Microsoft Chooses Local Teacher as Innovator

Suzanne Middle School eighth grade language arts teacher Alice Chen has been selected by Microsoft Corp to showcase the innovative ways she is using technology in and beyond the classroom at the Microsoft Partners in Learning 2012 US Forum.  

This annual event connects and celebrates the nation’s top educators for the outstanding and innovative work they are doing with technology to creatively engage students.

Chen will be among nine California teachers and a total 102 educators from 25 states at the event held July 31-Aug. 1 in Redmond, Wash.

These tech savvy teachers will compete for a chance to go on to represent the United States at Microsoft’s global forum this fall in Athens, Greece.

“I’m really excited and can't wait to network and collaborate with other educators this summer,” she said. 

Chen is dedicated to making learning relevant for her students and preparing them to become 21^st century digital leaders, Walnut Valley Unified School District officials said.

She was selected for her project, Blogs and Vlogs with Microsoft Tags. In this project, students unearthed their hidden talents as writers after being introduced to blogging for the first time. 

With visitors from around the world reading their blogs (as far away as New Zealand and as close as Texas), the Suzanne students discovered their love of writing and the power of words.  

The eighth graders also used various Microsoft technologies to create video blogs to showcase their poetry montage with music. To promote their work, they created personalized Microsoft Tags to distribute to family and friends.

“I am honored to be selected by Microsoft to attend this amazing forum that celebrates innovative uses of technology in the classroom,” Chen said.

Chen has been teaching for 18 years in Walnut Valley and has been at Suzanne since 2001. She is also on the school’s technology committee and regularly provides technology training at her site.

“Year after year, these educators continue to impress us with their high-quality lesson plans and their creative use of technology to engage and inspire students to learn,” said Andrew Ko, general manager, U.S. Partners in Learning, Microsoft.

“Microsoft’s commitment to education is deeply rooted in empowering teachers in the U.S. and around the world with the resources to help them prepare our students to become strongfuture leaders,” he said.

The Partners in Learning US Forum provides these exceptional educators with an opportunity to compete and gain recognition at a global level and to share and collaborate on best practices with educators from across the country. The event provides a unique opportunity for educators to evolve their practice incorporating professional development activities that build critical 21st-century skills into their teaching practices.

At the event, finalists will compete to represent the U.S. at the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum, which will take place November in Athens, Greece. Last year, more than 250,000 applicants from more than 70 countries competed at national and regional events across the world to qualify for the worldwide competition.