If you have registered in advance, you’ll pick up your badge at the top of the escalators on the 3rd floor. Limited on-site registrations will also be available while supplies last.

Kicking off the conference, they will assess their biggest opportunities and challenges; describe the evolution of K-12, higher education, and workforce learning; and explore how the structure of education and learning may change over the coming decades.

What is the profile of the types of learners today? In 5 years? What education will prepare learners for the rest of the 21st century? How do you see the industry changing? What will be the impact of the “tech backlash?” Will educational workflows change to allow digital to achieve impact? What will be the impact of AI? In other industries, large investments in tech infrastructure have resulted in consolidation. How is that now playing out in education, and how will it in the future? What excites you most about the future, and what challenges you the most? How can we “unleash the promise” of digital transformation in education?

Participants in this session will:

• Assess their biggest opportunities and biggest challenges
• Explore how the structure of education and learning may change over the next 20-50 years
• Describe the evolution of K-12, higher ed and workforce learning

EdWeek will present its latest findings on the district decision-maker’s journey — from overall up-at-night issues, factors influencing them to look for new vendors or retain existing, top improvement priorities and planned investment changes, buying cycles and district vs school purchasing preferences based on product category and district size, top sources for information, K-12 company perceptions, content marketing consumption patterns, buying team influence, and more.

There continues to be a gap in the demands of employers for skilled employees and the supply of those employees. What are the viewpoints of researchers, employers, education providers and government with regard to this challenge? What are the key trends they are seeing?

Participants in this session will: 

• Review leading views on the future of work
• Address key responses of employers and education providers
• Explore the key trends driving workforce edtech

In the assessment arena, machine learning and NLP are being used to improve assessment algorithms and automate grading of oral fluency, writing, and project-based tasks. AI holds the promise to decrease assessment time, reduce teacher grading time, and provide more rapid personalized feedback to students. Join us to hear leaders in the field discuss how they are using AI to transform K-12 education and where they hope to see the use/potential evolve over the next 2-4 years.

Participants in this session will:

• Describe how their programs/products are deploying AI
• Articulate the challenges they face in gathering data sets and training
• Review the benefits students/teachers/schools are seeing over non AI-based alternatives
• Discuss the current limitations of AI for their applications and what they see as the promise of AI to help students and teachers over the next 3-5 years

Are there certain sectors or technologies which are of greater interest at this time? Are you concerned that your investments might benefit from an industry consolidation? 

Participants in this session will: 

• Absorb the motivations of a private equity investor, a venture investor and an angel investor in edtech in this session
• Review their view of the current investment environment for edtech
• Absorb their comments on sectors and technologies of interest

Research suggests that excessive screen time is likely consequential for early child development and health. The World Health Organization and various pediatric societies have issued guidelines on screen time, suggesting that preschoolers receive no more than 1 hour of high-quality programming daily. They exclude videochatting with family members.

According to the Pew Center, nearly all U.S. teens (95%) say they have access to a smartphone – and 45% say they are “almost constantly” on the internet. That amount of screen time has raised concerns from parents, educators and policymakers across the country, and even many teens worry they use their phone too much. Their research indicates that students use screen time to pass the time, connect with others, and learn new things.

Educators observe higher-income parents pushing back on tech use, while lower-income parents see their children’s exposure to it as essential to the future. Are these debates a rerun of the concerns about passive consumption of TV and other media? Do they apply to interactive instructional technology? Is enough attention being paid to the development of student social and emotional skills, or their interpersonal skills of persuasion?

As adults are increasingly engaged with software and technology for their work and personal lives, what do we learn from these debates?

Participants in this session will:

• Review the research on this topic
• Explore the differences between use of technology in school and outside
• Discuss what a “Goldilocks”  just right use of tech might be

Over the course of the fall, more than 100 applicants from all over the country with burgeoning ventures in early ed, K-12, higher ed, and workforce ed competed in the pitch competition quarterfinals. Ten companies advance to the semi-finals at the LearnLaunch Across Boundaries conference. Top edtech investors select the two finalists who will pitch to the entire conference on Friday. The audience selects the final winner. 

