{"id":869,"date":"2019-11-13T09:00:31","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T17:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2019\/11\/13\/microsoft-global-learning-connection-travels-over-29-million-virtual-miles-powered-by-teams-skype-and-flipgrid-teaching-empathy-and-kindness-to-students-worldwide\/"},"modified":"2024-06-03T16:00:49","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T23:00:49","slug":"microsoft-global-learning-connection-travels-over-29-million-virtual-miles-powered-by-teams-skype-and-flipgrid-teaching-empathy-and-kindness-to-students-worldwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2019\/11\/microsoft-global-learning-connection-travels-over-29-million-virtual-miles-powered-by-teams-skype-and-flipgrid-teaching-empathy-and-kindness-to-students-worldwide\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Global Learning Connection travels over 29 million virtual miles powered by Teams, Skype and Flipgrid, teaching empathy and kindness to students worldwide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The passports of students all around the world were filled with virtual stamps this past week as thousands of students and educators participated in the Microsoft Global Learning Connection on November 5\u20136, 2019. Students from more than 80 countries traveled a total of 29,249,793 virtual miles during the 48-hour event, far exceeding our target and growing by over 6 million miles year on year.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"29,249,793<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was great to see students connecting in different ways using the power of Teams, Skype and Flipgrid. From connecting with another class in a different corner of the globe, to virtually meeting with guest speakers such as entrepreneurs, authors and scientists, students were inspired by new experiences and learning they wouldn\u2019t ordinarily have access to within the confines of their school. We even had students connecting with organizations like Pulitzer Center, California State Parks, Hearts on Fire, the British Red Cross and British Heart Foundation, where students had virtual tours or learned about each organization and how they might be able to contribute to special causes in the future. It was also inspiring to see students using Flipgrid to connect and defy time zones and connectivity challenges by recording video messages for other classrooms or sharing their reflections of the experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes this event so special is the energy of the students and the compassion they show as they meet students from different countries around the world. From overnight sleep-overs in schools, where students traveled up to three time zones away, to schools that visited all seven continents and all 50 states in the US, participants shared thousands of songs, stories and traditions to build empathy and understanding for one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had the opportunity to personally call 30 classrooms across 25 countries where I learned so much about their history and traditions while also answering questions from students who were interested in the future of technology and Artificial Intelligence. Who knows, the next Microsoft CEO might be in one of those classrooms!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who participated, celebrate your experiences and share them with others:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n