Microsoft Office 365 free to Catholic schools

Tuesday, May 29th, 2012

Microsoft and the Vatican have agreed to give 43 million pupils at 200,000 Catholic schools access to a wide range of Microsoft’s products.

The Social Network for Catholic Education will give students in Catholic schools in 100 countries access to Office 365 for Education, reports Money Control.

Students will be able to use teleconferencing and other tools.

“We are entering a new era in global Catholic education. We will offer the most advanced technology, knowledge and skills to our schools,” Father Angel Astorgano, general secretary of the Catholic International Education Office, said.

Educated in a Catholic school in New York’s Bronx, Anthony Salcito, vice-president of worldwide education at Microsoft, said “Catholic schools around the world”, he said, often do well “with less funding than other schools”.

The rollout will take place over the next three years, and it is the intention of the concordat to extend the programme to the entire Catholic school network.

The software package will be hosted online: schools will require a broadband internet connection to access it. Mr Salcito described it as “perfect for schools”. “It’s a rich set of tools without needing to put in infrastructure.”

Sources