SEMI-FINALISTS

• Arist, presented by Ryan Laverty, CEO
• BrainCeek, presented by Jason Fan, CEO
• Ascend, presented by Christine Nicodemus, CEO
• 2gnoMe, presented by Ilya Zeldin, CEO
• InferCabulary, presented by Beth Lawrence, CEO

JUDGES

• Barbara Clarke Partner, The Impact Seat
• Ross Darwin Principal, Owl Ventures
• Terry McDonough SVP and Managing Director, SEI Ventures
• Liam Pisano Managing Partner, EduLab Capital Partners
• Katie Warmington Senior Account Manager, Education Technology, Amazon Web Services

Participants will:

• View the most current areas for digital innovation in today’s education ecosystem
• Absorb what makes a compelling startup pitch
• Review how seasoned investors question and judge the semi-finalists

In order to increase the pipeline of students embracing the study of STEM and CS, they believe starting earlier than high school is key. What tools and approaches can be readily absorbed by teachers in the K-8 grade levels?

Participants in this session will:

• Understand what is Computational thinking. Learn about the elements and how concepts are being experienced in K-12 classrooms.
• Review the ways Computational Thinking gets integrated into curriculum to create “deeper learning” in STEM
• Consider the kinds of skills and processes students should learn about in computational thinking and what trajectories that opens up for them
• Discuss the teacher preparation and professional development requirements for successful implementation
• Explore how we can make equitable environments for all students

Southern New Hampshire University is completing an ethnographic study of how Americans relate to credentials and will share the results. Penn Foster will also share results on its survey of learners who have not yet completed an associates degree. Are institutions responding to demand? Can consumers make sense of it? Do employers value them?

Participants in this session will:

• Explore american consumers’ understanding and use of credentials
• Delve into informal institutions and higher education’s creation of credentials
• Address employers understanding and use of credentials

Outside of customer service, what are the likely early application of this technology in education? Smart speakers in student dorm rooms? Smart speakers as a reference tool? Smart speakers to access family engagements systems or grade portals? 

 Participants will:

• Review key applications of voice recognition in education
• Address what sort of data infrastructure is required to add a voice user interface
• Track the development of this emerging area

Online learning is higher ed’s growth sector, enabling institutions to reach new audiences. Institutions are seeking to create digital experiences and blended experiences in addition to residential face-to-face learning experiences for students. What do innovators see as the future of online learning? What additional changes is digital transformation likely to make in higher ed? What does it take to digitally transform the university?

Participants in this session will:

• Hear key learnings and predictions of leading higher education innovators
• Reflect on the changing student experience in online and residential learning
• Review other key areas of digital impact on higher education

What standards are now considered established? Which emerging standards are the most likely to gain momentum? What should you demand as an educator? What should you support as an edtech? When is the pain of having a standard less than the pain of not having one?

Participants in this session will:

• Review the momentum behind key standards
• Absorb predictions from standards makers and interoperability enablers
• Examine the role of large industry players
• Address when the center of interoperability action will move beyond rostering and LTI

Over the course of the fall, more than 100 applicants from all over the country with burgeoning ventures in early ed, K-12, higher ed, and workforce ed competed in the pitch competition quarterfinals. Ten companies advance to the semi-finals at the LearnLaunch Across Boundaries conference. Top edtech investors select the two finalists who will pitch to the entire conference on Friday. The audience selects the final winner. 

SEMI-FINALISTS

• ForagerOne, presented by Ansh Bhammar, CEO
• Beagle Learning, presented by Turner Bohlen, CEO & Carolyn Bickers, Partnership Development Lead
• Entrepreneurial Sales Institute, presented by Alan Maguire, CEO
• CapSource, presented by Jordan Levy, Executive Director
• College Connect, presented by Natasha Lopez, CEO

JUDGES

• Terah Crews Partner/ Head of Higher Ed Practice , Entangled Ventures
• Jessica Haselton Director of Program-Related Investments, ECMC
• Eduardo Laiter Senior Investment Analyst, Kapor Capital
• George Moore CTO, Cengage
• Jason Palmer General Partner, New Markets Venture Partners

Participants will:

• View the most current areas for digital innovation in today’s education ecosystem
• Absorb what makes a compelling startup pitch
• Review how seasoned investors question and judge the semi-finalists

Come to this session to learn about Google for Education and how to join our partner program as a closely integrated solution for shared users.

Jassal will aid the audience in articulating future scenarios, picking a preferred future, and going after it. She is focused on enabling teams and organizations to articulate the why, what, and how of moving into the future. 

