Christina Lasasimma arrived in Florida, United States of America on Saturday to compete in the Miss Universe 2020 pageant.
Microsoft unveils immersive education solutions to inspire educators in reimagining learning experiences
- New technological solutions including Reading Progress, Minecraft Education and Supervised Chat in Teams will support educators in keeping students engaged and safe in digital classrooms.
- 71% of K-12 educators say technology has helped them improve their instruction and expanded their teaching capacity.
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 5 May 2021 – Microsoft today introduced new technological tools and updates designed to support the 5 key areas educators require to create a holistic learning environment and move education forward: student centricity, skills focus, social learning, safety, security and scalability.
In partnership with YouGov, Microsoft found that 71% of K-12 educators felt technology has helped them improve their instruction and expanded their teaching capacity.[1] With the rise of digital classrooms and hybrid learning environments, Microsoft recognizes how crucial it is to help teachers find new ways to engage students remotely. New tools and solutions launched include Reading Progress, to enhance students reading skills remotely, and features like Group Assignments and third-party app integrations in Microsoft Teams that will empower educators and support students in their classroom experience. Other updates include the availability of Minecraft: Education Edition outside the classroom and the launch of Reflect, a Microsoft Teams app that provides teachers with capabilities that support their students’ well-being virtually.
“We are grateful for the resilience and commitment educators have displayed in evolving their teaching styles over the past year, and we aim to keep supporting them to deliver quality education for their students during these challenging times. At the beginning of the pandemic technology often served as a much-needed lifeline between students, teachers, and parents enabling remote and hybrid learning. As time moved forward many educators transformed their teaching, their pedagogy, their professional development, and more, with technology often being a critical component enabling that change. Innovation will continue to transform learning experiences and stands to help prepare students for their futures – we are honored to partner with educators and schools across Asia in our mission to help every student on the planet achieve more,” said Larry Nelson, Regional General Manager, Education, Microsoft Asia.
Enabling student-centered learning with Reading Progress
Studies show that reading skills have declined for some students due to the pandemic. To reverse learning loss, educators are seeking ways to evaluate their students’ progress, and help them advance at their own pace. With this in mind, Microsoft is introducing Reading Progress, a free tool designed to support readers who are learning a new language or educators trying to raise students’ general comprehension.
With Reading Progress, educators can:
- Save time by creating reading fluency assignments for either the entire class or for individual students to complete independently. Teachers can also review assignments with built-in auto-detect features for English language that analyze results and jump to any part of the recording to review detected words and passages.
- Visualize reading progress with a holistic view of data and insights, including accuracy rate and actionable feedback useful for guiding class progress.
- Engage students in independent practice on their own time where students can work at their own pace, record as many times as they like, and make progress without pressure.
Available prior to the next school year, Reading Progress is free for all students and teachers using Microsoft Teams for Education, and is compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
New tools to support student engagement in the classroom
Microsoft is also enhancing Teams and other tools to help educators unlock digital experiences that complement and enrich in-person learning. These new free offerings will be available ahead of the next school year and were inspired by insights from education experts, system leaders, educators, and students alike.
- Group assignments: Educators can now organize their students into assignment groups so they can work together to create, collaborate, and submit the same work.
- Use your favorite apps in Assignments: Teachers will now be able to issue assignments from a variety of third-party apps directly in Teams, saving time and increasing student creativity.
- Calendar integrations: New calendar integrations allow students to see when their classes are and when assignments are due in the Teams and Outlook calendars – all in one place.
- Learning Management System (LMS) Updates: Microsoft is working with LMS providers such as Instructure and Blackboard to improve integrations between LMS and Microsoft Teams, Teams meetings, and OneDrive, providing a more seamless experience for educators.
Making learning more engaging and fun
Educators are recognizing how pivotal immersive experiences can be to engage students on a deeper level. To support them in seeking different ways to keep students actively engaged, Microsoft is releasing new features to Minecraft: Education Edition. This will provide more opportunities for students to play and learn in the classroom and out.
- Integrating Minecraft Education Edition with Teams and Flipgrid: Educators can now embed a Flipgrid topic, Forms quiz, or assessment tool using new Resource links within a Minecraft world or lesson. Students on the other hand, can open a Flipgrid Topic, record and share their creation, and invite others to join a world they have created—with just a few clicks.
- Minecraft Education Edition for Camps and Clubs: Beginning this summer, camps, clubs, homeschool organizations, and nonprofits can purchase licenses for Minecraft: Education Edition to support critical thinking, collaboration, and game-based learning for all ages outside of the classroom.
Supporting student well-being
Emotional well-being is key to student success and research shows that approaches to support student well-being are in high demand, but low supply.[2] New tools to equip educators with the ability to understand the complexities students face, and their emotional state, as they guide them in navigating the challenges of today have also been introduced.
- Reflect, a free app in Microsoft Teams, provides a way for educators to create regular check-ins in with individual students or classes to share how they are feeling, and help learners better understand how their emotions may impact their learning.
