How can learners and facilitators ensure a safe digital learning environment?

How can learners and facilitators ensure a safe digital learning environment?

Microsoft Education Lead for North, West, East & Southern Africa, Levant & Pakistan countries, Angela Nganga, shares on what learners and facilitators can do to ensure a safe digital learning environment as they learn.

safe digital learning environment Microsoft Teams Angela Nganga

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world, quoted South African activist and former president Nelson Mandela. Investment in education is one of the biggest investments any country can make for its current and future generation. Currently, around 420 million people across the world would be lifted out of poverty with secondary education consequently improving the quality of life globally by more than half.

Today, as more and more people across the African continent are required to stay home due to government lockdown interventions, we are seeing a massive shift towards remote learning. This has meant the growth in the usage of collaborative tools such as Microsoft’s Teams to create virtual classrooms wherein educators can communicate with their students in real-time.

In the Middle East and Africa Emerging markets alone, over 1.5 Million students and teachers are leveraging Microsoft Teams as the remote learning platform during this period.

Through such platforms, educators can connect with and support students in much the same way they could in person with live meetings wherein they are able to show video, share presentations, and even invite external speakers for virtual field trips.

But, as students and educators move online, naturally there is an increase in the risks to security and safety. 

As we adjust to the new normal and governments take the much needed next steps towards safely re-opening the economies and adopting possible return to school strategies, blended learning will play a key role in ensuring that some of the non – essential aspects of learning that do not require face to face interaction are enabled while ensuring the online safety and security of students.

Educational institutions, therefore, need to take steps to ensure that digital learning environments are safe by setting up concrete policies and restrictions when using these tools to guard students’ safety, while also ensuring that online classrooms remain engaging and giving educators the tools they need to create a focused learning environment.

Restricting access to meetings can safeguard students

There have already been multiple occurrences around the world wherein unauthorised users have gained access to virtual classrooms. 

Just this month alone we’ve seen an online graduation ceremony interrupted with racial slurs by hackers, last month a man gained access to an online class and exposed himself and another online lecture was interrupted by playing audio of inappropriate content.

When educators set up meetings to teach students a link is created which participants can use to enter these meetings. Sharing these links online to reach students can seem like a quick and easy way to communicate with students when and how to enter live meetings but this also opens meetings up to anyone who sees the link.

To ensure the safe digital learning environment of educators and students, administrators should instead create identities (or profiles) for each student and teacher which requires them to log into the tool to join the meeting. Within Teams, administrators can thereafter choose to turn off the ability for anonymous users to join the meeting by changing it within the meeting policies.

Within meetings, educators can also make sure that all students are present in the classroom and there are no unexpected attendees by selecting “show participants” in the meeting controls giving them greater control over who is admitted into the lesson.

Managing the virtual classroom keeps students safely engaged

Educators are often required to manage students in physical classrooms to ensure good behaviour and keep students focused on learning the coursework being taught. This is required when teaching online as well.

Online classrooms introduce a new dynamic for both teachers and students alike making managing disruptions and curbing inappropriate messaging, a task which educators need to perform in new ways. Now, these disturbances can also appear in the form of unauthorised users with disruption often being their main goal.

To manage disruptions while ensuring the safety of students, administrators should limit students’ ability to schedule meetings, initiate private calls, and monitor chat sessions to remove inappropriate messaged in channel meetings. This can be done by restricting meeting roles for students within a meeting.

Educators can control the learning environment further in Teams by creating meetings for classes within specific channels which allows them to disable student-to-student chat if necessary and allows them to track class discussions in context.

Other functionalities such as being able to blur video backgrounds, mute participants, and control who can present during the meeting are key for ensuring safe learning for students with Teams.

A new world of learning

We have entered an unexpected and often challenging time where in just over a month the education landscape has completely transformed. But as we have also seen, technology is a powerful tool that can be used to overcome these challenges and sometimes even improve on functions such as learning. With technology, education can be interactive, engaging, and controlled as long as we ensure digital security to protect students and staff online.

As a way to support educational institutions as they work to ensure a safe digital learning environment, Microsoft has created a more in-depth guide to serve as a foundation to their safety plans, and thus help to give teachers, students, and parents’ peace of mind while also making learning more productive.

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MEST, Microsoft present Power Platform for Fame and Fortune online event

MEST, Microsoft present Power Platform for Fame and Fortune online event

power platform MEST Microsoft Africa

Join Dona Sarkar, Principal Advocate Microsoft Power Platform for a Microsoft webinar hosted by MEST Africa as part of MEST Africa Challenge 2020.

Dona will share on how businesses can use Microsoft’s LESS-CODE power platform to build tailored solutions.

