The company's "School of the Future," in Philadelphia, was modeled after corporate management techniques Microsoft uses itself. Currently, only 170 lucky teens, chosen by lottery, attend the school, yet Microsoft says it hopes up to 750 students will soon be attending classes there.

Students, who are called "learners," use smart cards to register attendance, open their digital lockers and track calories they consume. They carry laptops, not books, and the entire campus has wireless Internet access. There’s no library, but an ‘interactive learning centre’ where information is all digital.

Student’s laptops carry software that assesses how quickly they’re learning the lesson. If they get it, they’ll dive deeper into the subject. If not, they get remedial help.
Teachers, called “educators,” will have less paperwork, as everything from grades to student testing will be handled digitally.

“Learning is not just going to school,” said Shirley Grover, the school’s energetic principal who came from the American School in Milan, Italy. “Learning is equal to life.”

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