- Embedded tools in OneNote and Teams, such as praise badges and sticker packs, help students and educators feel more connected and foster the growth of effective relationships.
These will be critical in helping build students’ confidence and enabling educators to facilitate valuable learning conversations in and beyond the classroom.
Enabling safe and secure classrooms
Lastly, with more learning taking place outside the physical school, the increase in digital traffic and the number of connected devices brings new challenges: from malicious attacks to uninvited guests in the digital classroom.
To ensure students’ safety in digital and physical spaces, Microsoft is launching Supervised Chat in Teams. Available later this month, this feature allows designated educators to initiate chats with students, while preventing students from starting new chats unless an appropriate educator is present — meaning students can engage in safe discussions.
For more information on the latest features, please see here.
[1]“Learning Forward” Teacher/Student YouGov Survey commissioned by Microsoft, December 2020
[2]Emotion and Cognition in the Age of AI,”The Economist Intelligence Unit
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
China Delivers Assistance to Laos as Covid-19 Hits Hard
The Chinese government has provided Laos with 25 medical personnel and equipment to help the country in its fight against Covid-19.
Bullfinch AG and Aquila Capital launch Joint Investment Vehicle for energy-efficient assets
FRANKFURT, GERMANY – Newsaktuell – 4 May 2021 – Aquila Capital and bullfinch are pleased to announce the launch of a strategic joint investment vehicle intended to invest in energy efficiency assets across Europe. By combining Aquila Capital’s leading investment experience in real assets and renewable energy, with bullfinch’s unique expertise in decentralized renewable projects and next-gen technology platform, the partnership intends to make an immediate impact in the renewable investment landscape.
With more than EUR 25 trillion to be invested in upgrading real estate assets across Europe to achieve climate goals, decentralized green infrastructure projects play an increasingly critical role in fighting climate change. The joint investment vehicle aims to become a relevant pure player in energy efficiency, targeting an investment of more than EUR 200 million in the next two years.
Aquila and bullfinch’s initiative will support the fast expansion of digital smart metering through financing, asset acquisition, and operations. Ultimately, Aquila and bullfinch are working together to realize the common vision of a world entirely powered by clean energy.
Bullfinch AG
Bullfinch AG, based in Frankfurt am Main, was founded in 2019 by CEO Robin Haack. The company is committed to a world powered by renewable energy: The Clean-Energy-as-a-Service technology platform enables the bundling, financing, standardization and management of sustainable building and facility infrastructure to make this vision a reality. Bullfinch’s solutions span four verticals: Power Generation, Clean Mobility, Energy Storage and Smart Buildings. Through partnerships with institutional investors and innovative energy hardware providers, they bridge the gap between capital and opportunity, enabling the accelerated global transition to clean energy.
Laos Extends Lockdown Until 20 May Amid Second Wave of Covid-19
Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the National Taskforce, Kikeo Khaikhamphitoun, has moved to extend the lockdown period for Laos until 20 May.
Coffee, anyone? Buying the one-and-only coffee at the CPA Australia pop-up café & museum!
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 4 May 2021 – In celebration of CPA Australia‘s 135th anniversary and 65 years in Hong Kong – CPA Australia assembled a pop-up café & museum at the celebrated heritage site – Jao Tsung-I Academy. At the opening ceremony, business magnate and iconic leaders like Dr Allan Zeman, Chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, Dr George Lam, Chairman of Cyberport Management and Chairman of the United Nations ESCAP Sustainable Business Network and Mr Tim Lui, Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission, came together to try out their barista skills by making their first cup of latte! The lattes were then auctioned to the guests at the ceremony with the goal of raising funds to the Jao Tsung-I Academy for their heritage conservation effort. Under a sea of cheers and roars, a total of HKD26,500 was raised for the Jao Tsung-I Academy in this unique coffee auction. The CPA Australia pop-up café & museum will be opened to the public from 1 – 31 May at the Tsung-I Academy.
Hong Kong Tech Startup yyResearch Launches Privacy-focused Instant Messaging App Called OpusChat
Multi-layer privacy options, multiple personas, secure multimedia messaging and voice calls make OpusChat a fun and safe app for everyday communication
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 4 May 2021 – yyResearch, a Hong Kong tech startup that specialise in software and app development, today launches OpusChat, a privacy-focused and safe communication system that models how we manage relationships and interact with each other in real-life. With its multi-layer privacy options, multiple personas, secure multi-media messaging features and high-quality voice calls, OpusChat is an instant messaging app like no other and is now available for download on the App Store and Google Play Store.
Modeling Real-life Relationships and Interactions
“Privacy is not a luxury, it is a necessity. People should have the ability to protect themselves from scammers, spammers, stalkers, cyberbullies and doxing,” said Edmund Hor, co-founder and CEO of yyResearch. “Personal information is not only being misused for monetisation but also provides material for fraudsters and identity thieves, making data privacy a growing concern for everyone. This is the very reason we decided to develop OpusChat, an ethical communication system that gives users control over how their relationships are established and managed, and eliminates any unsolicited contact. More importantly, OpusChat does not require users to share their personal information and minimises data storage to protect their privacy.”
