Microsoft Education Alliance Agreement for the Colorado BOCES Association

Foreword

By Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation

Education is vital to sustainable social and economic progress. Microsoft believes that when high-quality education is accessible, relevant and meaningful, citizens of all ages will have real opportunities to develop the skills they need to succeed.

But dramatic changes in technology and the global economy are changing the foundation skills that enable people to lead successful, fulfilling lives. These changes are forcing educational institutions to ask fundamental questions about the role that education plays and how it is delivered, questions such as:

  • How can educators take advantage of technology to enhance educational outcomes and improve their own skills and knowledge?
  • How can educational institutions better prepare students for life and work in a rapidly-changing global labor market?
  • How can educational institutions capitalize on technology to meet rising demands for accountability, performance measurement and responsiveness to parents and communities?
  • How can educators find the right balance between traditional classroom learning and real-life experience?
  • How can educators adopt more individual, personalized approaches to learning and support the need for lifelong learning?
  • How can educators make the best use of computers and software in the classroom?

The Role of Technology

At Microsoft, our work is based on the belief that the fundamental role of technology is to help people achieve their potential—to provide them with tools and capabilities that empower them to unleash their knowledge and creativity.

We believe this is as true in the classroom as it is in the work place. Information technology can help educational institutions operate successfully in the face of changing stakeholder demands. It can help students see the world more clearly, help educators make the most of their talents, and help administrators achieve the high standards expected by parents, employers, and communities.

Technology can also help educators make learning more engaging, helping them to provide relevant, exciting curricula and draw on great teaching materials from resources around the world. New information technology tools make it easier to follow student’s progress, and for educators and students to keep track of work and take advantage of individualized instruction. Web-based learning can be an extremely cost-effective way to train new educators, and it may be the only way that we can fill today’s huge unmet demand for qualified educators.

Preparing for the Knowledge Economy

In the knowledge-based economy, providing young people—all young people—with a high-quality education is critical. To truly prepare young people for work, educators must provide not only the relevant knowledge and practical skills they will need, but also teach critical problem-solving skills.

Indeed, the pace of technology change is so rapid that it is impossible to predict exactly what specific skills will be required by the highly valued jobs of tomorrow. The people who are truly successful will be those who embrace the notion that learning is a lifelong process and that they will need to acquire new skills and master new technologies throughout the course of their careers. An education that not only provides specific skills, but also prepares people to pursue learning throughout their lives is the real foundation for success.

The Importance of Public-Private Partnerships

Partnerships between the Public and Private sectors can play a vital role when it comes to harnessing the power of technology in education. A key priority for Microsoft is to bring stakeholders across all areas of education together, to provide affordable and relevant computer access and technology skills to all students and teachers.

The Microsoft Education Alliance Agreement represents our partnership with educational organizations to implement such initiatives alongside a comprehensive set of innovative educational tools that will help educators andeducational institutions provide the high-quality education that will enable students to achieve their true potential.


Bill Gates

Chairman, Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Education Alliance Agreement:

A Partnership for a better future

Microsoft believes that Information and Communications Technology (ICT), combined with education, provides the path to enable individuals, communities and nations to achieve their potential. A well educated population is vital to ensure a successful future. Harnessing the power of ICT to support innovation helps people all over the world think differently and solve problems in ways never before imagined.

There are three strategic aims that underpin Microsoft’s commitment to help communities attain their educational goals through this partnership and achieve tangible results:

1. Transforming Education: Technology has the potential to empower teachers, expand curricula, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of institutional governance and give students richer educational experiences. By making ICT more accessible, our partnership has an unprecedented opportunity to bring quality education to a wider audience than ever before.

2. Fostering Local Innovation: There are many examples of best practice and innovative ideas around the world, which, using the advantages of technology, can be shared more widely. The Education Alliance aims to nurture and incubate innovative ideas; share them with the global Education community and encourage individuals and communities to take advantage of expanded opportunities.

3. Enabling Jobs and Opportunities: A strong technology infrastructure makes communities more appealing to local, regional and global businesses and investors, which in turn helps bolster economic growth and global competitiveness as well as stimulate jobs and personal achievement. In turn, it is vital that students have the necessary technology skills to thrive and grow within this environment. Through technology access initiatives and skills development programs—from basic computing to advanced developer skills—Microsoft is committed to bridging the employability gap thus positively impacting growth and economic development through effective use of technology.

This Education Alliance Agreement provides the framework for a comprehensive joint public/private implementation plan that supports your ambitions for education excellence. Aligned to the key strategic aims of Transforming Education, Fostering Local Innovation, and Enabling Jobs & Opportunities, it contains a selection of mutually agreed programs and solutions that offer you the tools and support to achieve your vision. A key objective of the Education Alliance Agreement is to establish firm commitments from all stakeholders to ensure that the common goals are achieved, and most importantly, this Agreement forms the basis of a long term, ongoing partnership that will also allow for regular review and measurement to ensure that all our undertakings within the consequent educational programs remain aligned for the long term.