Drawing on the Institute for the Future’s research on the future of work and learning, Parminder Jassal will enable the audience to use future thinking to unleash education innovation. She will equip the audience with five principles for future thinking and examples which come from the intersection of the future of work and learning, and will share tools to help unleash the promise of the future.

Dr. Parminder K. Jassal  founded and leads the Work + Learn Futures Lab at the Institute for the Future. Parminder investigates the future through three intersecting lenses: the innovations of open economies; the changing role of people in their environments; and the relationship between learning and working. Through new research and research-inspired prototyping, Parminder applies insights from the fringes to promote positive culture shift and solutions by getting ahead of inequities.

Her experiences are driven by cutting-edge gigs at Fortune 50 companies along with co-founding start-ups. Parminder also served as Founding Executive Director of ACT Foundation and program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, supporting postsecondary success for low-income young adults. Parminder’s life itself reflects the world economy. Born in London, she graduated from high school in India and is a product of public higher education in the United States.

As more schools have adopted edtech, there is much more formative assessment data as well as behavioral data. How are districts and schools making the data easier for teachers/leaders to get a full picture of students? Are they using the data dashboards from individual instructional or behavioral products, or attempting to integrate them? How does the data change instruction or culture in the classroom? Is the practice of multi-tiered systems of support assisting in the use of data?

Participants in this session will:

• Learn how a variety of schools/districts are bringing data together for teachers to inform their decision-making
• Understand the challenges of creating an integrated data and dashboard system
• Hear about the steps necessary to make the data useful in practice

Partnerships with Operations Program Managers to move online can accelerate expansion. Is building internal capability to deal with rapid change essential, or is speed more important? 

Participants in this session will:

• Assess when managed services are necessary to launch and run a post-secondary program
• Explore what capacities need to be present to build new programs in-house
• Review universities looking to acquire capabilities or establish new physical locations 

How are organizations leveraging technology to deliver services to the underserved or to expand their geographical footprint?

Participants in this session will:

• Explore different approaches to scaling workforce education for the underserved
• Address the role of digital-enabled approaches, in conjunction with mentoring
• Assess barriers to growth in this sector

While parents may worry about screen time, designers are looking to apply knowledge from gaming to learning and assessment. Can playing Fortnite be a learning opportunity? 

Participants will: 

• Review with leaders in the field how games are being used for assessment and learning
• Explore the range of assessments deploying games: from early ed to workforce hiring and advancement
• Understand how outcomes are validated in games

Learn from the stories of entrepreneurs about the ins and outs of “friends and family,” accelerators, pitch competitions, prize competitions, angel investors and venture funds. Have you demonstrated product-market fit? Developed a repeatable go-to-market model? Learn from successful entrepreneurs.

Participants will:

• Review the range of funding sources available
• Assess the requirements to be successful at gaining investment funds
• Understand what must be demonstrated at each stage to be considered investable
• Discuss appealing to experienced edtech investors and those who are new to edtech

Afterschool learning for K-12 is growing. Workers pursue microcredentials on Coursera and Udemy. Co-working spaces, accelerators, and Meetup are all part of the professional learning ecosystem. Pearson’s Global Learner Survey highlights that learning is becoming more consumerized and DIY. B2C education is growing fast, but what is it disrupting, if anything?

Participants will:

• Explore if this is additional demand for learning or a disruption
• Learn which segments are growing most quickly: supplementary ed, career exploration, college transition, lifelong learning
• Address how to assess and evaluate informal learning. Are credentials necessary?

In this session, we will hear lightning talks from students enrolled in traditional public high schools and online secondary schools.

These students will describe the changes most meaningful to them, as schools attempt to personalize their learning and connect it to the world of work. This session will include students who experienced “deeper learning,” project-based learning, internships, or other innovation pathways connected to the world of work. 

Join us as we explore the student perspective on education innovation and gain valuable insights for educators, entrepreneurs, and policy makers alike. 

Participants will:

• Hear directly from students how changes in pedagogy are shifting their interest in school
• Explore what students are eager for schools to stop, start, and continue

Explore the implications of this framework for colleges and educators, high schools, and parents and students in this session with the authors. 

