SXSWedu Panel Picker is Live

The public voting for SXSWedu is upon us and we would love your help in bringing The Learning Accelerator back to Austin! Would you mind taking a few minutes to vote for our sessions described below? (If you aren't registered to vote for SXSWedu sessions yet, you can click here to create your account and cast your votes. The voting ends August 25.)

The Perfect Blend: Practices for Blended Learning

Educators strive to make sure every child they teach is effectively and equitably engaged. Integrating technology with in-person instruction through blended learning can be a powerful mechanism for achieving this goal and personalizing for students in innovative ways. This interactive, learner-centered session offers expertise and tangible resources for leaders and educators seeking to shift their practice immediately through real-time data use, personalization, mastery-based progression, and much more! Speakers include members of The Learning Accelerator team, Jennifer Wolfe, Juliana Finegan, Stephen Pham and Daniel Owens.

Real Talk Leaders: What Makes & Breaks Innovation

TLA has connected 100+ blended and personalized learning leaders nationwide through our ThinkTank project, which aims to build networks, create ecosystems of support, and identify areas of local and national need. Leaders will speak honestly and openly about levers for action and improvement, and engage participants in conversations about topics vital to effective implementation. Hear insightful perspectives on challenges, support, and equity issues & bring your voice to the table to inform national change. Speakers include Tanesha Dixon, Founding Middle School Principal, SC Scholars Community Schools, Michael J. De Sousa, Principal (Hayward Campus), Leadership Public Schools, Scott Frauenheim, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Distinctive Schools, Nicole Assisi, CEO, Thrive and TLA partner Juliana Finegan.

Is Research Fuel for the Blended Learning Fire?

New emphasis is being placed on testing the efficacy of using technology to blend/personalize learning, but research is usually focused on theories, not implementation, and confined to journal articles or academic conferences, behind paywalls & filled with scientific jargon. This guided discussion among a typical SXSWedu audience (researchers, educators, administrators & developers), will allow burning questions to be asked and honestly answered; and needs to be surfaced so they can better be met. Speaker is Saro Mohammed, TLA Partner.

Practitioner Perspective: Finding Edtech Efficacy

With so much money being spent on education technology, foundations and research organizations are continually investigating what works. However, practitioners in schools are constantly redesigning new instructional strategies and cannot wait for the long-term studies and results. In this interactive discussion, the audience will engage with district/CMO edtech leaders to grapple with the complex, yet seductive goal of determining efficacy all while still keeping practicality in mind. Speakers include Elena Sanina, Senior Manager of Impact, Charter School Growth Fund, Kyleigh Nevis, Instructional Technology Coordinator, Oakland Unified School District, Phil Kim, Manager of K-12 STEM Education, KIPP Bay Area and Stephen Pham, Associate Partner, TLA.

Getting Specific About Blended Learning

Are you leading a blended learning initiative and want a break from the panel circuit to learn from your peers? There’s a lot of information out there offering general guidance on blended and personalized learning, but not always great peer-to-peer support for tackling on-the-ground implementation challenges. In this meet-up session, you’ll have an open space to ask your questions, trade best practices and hear how others are approaching personalization and competency-based learning in their school systems. The session's facilitator is Ellie Avishai, TLA Partner. The speakers are you.

Being bossy: Female leaders in ed entrepreneurship

It’s well known female leaders face unique challenges getting to and staying at the top, particularly in entrepreneurial fields. Join this diverse team of kick-ass lady bosses for a raucous and interactive conversation about realities of being “Chief” at work and home, sharing personal and professional strategies as well as support and sanity hacks. We’ll also tackle how companies can proactively grow and sustain more female leaders. Collective wisdom will be pooled, no topic will be taboo. Speakers include Beth Rabbitt, TLA CEO, Alex Bernadotte, CEO and Founder, Beyond 12, Leona Christy, Catalyst:Ed CEO, Erin Mote, Executive Director, Co-Founder, Innovate EDU.

Competency Based Infrastructure for Adult Learning

Over the past year, TLA has created Blended and Personalized Learning Practices at Work, a multi-source content library for educator professional development. TLA is partnering with Yet Analytics to implement an xAPI-enabled content exploration and experience tracking system called the Learning Commons that will enable measurement of the impact of content and the development of competencies in educators. Speakers include Margaret Roth, CBDO, Yet Analytics and Beth Rabbitt, CEO, TLA.

Thank you and hope to see you all in Austin!