For the fifth year in a row, educators from around the world came together at E2 to celebrate their shared passion for teaching. This year’s event brought more than 300 educators and education system leaders from a combined 109 countries to Paris for three days of honoring changemakers in the classroom. The essence of E2 is celebration, recognition, collaboration and inspiration.

Following events in Redmond, U.S.; Toronto; Budapest, Hungary; and Singapore, we were excited to bring the event to Paris, where the French Ministry of Education has launched several technology-based initiatives in recent years—The National Device Plan in 2015, a policy we partnered on; the Plan for Rural Digital School in 2017; and the Call for Tender in 2018, which promotes AI-based pedagogy projects for personalized learning.

Our global community of MIE Experts know Microsoft’s educational tools better than anyone. In addition to sharing their experiences and collaborating on projects with like-minded peers, E2 also provides them a perfect opportunity to give feedback and detail unique usage scenarios for members of our Microsoft education engineering team.

Highlights from the Week …

This year, we kicked off a new video series called “Who’s New in EDU” to capture the journey of changemakers just like yourself as they venture to E2. Watch to see what’s it like to be a part of the Microsoft Educator Community.

Who’s New in EDU?, Day 0 – Educator Challenge Across Paris

E2 is all about forming new bonds with fellow educators. And what better way to bond than by canvassing the streets of Paris on an education-themed adventure together? That’s exactly how we kicked off the fun this year.

Who’s New in EDU?, Day 1 – Exploring the Learning Marketplace

The Learning Marketplace is E2’s mini trade show. Educators showcase the unique ways they’re applying Microsoft technologies in their classrooms for peers and product engineers alike. Through it, teachers gather new lesson ideas, make fresh connections and leave inspired, and Microsoft employees gain helpful insights as to how the tools they create are being applied in the real world.

Who’s New in EDU?, Day 2 – Marketplace Wrap and Awards Gala

Our final day brought a wrap to the Learning Marketplace and culminated with the Awards Gala, an opportunity to highlight some of the individual changemakers behind the best and most innovative work being done with technology in the classroom.

Opening & Closing Keynotes
Didn’t make it to E2 this year? You can still experience both the opening and closing keynotes via live stream links on the Microsoft EDU Facebook page.

Educator Challenge Winner – Team 45
This year, Team 45 took home top honors with a higher-ed lesson plan titled, Collaborative and Inclusive Trip Planning. By focusing on pre-service trainee teachers, the lesson stood out as fully encompassing this year’s themes of creativity, inclusion, student voice and collaboration. It was innovative in showing how trainee teachers could develop their own understanding of inclusive teaching methods by integrating real-world spaces and landmarks into the virtual world of Minecraft and amplifying student voices through feedback in Flipgrid.

Microsoft Certifications
Educators made the most of the opportunity to earn new certifications with more than X taking exams to become a Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE), Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) or Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA). The exams have been updated since last year, requiring a higher level of proficiency with the tools.

Tweetbeam
This year, we partnered with Tweetbeam to feature the best moments shared by educators in attendance at E2. The display updated in real time throughout the course of the event. Check it out to recount some of the experiences your fellow teachers enjoyed in Paris this week.

You can follow all the highlights with the TweetBeam linked above, search #MicrosoftEDU and #E2, or simply check out these tweets from our MIE Expert community:

https://twitter.com/eustace_stephen/status/1113182889246699531

https://twitter.com/SinghNBCT/status/1113127296611901440

https://twitter.com/sarahfelsmann/status/1113425194595516416

Can a 15 year old study Quantum Physics?

Yes, she can! And if you are determinated and inquisitive, age will never be a barrier to what you can learn, innovate and create…
Be the Changemakers!!!#MicrosoftEdu #E2 #Road2E2 #E2TeamIndia #MIEExpertTeam19 pic.twitter.com/Fnzc2hLMzC

— Preeti Singhal (@preeti0716) April 3, 2019


https://twitter.com/sdtitmas/status/1113702880308076545


Want to Attend E2 next year? Become a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert! Here’s how …


We invite all educators to join the Microsoft Educator Community—there you’ll find on-demand professional development and training courses that can lead to becoming a certified Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE). From there, you can continue your journey toward becoming a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert (MIEE). Nominations are open now until July 15, 2019. The 2019-2020 class of MIE Experts will be announced August 21, 2019.