@justinchando I'm curious of a couple things: 1. What's the experience been like going from startup to major company like Microsoft? I think many folks here on PH are building products and curious what that transition is like. 2. What's surprised you the most in building these tools for EDU so far? What's something most people believe that you disagree with in the EDU space?

@ianmikutel great questions! 1. Yes I've gone from a startup to a big company – I'm very lucky in that we're taking on the same challenge but on a global stage. Teams for EDU and Chalkup have exactly the same mission so it really just feels like I gained a lot more resources and I get to work with some great people. 2. A lot of people believe that integrating technology in schools is the only answer. There has been so much focus on obtaining devices in schools that a lot of school leaders are failing at the 2nd and more important part – how teachers and students use the device. I think we need to make an agreement that we can’t throw devices at classes and believe that we’re done. We can’t just post assignments online and have that be the end of the conversation. We can’t keep teaching as we always have even though the game is fundamentally changing. I think most of us can get on board with that. I’m inspired by the instructors using the Teams for EDU platform to run discussion-based classes where the norm is discussing (chat or video calls), working together, asking questions, and using peers to find answers. It seems like these classes are using technology not just because they can, but because they’re more powerful with tech on their side. That’s pretty cool. Also, great teachers will always be required for success of our students!

@abadesi Thanks so much! Grand vision from Microsoft is to help every student on the planet achieve more. We have an ambition to promote equity and student voice with collaborative classrooms using Teams as the hub of Office 365 Education.