Mobile Computing | News

Microsoft YouthSpark Partners Launch Education Program

• By David Nagel
• 04/28/14

As part of its YouthSpark initiative, Microsoft has teamed with nine of its hardware partners to deliver a special pricing program on devices for schools. The devices are designed to be compliant with Common Core testing requirements and start at less than $300.

Included in the lineup are the Toshiba Satellite NB15t, Asus Transformer Book T100, Fujitsu Stylistic Q704, Lenovo ThinkPad 11e, CTL NL4, Acer Travelmate TMB113-E, Dell Venue 11 Pro, HP 210 Notebook PC and HP ElitePad 1000. Also included is a forthcoming device from Panasonic that is slated to debut at the ISTE 2014 conference in June.

In addition, Microsoft has partnered with Certiport, which will provide $5 million worth of exams at no cost to educators who complete Microsoft IT Academy training.

Complete details can be found on Microsoft's education portal.

About the Author

David Nagel is editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Technology Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal and STEAM Universe. A 25-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art and business publications.

He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at or follow him on Twitter at @THEJournalDave (K-12) or @CampusTechDave (higher education).