Pioneering Research Project to Focus on the Role of Technology in Innovative Teaching and Learning

Microsoft Partners in Learning to collaborate with national governments on major multinational study.

LONDON, January 13 - Microsoft Corp. today announced that its Partners in Learning program is
sponsoring the Innovative Teaching and Learning (ITL) Research project. This
research, led by SRI International, will broadly investigate the effects that
information and communications technology (ICT) has in transforming teaching
and learning at the school and education system level.

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Microsoft will make a $1 million (U.S.) investment each year in the
multiyear longitudinal study in partnership with the governments of Finland,
Indonesia, Russia and Senegal. The primary focus of this research, which is
being guided by outside advisors from the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD), UNESCO, the World Bank, the
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and other
organizations, is to assess teachers' adoption of innovative classroom
teaching practices and the degree to which those practices provide students
with personalized learning experiences that promote the skills they will need
to work in the 21st century. This will complement the Assessment and Teaching
of 21st Century Skills (ACT21S) research that Microsoft announced on Monday,
which focuses primarily on identifying those 21st century skills, and
developing ways to measure them by providing new methods of assessing
students.

"Education and political leaders worldwide have recognized the need to
prepare their youth for the 21st century, a goal that we believe requires the
transformation of educational opportunities and more effective integration of
technology into teaching and learning," said Anthony Salcito, vice president
of Worldwide Education for Microsoft. "We are making a significant investment
in the Innovative Teaching and Learning Research program to provide the data
and the clear evidence needed to inform and measure that transformation."

Teams of national researchers from universities, think tanks and other
institutions will work with SRI International to conduct the research in each
country.

"SRI is tremendously excited to be a part of this ambitious global
project, which offers a unique opportunity to develop a common platform for
discussing educational innovation across many diverse country contexts," said
Linda Shear, ITL Research project director at SRI International. SRI led the
ITL Research design phase and will manage the worldwide data collection and
analysis.

The multiyear research program, which Microsoft hopes to expand to more
countries in the future, will make use of parallel case studies for deep
investigation of the national and school-level factors that shape teaching
practices within particular country contexts. It also will look across the
cases to provide education stakeholders with a rich set of information on how
effective teaching and learning takes place when technology is present in the
classroom.

"Education policymakers in countries around the world have invested
heavily in ICT over the last decades, and they want to see significant impact
on student learning. The ITL Research is designed to examine exactly this
issue of what factors most contribute to the effective integration of
technology into teaching and learning, combining a systemic approach with a
careful insight into daily practices," said Francesc Pedro, senior analyst
for OECD's New Millennium Learners project and advisor to the ITL Research
project.

The primary focus of the ITL Research is innovative teaching practices
that provide students with learning experiences that promote 21st-century
skills.

The innovative teaching practices in the ITL model are characterized by
student-centered pedagogy, learning opportunities that transcend the school
walls, and the integration of ICT into teaching and learning.

Methodologies, data and reports are open to researchers around the world,
and will be free and publicly available each year. In addition, the research
project will develop a set of evaluation tools that schools and education
systems can adopt to measure their own progress. Results and reports from the
first year of the project are expected in summer of 2010, with annual results
in the years to come.

"This is an ambitious research project that will help build a better
understanding of how teaching practices supported by technology can become
more effective tools for teaching and learning," said Tarek Shawki, director
and global coordinator for partnerships and ICT capacity building projects at
UNESCO. "UNESCO fully endorses the significance and necessity of this
research. We expect that the insights gained from this project will help
inform education policy directions to better meet the evolving educational
needs of today's technology-engaged educators and students."

More information on this project is available at
www.itlresearch.com.

About Microsoft Partners in Learning

The Microsoft Partners in Learning program is a 10-year, nearly US$500
million commitment by Microsoft to transform education systems around the
world. Announced in 2003, the Partners in Learning program helps governments
envision a new future for education in their countries; provides leadership
and change management information to school leaders; works to strengthen
teachers' capacity to use technology effectively in the classroom; and
provides greater access to technology for teachers and students. Microsoft
believes in expanding the power of education through personalized learning.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize
their full potential.

Ange McLaughlin, +1-425-638-7000, amclaughlin at waggeneredstrom.com, or Rapid Response Team, +1-503-443-7070, rrt at waggeneredstrom.com, both of Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, for Microsoft Corp. NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft's corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft's Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.