Case Study: Omaha Public Schools achieves stronger student engagement and collaboration with Microsoft Corporation

Omaha Virtual School taps Minecraft to teach real-world skills

Omaha Public Schools launched Omaha Virtual School, a first-of-its-kind blended virtual school in Nebraska, and needed a way to make online learning more engaging while helping students, parents, and teachers adapt to a new education model. With support from Microsoft Corporation and tools including Office 365, OneNote 2016, Surface Pro 4, Office 365 Groups, and Minecraft, the district set out to build a collaborative, technology-driven learning environment for K-8 students.

Microsoft Corporation helped implement a mix of digital collaboration, remote learning, portfolio tracking, and game-based instruction that let students work together, solve problems, and learn through experimentation. The result was stronger engagement, better communication between teachers and parents, and useful analytics on student activity and progress, while the district also trained 50 teachers and began piloting Minecraft across multiple grade levels to expand its impact.

Omaha Public Schools

Rob Dickson

Executive Director of Information Management Services