EDU industry team. Along with the Microsoft team of engineers and Microsoft Innovative Educators, they were on the front lines and played a key role in shaping Microsoft Education. Robyn is an award-winning education professional with 21 years of experience serving as an educator, school leader, student advocate, and corporate partner. Robyn joined Microsoft in 2014 after dedicating 14 years in public K-12 education as a classroom teacher, instructional technologist, and district leader. She has built robust learning platforms and communities and led trainers and consultants as part of Microsoft’s mission to transform education and support educators.

In this episode, we speak with Robyn about Microsoft Education and its suite of tools that are free for teachers and students. We talk about how inclusion and equity are at the forefront of what Microsoft does to meet the needs of students. We also speak about social-emotional support that is built into platforms like Microsoft Teams, and how students can use the cross-platform tool Immersive Reader to improve literacy, fluency, and comprehension.

—William Jeffery is curating Flipboard EDU Podcast

“Coach Jeffery” is an award-winning digital learning educator and principal at Columbia High School in Texas. His tech pedagogy continues to drive him to curate educational content on Flipboard that highlights teaching strategies, edtech, and ways to improve student success. He hosts the “Flipboard EDU Podcast” as yet another way to share resources with peers.