Last week Microsoft announced a suite of new products for Microsoft 10, including a specialised Windows 10 Education platform.

In a blog post, the tech giant announced new editions including Home, Mobile and Pro, all of which are being offered as a free upgrade for qualifying Windows 7, 81 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices.

Additional additions include Windows 10 Enterprise, Education and Mobile Enterprise.

Windows 10 Education builds on Windows 10 Enterprise, designed to meet the needs of staff, administrators, teachers and students. The platform will be available through academic Volume Licensing, and there will be paths for schools and students using Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro devices to upgrade to Windows 10 Education.

"It's great to see Microsoft recognise that schools have unique needs. Schools have often had to make the best of what was available, such as buying 'home' or 'business' editions of technology solutions,” comments Troy Martin, director of APAC for Instructure.   Instructure is the creator of Canvas, an open cloud-based LMS used by more than 1200 education institutions worldwide.   "The challenge schools face is enabling teachers to engage their students on devices and through mediums they are most comfortable with, such as mobile or video. We're also seeing a huge demand for collaboration tools, as ways of teaching and assessment develop away from a purely exam-based system,” explains Martin.

“This means that teachers need ways to bring mobile, video, and collaborative tools into the classroom, but in a way that doesn't create more work for them.

He adds, "Schools have a pressing need to keep up with evolving consumer behaviour in regards to tech, otherwise they will not be able to deliver the best teaching to the next generation."

 Microsoft says the company is ‘on track' to deliver Windows 10 by late July.