Unique mix of attendees, interactive and open format of interviews at Summit model the innovation oft-discussed in education, but rarely implemented for educators.
“This is not an infomercial,” is perhaps the best way to describe the reinvented interview lineup part of ASU GSV 2016’s upcoming Innovation Summit [1] in San Diego April 18-20, said Casey Green, host of the interactive interviews and founding director of Campus Computing [2]—the largest continuing study of eLearning and information technology in American higher education.
In what could be considered a remodel of the education conference to reflect the disruptive change occurring throughout K-12 and higher education, ASU GSV’s Innovation Summit—now in its seventh year—will host a diverse mix of educators, corporate executives, public officials, education entrepreneurs, and foundation officials.
“Most ed-tech conferences typically have lots of one or two groups, but not the rich mix across all groups that will attend this Summit,” explained Green. “For example, fully a fifth (18 percent) of the Summit attendees are either K-12 leaders and superintendents (9 percent) or college and university leaders (also 9 percent). So the people, conversations, and presentations at the ASU GSV Summit cross the typical ‘user-provider’ boundaries usually experienced by attendees at other kinds of ed-tech events.”
To take advantage of the array of education experience woven together by the diverse attendee list, eSchool Media [3] and Campus Computing will host more than 25 live, interactive interviews [4] with education thought leaders throughout the 3-day event—a lineup that in itself hopes to reinvent the ‘sage on the stage’ format of today’s somewhat antiquated conference keynotes.
“Our goal with these live, interactive interviews is to accelerate the discussion and the dissemination of educational innovation beyond the 3,500 Summit participants who will gather in San Diego,” said Wendy La Duke, the Group Publisher of eSchool Media. “We recognize that there is a large audience of educators who would like to know more about the critical conversations at the Summit. Our interviews from the Summit will serve an audience of educational professionals in schools and on college campuses—a mix not often seen together, but is critical for better alignment of today’s education goals across all levels.”
A Brilliant Mind Lineup on a Unique Platform
Hosted on Shindig [5], a turnkey solution for video conferencing, chat, and events that allows for two-way interaction between presenters and participants, Green and Duke believe the platform will enable online participants to discuss, network, and socialize privately with one another as if they were attendees at the ASU GSV Summit.
“It’s a great platform for fostering audience engagement, which is one of our key goals for the online, interactive interviews,” emphasized Green.
The list of confirmed interview participants continues to grow and currently includes:
- Michael Crow, president, Arizona State University: Under the leadership of President Crow, Arizona State University has grown enrollments, increased research funding, and improved student retention and graduation rates, all while also experiencing reduced funding from the State of Arizona. The conversation with President Crow will explore what’s happened at ASU under his leadership, and if the innovations and gains at ASU during his tenure are scalable and transportable to other public institutions.
- Ted Mitchell, Under Secretary of Education, U.S. Dept. of Education: A former ed school dean, college president, and CEO of the New School Venture Fund [6], the interview with Dr. Mitchell will focus on the challenge of innovation in higher education: how can higher ed do better, across all levels, and what are the catalysts and levers for change and innovation?
(Next page: More dynamic interviewees; how to participate with them)
- Deborah Quazzo, founder and managing partner, GSV: Quazzo has significant insight into, and experience with, the efforts of large firms and small start-ups in the K-12 and higher ed markets. The Summit conversation will explore several issues: why invest in education; is it really possible to “do good” (make a real difference) and also “do well” (make a profit); why do some firms succeed and others fail; and how to assess the impact of the ASU GSV Innovation conference on education and innovation in schools and colleges?
- Dan Greenstein, director of postsecondary success, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The Gates Foundation has made significant investments in campus and commercial initiatives to foster student success. The discussion with Greenstein will focus on what the Foundation has learned over the years about fostering student success and institutional innovation that scales and transfers from pilot projects to a broader circle of colleges and universities.
- John Galvin, Intel Education VP and Elizabeth Broers, director of the Intel Education Incubator [7]: Intel is best known in schools and colleges for computer chips. Yet Intel also invests in and mentors education start-ups. Why?
- Darryl Adams, Coachella Valley School Superintendent: Adams wired school buses with wireless routers and parked the buses in neighborhoods to provide home Internet access for his students. The interview will discuss the how financially-pressed and stressed school districts, particularly those that serve low-income students, find innovative and creative ways to bring and leverage technology resources to their students and faculty.
Other notable interviewees include: Richard Miller, president of the Olin College of Engineering; Susan Fuhrman, president of Teachers College, Columbia University; Michael King, VP and managing partner, IBM Global Education; Bill Goodwyn, president, Discovery Education; John Katzman, CEO, Noodle; and Ron Reed, executive producer of SXSWedu.
eSchool Media will host the interactive interviews on both eSchoolNews.com [8] and eCampusNews.com [9]. The interactive forum conversations from the ASU GSV Summit will also be archived at both sites for access after the Summit.
The live, interactive interviews will be take place from noon – 4:00 PT (3:00 – 7:00 ET) for three days, from Monday, April 18th through Wednesday, April 20th. The interviews will be available on any web connected device, computer, tablet, or phone.
For additional information about the Interactive Forum and to register for access to the interviews, please go to: http://shindig.com/event/asugsvsummit [10].