Futura Schools drives cross-sectional and hybrid education with Microsoft solutions

Futura Schools is a private educational network with ten schools located outside the Peruvian capital. Its mission is to develop a high-quality school education, accessible to all sectors of the population, focused on the student, their skills, and their personal values, with an emphasis on the use of modern methodologies and technology.

Futura Schools already had Microsoft 365 licenses; however, as a result of the pandemic, the need arose to implement various processes that would allow it to improve the management of virtual tools, adapt to the hybrid model, and create an evaluation methodology based on these solutions.

A cross-sectional and hybrid education model

“Our digital transformation was born from the idea of being the first network that truly works in a network,” says Pilar Appiani, National Academic Director of the Futura Schools Education Network. “In 2019 we began to structurally analyze processes and seek standardization across all our schools."

In 2020, with the support of The Other Company SAC and Microsoft partner ASP Consulting, Futura Schools began implementing technology to work effectively in a network, but then the pandemic hit and accelerated plans. “At that time, we had to research which tools were right for our needs to continue education and standardization of teaching, and we discovered Microsoft Teams there,” Appiani says.

For Appiani, one of the greatest benefits of Microsoft Teams for Education is that it provides a virtual environment that students and teachers can customize and add tools that enrich their experience.

In order to achieve a successful technological implementation within the stipulated time, Futura Schools developed a training space for teachers, students, and parents, which is still in force for new students.

Technology to leverage social-emotional education

The Peruvian educational network uses numerous Microsoft tools in its pedagogical practice to deliver a hybrid education commensurate with its mission. The backbone of the teaching model is Microsoft Teams for Education. The tool is used as a virtual classroom to schedule and develop learning sessions, and for challenge assessment through collaborative work and interaction among students. In turn, all classes taught are recorded, and can then be played through Stream, and OneDrive is used to store files organized by folders, depending on the needs of each user.

Students use OneNote for Classroom to take notes from their classes, and Outlook as a means of communication to share information with peers and teachers. On the other hand, teachers have Microsoft Forms for the application of process evaluations, internship and survey assessments, and Whiteboard as an educational resource for knowledge demonstration. John Velarde, Academic Director of Innovation at Futura Schools, highlights that this last tool was a teacher’s first finding: “Our idea was for teachers to discover tools to help them in their homework, so when we found teachers with these kinds of initiatives, we invited them to share it and then approve it,” he says.

In addition, teachers also employed Minecraft for Education to help students enjoy the learning process. “Gamification has helped us to support the scientific understanding of students,” says Velarde. This is one of the tools which high school students use to present their final projects.

In terms of academic management, Futura Schools adopted Azure for the purpose of managing apps, users, and domains working from IT.

An innovative school

Even though the pandemic has accelerated Futura Schools’ plans, innovation is present in their DNA. Technology has enabled them to achieve cross-sectional education in their different schools so that all students have the same possibilities. Today, they have two types of virtual classrooms: autonomous and cooperative. While the latter are developed with students from the same city, autonomous classrooms are made up of students from six different cities who connect and work simultaneously, thus enriching the multicultural approach.

Similarly, the method of evaluation used is also highlighted. The institution makes cross-sectional challenges for students to apply knowledge in a practical way, even with students from other cities. “Students are empowered to study in diverse communities and develop social-emotional skills, increasing collaborative work,” explains Patricia Macedo, Director of Pedagogical Processes at Futura Schools.

Futura Schools was recognized by the National Fund for Development of Peruvian Education for its innovation in the challenge evaluation project as an educational modality to assess social-emotional and high cognitive demanding skills, thus becoming the first network of schools to receive this honor.

“All of this innovative, inclusive learning experience from the tools provided by Microsoft Teams has also benefited the consideration and recognition of the Futura Schools brand, this being the most tangible evidence of our promise to parents of current and potential families. And always aligned to our purpose: provide a high-quality education that builds a better future for your children, in a changing and competitive environment,” Mayra Diaz says, Commercial and Marketing Director.

The challenge of sustaining achievements

Now that it’s returned to semi-in-person, Futura Schools is challenged to maintain everything that has been accomplished. “We have been working to keep cross-sectional sessions and autonomous classrooms going,” Appiani says, noting that schools already have specialized classrooms so teachers can teach from other spaces and receive an alert if a student raises their hand. “Our challenge is to maintain the model and demonstrate that education has changed and that technology is vital in social-emotional learning,” she adds.

“The link between virtuality and face-to-face can’t be missed; it’s the common thread of transformative experiences,” concludes John Velarde, Academic Director of Innovation at Futura Schools.