Microsoft just announced that it acquired another company. This time, the software company hopes that this acquisition strengthens its presence in education.
Acquiring Flipgrid
Microsoft posted on its website that it will be welcoming Flipgrid to its expanding family on June 18. Eran Megiddo, the company's Corporate Vice President of Education, announced on the Education section of its blog regarding plans of bringing the educational start-up into the Microsoft fold.
He wrote about how the start-up's founders focused on giving educators around the world the ability to strengthen videos' presence in the classroom. By making videos an essential part of the classroom, they were able to help educators empower their students to pursue their passion for education.
He revealed that Flipgrid is currently used in various educational environments that range from preschool to post-graduate classrooms. Megiddo also added that Flipgrid is presently employed by teachers, students, and parents in over 180 countries. He revealed that Microsoft admired the way that Flipgrid encouraged students to respect the diverse voices of their peers.
The #FlipgridFever
Following the announcement, Joey Tarlson, Flipgrid's Vice President for Engagement, posted on the start-up's website to share the news. Tarlson wrote that the company was elated that they would be joining the Microsoft family.
A significant statement from the blog post was Flipgrid's technology would be free for students and teachers. He also noted that Flipgrid would still be available on various products such as iPhones, iPads, and Android devices.
"There are millions of educators around the world working tirelessly to find new and powerful ways to engage their students. Many have found Flipgrid to be a valuable tool in helping them create a social learning environment in their class. Now that Flipgrid is 100 percent free, every educator on the planet has this same opportunity," said Taralson, in an exclusive statement to Tech Times.
Some technology and business insiders believe that Microsoft is acquiring Flipgrid to take on Google in the education industry. Futuresource pointed out that nearly 60 percent of all PCs that were shipped to American schools were Chromebooks, while less than 26 percent of PCs were from Windows. It was also learned that Microsoft would allow Flipgrid to remain an independent software tool than to be configured into Microsoft Teams.
Other Microsoft Acquisitions
Earlier this month, Microsoft acquired software developer GitHub. The company announced the decision on June 4, where they purchased GitHub for $7.5 billion in Microsoft stock. If the deal passes regulatory review, GitHub will remain an independent platform which would welcome all businesses. Nat Friedman, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, will oversee GitHub's development, while the website developer's co-founder Chris Wanstrath would become a fellow at the technology company.
Microsoft also purchased Semantic Machines in May in hopes to strengthen both its Microsoft Cognitive Services and the company's Azure Bot Service. It is also expected that the Berkley, California based company could help Microsoft build digital assistants. Semantic Machines would also push the boundaries of artificial intelligence interfaces.
Tech Times reached out to Microsoft for a comment on this story.
