Bill Gates Unveils School Technology Initiatives

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates outlined today a vision of education in which students worldwide use high-speed Internet connections and curriculums that draw on online resources such as Wikipedia to become more globally competitive.

"We are now on the verge of something where technology will make a difference," Gates said in an address before the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland. ( Watch Speech)

Advances in hardware, software and connectivity and are enabling a "user-centric" focus for technology, letting people access information over vast distances inexpensively, Gates said.

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The address by Gates concluded the two-day Government Leaders Forum, an annual Microsoft-sponsored conference attended by government leaders throughout Europe. The delegates addressed education issues and how Europe can become more competitive through the use of IT.

Gates announced that Microsoft will expand the company's Innovative Schools initiative, which looks at ways to better integrate technology and learning, to an additional 12 countries: Ireland, the U.K., France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Qatar, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Hong Kong.

Microsoft has undertaken a variety of projects as part of the program. In Philadelphia, the company joined the city's school district and built a 750-student high school--called a School of the Future--that focuses on how technology can improve student performance. It opened in September 2006. (Read More)

The Innovative Schools programme is part of a larger initiative, Partners in Learning. Under Partners in Learning, Microsoft is working with governments, ministries of education, and other key stakeholders in 101 countries around the world to offer a spectrum of education resources including tools, programmes and practices. The fundamental premise of this vision is that technology in education can be a powerful catalyst to promote learning and that education changes lives, families, communities, and ultimately nations. Read More)