Kyunghee Girls’ Middle School in South Korea is providing future-oriented learning experience to its students with Microsoft 365 and Surface

In the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, education has become more important than ever before. As countries around the world race to cultivate the next generation of leaders who will shape the digital age, Kyunghee Girls’ Middle School has risen to the challenge with the help of Microsoft, which supports educational institutions in empowering students to excel anytime and anywhere. Kyunghee Girls’ Middle School understands the importance of maximizing creativity and unleashing the unlimited potential of students, and by using Microsoft Education Solutions like Surface Go 3, Microsoft 365, OneNote, and Minecraft Education, students have access to the latest technologies and resources that enhance their learning experience and help them reach their full potential. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kyunghee Girls’ Middle School wisely responded to the crisis by quickly transitioning to remote learning with Teams.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a global crisis, but it also served as a catalyst for digital transformation in many areas. It made people realize just how important IT competitiveness is for organizations. The same was true for the education sector.

Kyunghee Girls' Middle School has been recognized as the best school in coping with the challenges of online education at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the sudden paradigm shift and digital environment, students and faculty members at Kyunghee Girls’ Middle School were able to quickly adapt. This was due to the school’s IT-savvy instructors preparing a Teams guidebook in PDF and video formats for parents and students and distributing it as a school newsletter, so everyone was familiar with how to use Teams. 

Thanks to the proven excellence of Teams, including its outstanding security features, scalability to include third-party apps, servers capable of handling heavy traffic, and OneDrive and cloud services, Kyunghee Girls' Middle School now uses Teams as the school's main platform, enabling reliable online classes and efficient collaboration among teachers.

Leveraging Surface Go 3 and Microsoft Education solutions to make digital education a reality.

Kyunghee Girls' Middle School introduced Surface Go 3 through the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education's "Dibud"(Digital Buddy) program, which was first launched in 2022, and all 7th graders are now using Surface Go 3. The school chose Surface over other options because it is optimized for Microsoft 365, including Teams and PowerPoint. In addition, as a Windows-based device, it is easy to manage, scalable, and compatible with various educational apps and peripherals like printers, as well as its outstanding security features. One of the crucial reasons for this decision is the opportunity to provide early access to Windows productivity tools and platforms like Microsoft 365, which are commonly used in industries where the students will work in after graduation.

Kyunghee Girls' Middle School makes good use of Surface devices to import Microsoft Forms to Teams. They use Forms as an attendance record to manage tardy and absent students through chat or call features and create assignments and quizzes that are easily distributed and shared through Teams. The teachers can exchange real-time feedback with their students and monitor their participation in projects through Teams. Also, Teams enables students to actively engage in classroom discussions and presentations remotely. In a nutshell, Kyunghee Girls’ Middle School uses Teams as an online “classroom” with many features, including assignments, video conferencing, and message boards on Surface.

At Kyunghee Girls’ Middle School, Minecraft Education and OneNote are incorporated into classes as well. Minecraft Education is used to teach difficult-to-understand coding classes in a fun game environment, which students are already familiar with and enjoy, that ensures students participate and are immersed in learning. In addition, OneNote, a powerful interactive teaching tool, is used to distribute homework and provide detailed explanations that ensure engagement. Students can collaborate effectively with peers to complete the systemically assigned projects. Furthermore, Gyro sensors installed on Surface Go 3 and high-performance front and rear cameras allow students to experience various educational apps powered by AR and AI in class to enhance their learning.

Surface Go 3, with long battery life, lightweight, and great design, is a learning device optimized for the modern classroom.

The evolving nature of education means that learning involves moving students out of classrooms actively listening to a series of lectures rather than just sitting in the classroom, and working on the assignments in a variety of locations. In this regard, Surface Go 3’s portability has a significant advantage.

Microsoft is committed to making a digital transformation in the field of education.

Microsoft’s support is invaluable for Kyunghee Girls’ Middle School, which aims to lead the way of education to building the core competencies needed for the future. The Surface portfolio for education with Microsoft 365 coupled with Microsoft Education Solutions is enhancing student learning and creating an educational setting that strengthens their academic competitiveness. Going forward, Microsoft will continue to support educational institutions like Kyunghee Girls’ Middle School to achieve digital transformation in the classroom by maximizing students’ potential and helping them blossom into young adults equipped with the skills to succeed.