Speaker Progress in Microsoft Teams for Education - now globally rolled out and generally available

[Guest MikeTholfsen]

Today's guest blog is from Microsoft Education Product Manager, Samantha Fisher

 

 

 

We are so excited to announce that Speaker Progress, our newest Learning Accelerator, is now rolled out worldwide! Speaker Progress helps students develop confidence in their presentation skills and reduces anxiety by providing AI-powered real-time coaching and feedback on their public speaking skills like their pace, pitch, filler words, and more. Speaker Progress can also save educators time and create more opportunities for independent practice for in class presentations.

 

 

 

We know that communication skills are fundamental future ready skills that help prepare students for the workforce. The National Association of Colleges and Employers found that while 98% of businesses consider communication skills a top priority for college graduates entering the workforce, only just over half of these graduates are seen as proficient in these skills by the same businesses. Recently, communication skills have also been identified as key skills students will need to compete and be successful in the age of AI. Speaker Progress can help students build their confidence and refine their communication skills with real-time coaching and ample practice opportunities.

 

 

 

Speaker Progress can be accessed in Teams for Education. Within Teams Assignments, educators can create new Speaker Progress assignments and students can practice presenting and see real-time feedback and a rehearsal report at the end of each attempt. Keep reading to learn how to create, submit, and review Speaker Progress assignments.

 

 

 

Educator Creation Experience:

 

Educators can create Speaker Progress assignments and customize the Speaker Coach tips shown to students. They can also set a time limit, number of attempts, and customize other settings.

 

[ATTACH type=full" alt="Speaker Educator Gif.gif]62675[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

We are so excited to announce that Speaker Progress, our newest Learning Accelerator, is now rolled out worldwide! Speaker Progress helps students develop confidence in their presentation skills and reduces anxiety by providing AI-powered real-time coaching and feedback on their public speaking skills like their pace, pitch, filler words, and more. Speaker Progress can also save educators time and create more opportunities for independent practice for in class presentations.

 

 

 

We know that communication skills are fundamental future ready skills that help prepare students for the workforce. The National Association of Colleges and Employers found that while 98% of businesses consider communication skills a top priority for college graduates entering the workforce, only just over half of these graduates are seen as proficient in these skills by the same businesses. Recently, communication skills have also been identified as key skills students will need to compete and be successful in the age of AI. Speaker Progress can help students build their confidence and refine their communication skills with real-time coaching and ample practice opportunities.

 

 

 

Speaker Progress can be accessed in Teams for Education. Within Teams Assignments, educators can create new Speaker Progress assignments and students can practice presenting and see real-time feedback and a rehearsal report at the end of each attempt. Keep reading to learn how to create, submit, and review Speaker Progress assignments.

 

 

 

 

 

Student Presentation Experience:

 

Students can record a presentation and get real-time feedback from Speaker Coach on their content, delivery, and audience engagement. If allowed by the educator, students can see a rehearsal report of their top strengths and opportunities.

 

[ATTACH type=full" alt="SpeakerStudentGif-ezgif.com-optimize (2).gif]62676[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

 

Speaker Coach provides students with real-time feedback in the following areas while they’re practicing so they can make corrections in real time. This real-time coaching is powered by AI and helps students develop confidence and improve with each attempt.

 

 

Pace: Speaker Progress recommends that presenters speak at a rate of 100 to 165 words per minute. If you are speaking too fast or too slow Speaker Progress will remind you to slow down or speed up.

 

 

 

Pitch: Speaking in monotone can make it harder for the audience to stay engaged or know what to focus on. To keep your audience engaged, Speaker Progress will remind you to emphasize the key words and phrases by adjusting your volume and pitch.

 

 

 

Filler words: When you tell the story to an audience, sounding confident helps make your message persuasive. Filler words such as "um," and "like" are identified by AI and the student is encouraged to take a breath and avoid filler words.

 

 

 

Repetitive language: Speaker Progress uses a database of about 200 common words and phrases. If you overuse certain words, Speaker Progress will recommend synonyms.

 

 

 

Sensitive phrases: Students are reminded to avoid profanity and culturally insensitive language and are given alternatives if they accidentally say an inappropriate word.

 

 

Body Language: Body language critiques in Speaker Progress provide feedback you can use to better engage with your audience and minimize distractions. Students are reminded to keep face the camera, keep their face clear, and maintain an appropriate distance from their screen.

 

 

 

Educator Review Experience:

 

[ATTACH type=full" alt="Speaker Review Insights Gif.gif]62677[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

New Features coming soon:

 

And this coming Fall, the team is adding new features including support screen recording and more languages! Screen sharing allows students to share their presentation content while viewing their notes and getting real-time feedback at the same time!

 

[ATTACH type=full" alt="Speaker Screen Recording.png]62678[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

Learn more about Speaker Progress:

 

 

 

Mike Tholfsen’s Speaker Progress YouTube video:

 

 

 

For an in depth walk through of Speaker Progress, how to use it in the classroom, and a live demo of all the features check out Mike’s awesome YouTube video:

 

 

 

 

Office hours:

 

 

 

On the first Wednesday of every month at 8:30am Pacific Time/11:30am Eastern Time, you can come to our office hours to talk directly to the product team and ask any questions you might have. To join these office hours, navigate to Join conversation at the specified time. We’d love to connect with you and here your feedback!

 

 

 

Microsoft Learn Course:

 

We have a Microsoft Learn Course for educators looking to level up their Speaker Progress knowledge and get credit for it! This course will walk through how to use Speaker Progress in the classroom to help students build confidence in their presentation skills. Access it here: Develop confident presenters with Speaker Progress - Training | Microsoft Learn

 

 

 

Support articles:

 

We have support articles for educators and students on how to get started with Speaker Progress. Check them out with the links below.

 

 

 

Educator Get Started: Getting started with Speaker Progress for educators - Microsoft Support

 

Student Get Started: Getting started with Speaker Progress for students - Microsoft Support

 

 

 

We can’t wait to hear your feedback about Speaker Progress! Try it out and let us know what you think.

 

 

 

Samantha Fisher

 

Product Manager

 

Microsoft Education

 

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