He continued, “With OpusChat, we’ve developed a fun and safer way for everyone to connect and communicate, and we are extremely excited to introduce this product to the world.”
OpusChat is a privacy-focused and safe mobile communication tool with all the features users look for in an instant messaging app and more.
Giving Users Full Control Over Their Data and Privacy
OpusChat does not require a phone number or email when new users register to use the app. Instead, it provides every user a unique ID and QR code so that others can search or scan to make a new friend connection. This ensures that the user is connecting to people they really know and eliminates any unsolicited phone calls or messages. For users who wish to invite friends from their phone’s contact list to chat on OpusChat, they have the option to do so as well. Once a new friend connection is established, users have full control over how they interact with each other, what they can see, share or receive, and customise the settings for each relationship. With these features, users can choose to be as private or as open as they like when using OpusChat.
Modeling Real-life Relationships and Interactions
One of the unique features in OpusChat is allowing users to create “Multiple Personas” under a single account. People have different identities and play different roles when connecting with family, friends, colleagues, and people in different social circles. In real life, we can choose how we interact with each individual and there is a varying degree of intimacy with each relationship. This “Multiple Personas” feature was designed with this in mind, giving user the ability to customise and control how they present themselves and how they manage each relationship.
Providing Users Peace of Mind and Protection
Prior to the launch of the OpusChat app, yyResearch’s leadership and R&D team have accumulated more than two decades of experience developing secure commodity e-trading platforms for world class exchanges, national utility companies and multinational financial institutes with an indisputable reputation for high business integrity. With these experiences and proven track record, OpusChat was designed and developed with the user’s privacy and security in mind. The app matches up to the industry’s standard for end-to-end encryption, there is no tracking of user experience data and it minimises storage of user data to protect the privacy of the user.
“At yyResearch, we believe that systems are easier to use if they work in harmony with how we behave as human beings. We created personas to model how we identify ourselves and interact with the various social groups in our lives. We want people to be able to communicate securely and feel confident that their data is being treated with the utmost respect and not being used for nefarious purposes. We hope that OpusChat will set a new bar in user privacy control and protection, and we are very excited to be launching it,” said Paul Blaikie, co-founder and CTO of yyResearch.
Download photos of the OpusChat app here.
For video introducing the key features of the OpusChat app, please visit here.
About yyResearch
yyResearch’s vision is to make online communication safer for everyone. OpusChat is an instant messaging app like no other. It is a privacy-focused and safe communication system that models how we manage relationships and interact with each other in real-life. OpusChat respects users’ preferences and gives them full control over their data and privacy. For more info about OpusChat, visit https://www.opuschat.app/
Download OpusChat:
#OpusChat
Bybit to Launch Cloud Mining to Democratize Ethereum Mining
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 4 May 2021 – Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit will launch in May Bybit Cloud Mining, a mining-as-a-service (MaaS) product that gives users instant access to ether (ETH) mining from as little as $100.
Democratizing and de-risking crypto mining
The relentless growth of cryptocurrencies in recent months has caught mainstream attention and fueled a surge in interest in crypto mining — or receiving crypto tokens for verifying blocks of transactions.
The profitability of this endeavor, however, is hampered by a number of factors: the supply and price of the computer system, operation and maintenance cost, and electricity fees that render crypto mining costly and painstaking.
As the first entry to Bybit’s ByFi product suite, Bybit Cloud Mining aims to help users navigate the booming yet ever-changing industry by lowering the barrier to entry and ensuring a hassle-free approach to mining, thus opening the door to greater profitability and fewer risks. Bybit Cloud Mining offers hashing power, or hash rate, to a remote data center with shared computing power to mine ether. Users can start from as low as $100 and without ever having to run their own hardware.
Hop on, hop off: high visibility and profitability
Bybit Cloud Mining offers flexible 7-, 21-, and 42-day plans. Users can customize a short-term investment plan for greater profitability, while minimizing the risks of price fluctuations and unforeseeable market activities in the long term. The service will be instantly available upon purchase, come with 100% usability, and have any downtime covered by Bybit, allowing users to mine with greater confidence.
“We are really excited to introduce Bybit Cloud Mining, and think it is an ideal solution for users who are interested in crypto mining, but don’t want to be bogged down by the hassle of operations and hardware maintenance, ” said Bill Xing, head of financial products at Bybit. “With Bybit Cloud Mining, all that users have to do is to purchase the amount of hashrate they want and sit back to see ETH harvested directly ‘from the cloud’. “
About Bybit
Bybit is a cryptocurrency exchange established in March 2018. The company provides online trading and mining services, as well as API support to retail and professional clients around the world.
For more information please visit: https://www.bybit.com/
For updates, follow Bybit’s social platforms on Twitter and Telegram.
#Bybit