What’s New in Microsoft EDU – October 2024

October Topics:

• Classwork Module generation with AI
• Learning Accelerators/Assignments LTI General Availability
• Speaker Progress updates
• Microsoft Reflect updates – Check-in reasons
• Teams for EDU updates
• Minecraft Education updates
• Figma EDU and Microsoft EDU partnership
• Introducing the Turnitin Feedback Studio Integration with Microsoft Teams

1. Classwork Module generation with AI

Using generative AI to create modules in Classwork

Classwork is a built-in app for classes using Teams for Education that helps you manage your curriculum and lets educators create and organize class resources such as Assignments, Files, Links, Channels, Class Notebook pages, and more. With AI enabled Classwork module generation, educators can get assistance creating a course outline and drafting modules and descriptions based on the subject, student grade level, and class learning objectives. The educator is always in the driver’s seat and can choose to edit, delete, or regenerate modules before adding them to Classwork.

Classwork AI in Teams

When: Globally available now

2. Learning Accelerators / Assignments LTI General Availability

We are pleased to announce general availability of the Teams Assignments integration for Canvas and PowerSchool Schoology Learning! The Teams Assignments integration brings the power of Microsoft Learning Accelerators and generative AI educator tools to your LMS, along with other engaging activities such as Flip videos, Auto-graded Forms, MakeCode projects, Whiteboards, and Reflect check-ins. Grades and feedback are automatically returned to the LMS gradebook.

LMS admin resources for deployment

• Canvas Admin Deployment Guide
• Schoology Learning Admin Deployment Guide

NOTE: If you have already deployed the Preview for Teams Assignments in Canvas or Schoology Learning you do not have to re-install – just keep enjoying the app!

Educator resources for readiness:

Using Microsoft Teams Assignments in Learning Management Systems

Achieve More with Assignments in your LMS

The new Teams Assignments integration brings unique new capabilities into your LMS, saving educators time, and providing powerful tools to accelerate learning. For example, with Teams assignments you can:

• Leverage AI during assignment creation to rapidly draft assignment descriptions and rubrics
• Accelerate student learning and provide educator insights with Reading, Math, Search, and Speaker Progress assignments
• Deliver auto-graded quizzes with Microsoft Forms
• Access unique assignment types such as Microsoft Whiteboard, MakeCode, and Flip video
• Use Reflect exit check-ins to gain insight into student sentiment related to assignments

Teams Assignments are seamlessly integrated with LMS assignments via the Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) ® v1.3 Advantage standard. As an educator, you can create new Teams assignments or link existing Teams assignments in your LMS course. Once linked, you can view and access those assignments as you would any other assignment in the LMS course. Your students can view and access their Teams assignments in the same way as their other LMS assignments. Assignment grades in Teams are automatically imported into the LMS gradebook. You can now use the best that Teams assignments and your LMS offer working together, instead of working alongside each other.

Create and link Teams Assignments in the LMS course

Create and link Teams Assignments in the LMS course.

Grades and feedback automatically post back to the LMS gradebook

Grades and feedback automatically post back to the LMS gradebook.

Leverage Microsoft Education for more than Assignments in your LMS

The new Teams assignments integration is the latest advancement in our continued efforts to bring the full value of Microsoft Education to users of learning management systems. You can already use the capabilities of Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, OneNote Class Notebooks, Microsoft Reflect directly within LMS courses. You can learn more about these integrations with leaning management systems such as Blackboard Learn, Brightspace, Canvas, Schoology Learning and Moodle in our previous overview, and our support page.

When: Available now

3. Speaker Progress updates

The top request for Speaker Progress has been to add support for students adding PowerPoint decks for their assignments. We are excited to announce that we will soon be adding support for Screen Recording and PowerPoint sharing in Speaker Progress. Students will be able to share PPT decks, navigate through them, see their speaker notes, and see Speaker Coach notifications all at once. The screen recording of the entire PowerPoint and student video experience will be recorded and shared back to the educator for review.

Speaker Progress Updates

When: Rollout beings in late October

New language support coming for Speaker Progress

We are excited to announce that new languages are coming to Speaker Progress! Currently, only English is supported, but later in October and into November, new languages will be rolling out, including Spanish, French, Portuguese (Brazil), German, Polish, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch and Finnish. Later in the year, we anticipate adding even more languages.

Speaker Progress Language updates

When: Preview begins in late October, global rollout in November

4. Microsoft Reflect updates – Check-in reasons

Elevate your learners’ voices by letting them share the reasons behind their emotions during check-ins, using research-backed options tailored to the specific question. When a student responds, they select their emotion and, if enabled, provide one or more reasons behind their feelings.

Once responses are collected, you can view them in a way that aligns with your focus—whether it’s understanding the overall class dynamics or identifying specific students who need extra support. To help you take action, the reasons are categorized into focus areas, each offering strategies backed by years of research from experts at the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

Reflect check-in reasons empower you to understand why students feel the way they do, view responses in ways that prioritize what matters, and use research-backed strategies to make a positive impact.

Try these new capabilities of Reflect right in your browser, in the new Windows app, in your Microsoft Teams class, or integrated into your LMS. To learn more, visit Reflect website.

Reflect

When: Available now

5. Teams for EDU updates

Formatted feedback support

We’re excited to introduce Formatted Feedback for Teams Assignments, offering enhanced options for feedback to your students! Now, you can provide detailed and visually engaging feedback with support for bold, italic, underline, bullet points, font color, highlights, and even emojis (Windows + . shortcut).

With up to 10,000 characters of space, teachers have plenty of room to give comprehensive feedback. Need more space? Switch to Expanded View for a larger text input, making it easier than ever to craft detailed responses.

Rich text

When: Available Now

Screen Recording in Flip Camera for Teachers and Students

We’re expanding the capabilities of Flip Camera with a new Screen Recording feature! Now, both teachers and students can easily record their screen while explaining concepts or demonstrating tasks. Whether a student is walking through a project, or a teacher is guiding through an example, this new tool brings even more interactivity and clarity to assignments.

Screen recording in Flip Camera for Teachers and Students

When: Rolling out in October.

Refreshed grid view experience

Microsoft Teams for Education now has a new refreshed grid view, wherein you will directly be able to get your assignments or classwork for your classes in grid view. This feature will make it easier and faster to get to your assignments, classwork or channels.

When: Rolling out in October. 

6. Minecraft Education updates

AI Foundations curriculum 

Minecraft Education just released a new set of AI literacy materials called AI Foundations. This program is designed to help students, educators, and families explore AI together and understand how to use AI tools responsibly. Read more about this content in this blog post.