Participants will:

• Understand the Jobs framework and findings: Get into my best school; Do what’s expected of me; Get way; Step it up; Extend myself
• Witness firsthand how to begin to uncover a Job to Be Done with an in-person interview of someone from the audience
• Explore the implications for colleges, counselors, and parents

Advances in assessment may be changing how talent leaders are evaluating potential hires and employee skills. Labor shortages may mean more attention to upskilling employees. There is much blended and on-line learning content available now. Is it working for talent leaders and their organizations? Even coaching and management development is being offered via video-consults. 

Participants will:

• Understand large employers’ perspective on digital transformation in identifying and developing talent
• Address the most promising solutions
• Explore the unsolved challenges for which leaders want digital solutions 

That is one of the reasons schools are being more explicit about what student data companies are collecting, how it is being stored, and how it is protected. But finding that balance between protecting students’ data privacy and using technology to innovate can be tricky.  Learn from experts, with deep experience with these challenges, about how to find that balance.  

Participants will: 

• Learn what K-12 districts are demanding that digital providers ensure
• Understand the essentials of a student data privacy agreement and the indemnifications required
• Examine the implications for entrepreneurs and educators when districts and students own their own data
• Identify the challenges for schools dealing with multiple privacy agreements

With investment in edtech in China outpacing investment in the US, she will lay out the global hotspots. The US leads Europe and India in an increasingly post-secondary and skills/talent dominated agenda as K-12’s early lead in edtech venture capital has plateaued and markets like pre-K and STEAM are coming to life. Who and what will set the pace in 2020?

Participants in this session will:

• Compare the edtech growth in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South and North America
• Explore what applications are global and which are local
• Review potential opportunities for growth

Recent advances in learning science and technology make the case for investment in early education even stronger. 

Participants will:

• Understand the latest trends in public and private funding for early education
• Explore the science that has brought the focus to early education
• Absorb case studies of successful technology investments in early education
• Address unmet needs in early education

How can institutions personalize learning experiences to expand access and improve the success of all learner types, especially traditionally underserved student populations? What are the roles of technology and data in the personalization of learning? How can institutions reduce costs, increase ROI, and make college more affordable? How are competencies established and assessed? How do these competencies impact recruiting and development practices in the workplace?

Participants will:

• Explore the future of post-secondary learning with the leader in competency-based education
• Learn to rethink how learning is measured (outcomes vs. time), and how WGU aligns learning outcomes with workforce needs
• Understand the value of personalized learning journeys in expanding access and optimizing student success

Scott Pulsipher has served as President of Western Governors University, the nation’s premier nonprofit competency-based university, since April 2016, leading all academic, operational, and organizational functions. He cultivates a student-first environment by using technology and data to improve learning outcomes, graduation rates, employment, and overall student wellbeing.

WGU was founded by the Governors of 19 western U.S. states as a non-profit university with a purpose to change the lives of individuals and families. WGU has grown into a national university, serving 125,000 students from all 50 states while receiving numerous accolades and recognition from Fast Company’s 50 Most Innovative Companies to #1 NCTQ Teacher Prep Ranking to Center of Excellence for Nursing Education recognition by National League of Nursing. WGU now has 165,000  graduate alumni across all industries and among industry-leading employers.

Prior to joining WGU, Scott led several technology-based, customer-focused businesses, including Amazon Webstore, Sterling Commerce (now part of IBM), and two successful startups that traverse retail, supply chain, banking, payments, and manufacturing sectors.  

He serves on multiple higher education and technology boards, including: Education Co-Chair for Committee for Economic Development, advisory board member at the Presidents’ Forum, board member at the American Council on Education, and member of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board.  

Scott holds an MBA from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in Management from Brigham Young University.

If you have registered in advance, you’ll pick up your badge at the top of the escalators on the 3rd floor. Limited on-site registrations will also be available while supplies last.

Finalists are selected by a jury of professional investors and industry experts during two consecutive rounds on Thursday following quarterfinals held throughout the fall and winter. 

Kaya Henderson leads the Global Learning Lab for Community Impact at Teach For All. There, she seeks to grow the impact of locally rooted, globally informed leaders, all over the world, who are catalyzing community and system-level change to provide children with the education, support, and opportunity to shape a better future. She is perhaps best known for serving as Chancellor of DC Public Schools from 2010-2016. Her tenure was marked by consecutive years of enrollment growth, an increase in graduation rates, improvements in student satisfaction and teacher retention, increases in AP participation and pass rates, and the greatest growth of any urban district on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) over multiple years.