By working together in partnership we provide the foundational keystone for ongoing educational development and success both now and, through our ongoing relationship, long into the future.

CO BOCESGoals

  1. Provide more effective staff development and peer-to-peer collaboration resources for all CO BOCES teachers and school staff
  2. Gain access to resources and pricing that enable member schools to lower their overall IT costs while increasing capacity, productivity and effectiveness
  3. Utilize technology resources to improve classroom instruction
  4. Increase the CO BOCES portfolio of offerings to their members
  5. Provide resources to better prepare CO BOCES students for jobs requiring IT skills

Participating CO BOCESMembers

This agreement may be extended to all CO BOCES organizations and their individual memberships as listed here:

Primary Contacts

  • CO BOCES – Dale McCall()
  • NW BOCES – Cathleen Nardi ()
  • Mountain BOCES - Ed Vandertook ()
  • Tim Miles ()
  • Additional BOCES contacts can be found at
  • CO Department of Education - Dan Morris ()
  • Microsoft – Patrick Jones()
  • Microsoft – Eric Robertson ()

Exhibit A

Partners in Learning (PiL)

Partners in Learning is a global initiative designed to actively increase access to technology and improve its use in learning. Our goal is to help schools gain better access to technology, foster innovative approaches to pedagogy and teacher professional development and provide education leaders with the tools to envision, implement and manage change. This agreement will contain the following PiL programs:

  1. Innovative Teachers Network (ITN) – ITN will serve as a hub for the CO BOCES members to collaborate and share resources relevant to this agreement and the ongoing professional development of their organizations.

Activity / Owner / Metric / Time
Set up CO BOCES ITN Community site / MSFT / Approved by CO BOCES / 6/09
Invite and register oneperson from each participating school / MSFT / Active memberships / 7/09
Train all active members on use of site via 60 minute LiveMeeting / MSFT / 60-minute LiveMeetings (recorded) / 7/09
  1. Microsoft Institute will serve to assist CO BOCES members in developing vision, establishing process and collaborating. Many of these resources used are from the School of the future and include the 6i Process, the Competency Wheel and more.

Activity / Owner / Metric / Time
MSFT conduct one Microsoft Institute in Denver, CO at a date to be mutually agreed upon.* Or Microsoft will reserve 16 seats annually for CO BOCES attendance at a Microsoft Institute in another location. Seats must be “registered” for 45 days before the Institute or they may be forfeited to other schools.
*Location subject to change. / MSFT / Registered attendees / 7/09 – 6/10

Exhibit B

Free Tools for Teaching and Learning

Microsoft is a leader in the development of innovative technology that can help improve teaching and learning through engagement, better process or more effective delivery. Microsoft will assist CO BOCES members by making these tools available and providing training on the use of these tools in the classroom. Such tools may include, but not be limited to:

  1. Learning Essentials
  2. Office Labs
  3. Office Live
  4. PhotoSynth
  5. Windows Live
  6. World Wide Telescope

Activity / Owner / Metric / Time
MSFT will include these assets in the development of the ITN Community at the initial set-up of the site. / MSFT / Site folders and links / 6/09
MSFT will provide 90 minutes of LiveMeeting-based training on these assets / MSFT / Completed trainings (recorded) / 9/09

Exhibit C

Outlook Live – Free Student E-mail

Outlook Live, provided through a partnership with the MicrosoftExchange

product team and Windows Live, combines the best-in-class features of

Microsoft ExchangeServer with the ease and convenience of online hosted

e-mail.Outlook Live is a free e-mail option for students.

Outlook Live may be extended to school staff at the discretion of the school district

and according to district’s email policies and procedures.

Activity / Owner / Metric / Time
Conduct two thirty-minute LiveMeeting to build awareness / MSFT / Completed LiveMeetings / 8/09
Activate schools are required / MSFT / Register and activate all schools / 8/09

Exhibit D

IT Academy and other technical development resources

  1. The Microsoft IT Academy Program is a global learning solution connecting students, instructors, institutions and communities through a life-long learning model of technology skills development. The program works with academic institutions by offering educational tools on Microsoft technologies to guide students toward their academic and career potential and to enable faculty with ongoing, sustainable professional development.
  2. DreamSpark High School provides professional level development and design tools to students enrolled in secondary educational institutions at no cost.
  3. Web Expressions

Activity / Owner / Metric / Time
CO BOCES schools may purchase IT Academy at specially arranged and reduced BOCES pricing for the purpose of training and certifying teachers, staff and students. Individual schools may choose the most appropriate option of Essentials or Advanced Level ITA membership and in either member level choice the price will be discounted twenty-five percent (25%)* for any school in CO BOCES. Subscription purchase may be made by individual schools in the association using a special CO BOCES code. The Microsoft IT Academy North America field team will include and provide “Getting Started”update webcasts on a recurring basis for new BOCES members joining the ITA program. / MSFT / Subscriptions purchased / 6/09
Fee copies of Web Expressions and curriculum and three, one-day sessions of free teacher in-service will be provided to CO BOCES to be used with representatives from member schools. CO BOCES must guarantee a minimum of 20 teachers per in-service. / MSFT / Completed teacher training / 7/09
MSFT will conduct a 30 minute LiveMeeting to build awareness and register all CO BOCES schools for DreamSpark participation.
MSFT will provide a letter for schools to distribute to students and parents making the aware of DreamSpark and providing instructions for students to access the DreakSpark suite of products. / MSFT / Register all charter schools with high school students and provide letter of awareness / 10/09

Exhibit E

Basic or Premier Technical Support

Microsoft will enable CO BOCES members to purchase and share the cost of a Basic or Premier Customer support agreement between CO BOCES member schools.