Find event invitation below.

Do you have a small business or startup? Are you thinking about starting one? Do you wish the tech needed to run your business wasn’t so complicated? Join MEST Africa Challenge 2020 partner, Microsoft, to learn more about their step-by-step solution!

Come and hear about how a profitable e-commerce startup runs on #PowerPlatform: starting with attracting customers, then moving onto fulfilling customer orders and of course handling customer questions and feedback.

Date: Thursday 9 July 2020
Time: 4:00PM Accra | 5:00PM Lagos | 7:00PM Nairobi

Microsoft is the headline and platinum partner at this years MEST Africa Challenge competition. The company is powering the virtual competition with its technologies as part of the partnership.

Visit the event page and register for free to participate in the MEST and Microsoft Power Platform event.

At Build 2020, Microsoft launched the Power Africa community for developers in Africa. Learn how you can be a part of the community.

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Microsoft announces Reimagine Tomorrow virtual summit, invites MEA industry leaders

Microsoft announces Reimagine Tomorrow virtual summit, invites MEA industry leaders

Reimagine Tomorrow virtual summit Microsoft Africa Middle East Covid-19

Microsoft invites leaders of organizations across the Middle East and Africa to join its Reimagine Tomorrow virtual summit to explore ways to adapt, reinvent and transform using technology. The virtual conference will take place on July 7 and 8 2020.

Noting these are unprecedented moments, the company is inviting leaders at all levels to what it calls, “explore the art of the possible“. Microsoft shares that “technology will be a key ally in re-booting enterprise” as countries start preparing for the post-Covid-19 era.

The event will feature session tracks in HR, CIO, CFO, CMO, Retail, Telecommunications, Financial Services Industry, Education, Energy, Mining and Manufacturing.

The event invitation form Microsoft reads;

This is your exclusive invite to join the Microsoft Re-imagine Tomorrow virtual summit, where we will explore the art of the possible for you and your business, and start to move forward, together!

Lillian Barnard, Managing Director, Microsoft South Africa will lead the keynote session. Peter DeBenedictis, CMO Microsoft MEA, Gavin Holme, Services Lead Microsoft South Africa and other Microsoft and Microsoft Partner executives will lead various sessions over the two days.

Visit the Reimagine Tomorrow Virtual Summit event page to register for free and participate.

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Microsoft announces winners of Remote Resilience Online Hackathon

Microsoft announces winners of Remote Resilience Online Hackathon

winners hackathon microsoft Africa middle east

Five solutions have been selected as winners of the Microsoft sponsored Remote Resilience Online Hackathon.

The hackathon organized by BeMyApp sought to unearth new innovations in remote work during this Covid-19 pandemic era. Inviting ideas from individuals and organizations across the Middle East and Africa region.

Easy Gas, an IoT solution emerged winners of the hackathon. Winning the 4000 USD first place price. Their IoT solution monitors gas levels, detects leakages and connects owners to vendors for refills and fixes.

HR SAM Remote Interview Specialist and Wazabi projects tied in second and third place. Projects Speechio and Cubicle came in fourth and fifth place respectively.

Business Group Manager Microsoft Azure Middle East and Africa, Julien Bertin announced the winners of the hackathon virtually. “Congratulations to the winning team and all the hackathon participants,” Julien shares. He notes it was a very difficult selection for the judges.

Remote productivity is a huge challenge and opportunity for the world these days. Developers are essential to build the right solutions to cater to our new reality.
Thank you for contributing your energy and creativity to help a better work environment for developers. We are looking forward to seeing you in our next event.

Find the full announcement and winners below.

To learn more about Microsoft’s developer activities in the region kindly visit https://www.cloudsociety.microsoft.com

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Cloud computing can help SMEs beat global supply disruption – Microsoft

Cloud computing can help SMEs beat global supply disruption – Microsoft

Soromfe Uzomah, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Microsoft 4Afrika, shares on how SMEs can leverage cloud computing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

cloud computing Microsoft 4Afrika Africa

Global Pandemic

The global impact occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic not only on public health but on business, cannot be underestimated. Policymakers and stakeholders must thus consider the impact such global disruption of trade poses especially to small and medium businesses (SMEs). Anticipating and mitigating for the impact of unforeseen global events on supply chain management is crucial if SMEs, who are reliant on goods from an affected area, are to survive.

Due to their size and lack of resources, SMEs are often the most vulnerable to unforeseen events and threats. These SMEs also often do not have a plan in place to deal with supply chain disruptions. Yet, in Africa, SMEs are important drivers of economic growth. Accounting for up to 90 percent of businesses in sub-Saharan Africa, an SME Initiatives advisory by the International Finance Corporation reports.

