Personalized Learning | Curriculum Strategy & Adoption
This week education and edtech leaders and thought leaders from across the country descended upon Austin, filling the lobby and halls of the Hilton Hotel with chatter that is music to our ears. There are discussions, debates, brainstorms and best practice sharing happening everywhere on everything from Common Core to 1:1 initiatives to gaming, MOOCs and beyond. Everyone is focused on students, teachers and leaders. On outcomes, engagement, agency, readiness, preparedness and satisfaction. For just a few days Austin is less about the music, bbq and beer and more about how together entrepreneurs and educators can transform teaching and learning. And we are so excited to be part of this moment in time.
At 3pm today we are bringing together the leaders of three districts to talk about their moment in time. Leadership from the Enlarged City School District of Middletown, NY, Horry County Schools, SC and Iredell-Statesville Schools, NC will talk about how a year (or so) ago they decided to transform their districts by implementing personalized learning and about how it is going so far. They will discuss how they came to the decision to do this, the challenges they faced along the way and the challenges that lie ahead. They will share some small successes and some big ones, some hopes and some fears. They will answer not only, “Why did you decide to go big?” but also “If you could hit reset and do it all again, what would you do differently?” We are really excited about this too.
As a company, we spend a lot of time talking to districts and helping them map out their district strategies, but we know there is nothing quite like one district talking to another district and sharing their experiences. We know that every time we sit down and ask questions, lots of questions, we learn a lot.
So to anyone who happens to be in Austin @SXSWEdu, come join the conversation. We will be in the Austin Convention Center Room 15 and if the room fills up we will gladly add more chairs. And if you are a Superintendent who has also gone big please stand up and share your story. If you are a leader who is considering it, please come up to the mike and ask your questions to a set of leaders who can answer from recent experience.
Not at SXSW? That may mean you are missing out on seeing all the brightly colored socks that tech entrepreneurs wear, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn more about the experiences of these districts. Click here for case studies on Horry County and Middletown, or email me at amy@edelements.com and we can connect you to our team members that worked with the districts or the districts themselves.
And if you are mulling over your #plearning plans for next year let us know. We can help you #gobig and #winbig for your students.
