Microsoft Launches 'School of Digital Age' in Armenia

YEREVAN(Arka) — In today’s society, digital technology has become widely used by children and the education students receive in the IT sector has become essential for job creation in Armenia. To meet this growing trend, Microsoft Armenia has announced Armenia’s inclusion in the “School of Digital Age” international project.
The overall goal of the project is to bring the most innovative technology to elementary schools in Armenia, create a productive and modern learning environment for students and establish a universal tool for individual and group cooperation within the school community.
The launch of the project took place in School No 98 in Noragavit today. The launch was attended by Minister of Education Levon Mkrtchyan, Deputy Minister Karine Harutyunyan and the Head of the Education Department of Yerevan Municipality Gayane Soghomonyan. Liana Korkotyan, Microsoft Country Manager in Armenia, headed the Microsoft delegation which  included Christodoulos Papaphotis, Head of Education for Central and Easter Europe, and senior education experts Frangiskos Lambrinos, and Danijel Bacelic.
All participants (75 1st graders) received Windows 10 devices that can be used both as a tablet or a laptop. The devices are specifically produced for education purposes and are drop and water resistant making them perfectly suited for children in a classroom or on the go.
All devices are based on Windows 10 operating system, will include pre-installed standard education package from Intel, facilitated by Unicomp, as well as learning applications for kids. The devices also include free Microsoft Office 365 licenses for every student and teacher – Office 365 is a Web-based version of Microsoft’s Office suite of enterprise-grade productivity applications.
The project allows teachers, students, and parents to effectively communicate and collaborate with each other. It also allows remote access to classroom for a student, use of a shared whiteboard, and assignment control of the tasks.
“We’re delighted to support Armenian students by building on their capacity to become competitive in an increasingly globalized market. Windows based devices are ubiquitous in today’s society and it’s imperative that we give them an early advantage by putting them on equal footing with their European and US counterparts. Investing in education is a mission Microsoft feels very strongly about and we’re proud to support that mission in Armenia,” said Korkotyan, Country Manager of Microsoft Armenia.