Regrettably, one thing clearly emerging from the global Covid-19 pandemic is that SMEs’ supply chains from hub regions across the globe have been severely disrupted on an unprecedented level, and with an unpredictable timeframe for resolution as the virus continues to impact industrial production. Companies that would usually import items to sell, particularly SMEs, are unable to continue with business as usual because of trade disruptions. So, the question we must ask is, how do these SMEs make their supply chain anti-fragile?

Cloud computing solutions

Digital commerce platforms and advances in fields like digital analytics and artificial intelligence can significantly help to mitigate the risks of supply chain fragility. Flexible cloud computing solutions, data collection and analysis and automation software can all contribute to the success of SMEs in the digital era. Cloud computing also gives businesses the ability to scale, cost-effectively, to new markets. This is particularly beneficial for SMEs, who often lacked the resources or infrastructure to expand before. Partnerships with companies like Jumia in Kenya and Nigeria has, for instance, made Microsoft products available to SMEs in local currency.

The challenge now is to establish new supply chain avenues within Africa. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) can play the role of unlocking innovation, growth and productivity on the continent, especially for its SME segment, by translating spending power into economic development.

To date, intra-African trade is relatively limited; UNCTAD, the main UN body dealing with trade, said it made up only 10.2 percent of the continent’s total trade in 2010. Between 2010 and 2015, fuels represented more than half of Africa’s exports to non-African countries, while manufactured goods made up only 18 percent of exports to the rest of the world.

By creating a single continental market for goods and services, the member states of the African Union hope to boost trade between African countries. Some studies have shown that by creating a pan-African market, intra-Africa trade could increase by about 52% by 2022, although these predictions will likely be revised downwards due to the pandemic’s influence on the local and global economy. Regardless, better market access creates economies of scale. Combined with appropriate industrial policies, this contributes to a diversified industrial sector and growth in manufacturing value added.

Digital Platforms

Digital platforms and the adoption of mobile technology act as effective conduits for the exchange of value, and by aggregating demand across the continent, these platforms give small and medium businesses opportunities to access new markets, and to offer or identify goods and services previously limited by location constraints and marketing costs. These platforms create a diversification effect that boosts the robustness of supply chains.

Start-ups like CoinAfrique, which is based in Dakar, Senegal provide access to markets for SMEs through their free classifieds platform for new and used products. Which allows users to make money selling what they do not use and find bargains. The app currently has over one million downloads – and the team are now looking to scale to 10 million active users across francophone Africa. Other platforms, including Biz4Afrika, provide entrepreneurs and SMEs alike with access to valuable business information and resources, finance and markets, providing a boost to small business growth.

A powerful force expediting cross-border trade is the accelerating progress of digital technology in areas spanning from trade logistics, automated processing and e-payments to immediate access and exchange of trade information and documentation.

Cash flow is always a challenge for SMEs, no more so than when trade is constrained due to external factors. It’s always tricky for SMEs to balance working capital requirements with inventory availability. The growth of the fintech sector effectively simplifies any transaction challenges by creating multiple payment channels.

Microsoft 4Afrika

Many fintech start-ups across Africa aim to promote access for SMEs to financing options that were previously not available to them, which also opens opportunities for trade on a larger scale than was previously possible. As an example, Microsoft 4Afrika has partnered with African fintech start-ups, including Flutterwave in Nigeria and the MoVAS Group in East Africa, to open access to financing for SMEs. Diversifying and strengthening supply chains is crucial for SMEs to survive and flourish. When we consider that by 2035, the International Monetary Fund forecasts that Africa will have added more working-age people to our workforce than the rest of the world’s regions combined, it’s essential that we have a thriving SME sector to absorb these workers and help grow economies across the continent.

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Amazon to host AWS Summit for Africa region

Amazon to host AWS Summit for Africa region

AWS Summit Africa

Amazon is bringing its Amazon Web Service (AWS) summit virtually to Africa on July 9. The multinational technology company will host a one-day virtual summit to help developers and technology enthusiasts take advantage of its recently launched AWS Africa region.

The event dubbed AWS Africa Region Virtual Day hopes to bring together the cloud computing community in Africa to connect, collaborate, and learn about AWS Cloud. It is targeted at both new and experienced cloud users with technical sessions available for all levels.

The event invitation reads, “Kick-start your journey to the AWS Cloud. Join us for a day of learning how to build on AWS!”

Keynote sessions will be led by Amazon CTO, Dr. Werner Vogels, and Sub-Saharan Africa General Manager, Michael Kogeler. Amazon shares there will be “14 breakout sessions across 3 tracks. A business executive track and 2 technical tracks“.

Visit event page to register to participate and for more details.

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