Activity / Owner / Metric / Time
60 minute LiveMeeting overview of program / MSFT / Completed meeting / Upon Request
Program administration planning meeting with CO BOCES leadership; purchase consideration to allow for member sharing; guidance on charging for service across multiple accounts / MSFT / Completed meeting / Upon Request
CO BOCES will be responsible for administration of shared support agreements between CO BOCES member schools. / CO BOCES / Process approval by CO BOCES

Exhibit F

Microsoft Road Map

MSFT will deliver a Road Map session/s to CO BOCES members for the purpose of technology awareness and planning.

Activity / Owner / Metric / Time
180 minute LiveMeeting/s(recorded) / MSFT / Completed meeting and recordings posted on CO BOCES ITN Community / Upon request

Exhibit G

Purchasing Agreements

The Microsoft School Agreement is an annual software subscription that provides schools with the following key benefits:

  • Ability to use the most current version of software
  • Ability to upgrade and downgrade
  • Ability to budget a set annual cost for software
  • Ability to add new products at any time and pro-rate costs based on contract anniversary
  • Access to MSDN
  • Home Use Rights
  • E-Learning
  • TechNet

All participating schools may purchase their Microsoft products and services through the following agreements held by Educational Resources. See actual Master Agreements for more detail.

  1. Microsoft School Agreement
  2. Microsoft Select Plus Agreement
  3. Student Select

Activity / Metric
Schools will be encouraged to purchase the Office suite for all school-owned PCs through the Microsoft School Agreement / Completed enrollments for each school
Schools may purchase other products and services through the Microsoft School Agreement or Select Plus Agreement / Completed enrollments
Schools will be able to promote the reduced pricing offered to students through Student Select. Marketing assistance and revenue may be provided the authorized reseller partner. / Live Student Select Site and marketing materials to schools

Exhibit H

Joint Marketing Plan

Colorado BOCES Association and Microsoft agree to jointly market and drive awareness for this agreement as outlined below.

ITEM / DESCRIPTION / DATE
Sign MEAA and Master School Agreement / CO BOCES and MSFT will sign all governing documents / 4/14
Letter / email / CO BOCES will send a written letter and email to all CO BOCES members explaining the MEAA and its major features and benefits. / 4/21
LiveMeetings / MSFT will provide two 90 minute LiveMeetings to CO BOCES members, and one in-person meeting at the Bloomington MSFT office, to explain the MEAA and its major features and benefits. / 5/4-15
Press Release / CO BOCES and MSFT will prepare a joint press release to be released by CO BOCES to CO media outlets. / 4/28
CO BOCES website / CO BOCES will dedicate one highly visible page on their website for the purpose of promoting the MEAA. / 4/28
Newsletters / CO BOCES will include MEAA promotional language in digital and print newsletters to their members. / TBD
Quarterly CO BOCES meetings / CO BOCES will allow MSFT to jointly present the MEAA to CO BOCES members attending their quarterly meeting / 5/22
MSFT Office School Event / CO BOCESand MSFT will jointly present the MEAA to CO BOCES members attending an onsite meeting at the MSFT Denver office / TBD

Exhibit I

Terms & Conditions

1. MISCELLANEOUS.

1.1 DEFINITIONS. The capitalized terms used in this Agreement and not otherwise defined herein will have the meaning ascribed to them below. Other terms used but not defined in this Agreement shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Transactional Agreements.

1.1.1 “Microsoft”will mean Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052, USA

1.1.2 “EDUCATIONAL SPONSOR ORGANIZATION” for purposes of this Agreement shall be Colorado BOCES Association.

1.1.2 “TRANSACTIONAL AGREEMENTS” will mean, collectively, Microsoft Services Agreement, Microsoft Academic Select Agreement, Microsoft Campus and School Agreement, Microsoft Open Value Agreement, and their ancillary documents, including but not limited to the enrolments and work orders under those agreements, as well as (i) any other agreements which have been signed or which are to be signed together with this Agreement and which are listed at in section 1.11; and (ii) any other agreements which are anticipated by this Agreement and which will be signed at a later date which is expected not to exceed [3 months] of the Effective Date of this Agreement; upon their signing the Parties will update this list accordingly. The hierarchy of this Agreement and the Transactional Agreements is summarized in the section entitled “Structure of the transaction” below. The Partners in Learning MOU is not a Transactional Agreement.