Most recently, Kaya has served as a Fellow with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a Superintendent-in-Residence with the Broad Leadership Academy, a coach with Cambiar Education, and a Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Georgetown University.

Kaya’s career began as a middle school Spanish teacher in the South Bronx, through Teach For America. She went on to work as a recruiter, national admissions director, and DC Executive Director for Teach for America. Henderson then served as the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at The New Teacher Project (TNTP) until she began her tenure at DCPS as Deputy Chancellor in 2007.

A native of Mt. Vernon, NY, Kaya graduated from Mt. Vernon Public Schools. She received her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and her Master of Arts in Leadership from Georgetown University, as well as honorary degrees from Georgetown and Trinity University. Her board memberships include The Aspen Institute, The College Board, Robin Hood NYC, and Teach For America. She chairs the board of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC), an organization that she co-founded.

These practicing educators will describe how they are using edtech to close equity gaps in their schools.

Participants will:

• Review how educators weave edtech into the constraints of the school day: in class, after class, at home
• Discuss the challenges of grade-level material in class while addressing learning gaps
• Explore the extent of professional development needed to fully incorporate edtech to change outcomes
• Understand acceleration opportunities

They may try to gain college credit before formally enrolling (through AP, dual credit, early college) or go to less expensive community colleges and then transfer to a four-year university to manage their costs. Online learning has also been growing as a way to serve adult learners. What is the student experience as they pursue college degrees in these innovative programs? Student speakers will reflect on the paths they have pursued to “bend the cost curve” of college: both strengths and challenges.

Participants will: 

• Hear firsthand from students pursuing online BA degrees; two years at a community college with a transfer to a four-year; hybrid online and face-to-face programs; and a micromasters en route to a Master’s Degree

• Explore the strengths and challenges of these approaches as students seek to manage the time and investment required to pursue higher ed

A number of employers – such as those featured in this discussion – are developing more inclusive talent pipelines, through innovative new types of partnerships, alternative credentials, the use of skills assessments, and changes in hiring processes. This session explores these dynamics and what it means for the economy and education ecosystem at large.

Participants will:

• Explore how employers are changing their hiring and on-boarding processes when exploring credentials and moving away from requiring a BA
• Address alternative assessments for identifying appropriate candidates
• Address the huge pipeline issue over the spectrum of talent
• Review if these are experiments or major initiatives

This session examines the key changes that post-secondary educational institutions are making to address this large and growing market. Colleges must address core issues relating to how to collaborate with industry to create in-demand programs, credit for experience and transfer credit articulation, blended and on-line offerings and changes needed in student support service infrastructure.

Participants in this session will:

• Review how a community college, a public university and an online university address these challenges
• Explore the technology which is assisting their moves
• Identify their unsolved challenges

Data standards for jobs already exist. What if we could create a map of educational opportunities, a measurement of value, and a link to job opportunities? Google Social Impact and Richmond VA have done so. 

Participants will:

• Understand the data standards being developed to enable more transparent selection of education opportunities
• Review experiments happening in the market and the elements that are missing
• Address the question of what are the next steps to creating student data records and institutional outcomes records that will guide better education investment decisions 

The demand is high for “authentic learning experiences.” Schools attempt to manage partnerships for internships or authentic projects, but it takes time, connections, and effort. Are there ways to simplify this work? What are the unsolved problems and who is trying to solve them?

Participants will:

• Address how schools and communities are working to make learning relevant for high school students
• Examine what opportunities exist to move this from individual school efforts to “this is how high school works” and thus expand the number of students
• Understand the economics and platforms available to assist in making these connections

Despite the obstacles, David Hardy, Jr, former CEO of Lorain City Schools, charged forward to transform one of the lowest-performing school districts in the country. Join us in his conversation with Andrew Calkins, Director of Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC), where we will engage in a truth-bearing discourse that will force us to rethink the undeniable realities of creating sustainable progress in entrenched school systems.

Participants will:

• Reflect on the difficulties and roadmines in a program of change
• Review stories of change for key stakeholders
• Explore successes and failures on the road to district transformation.

In this session, practitioners will lay out the leading edge of learning analytics and how it influences pedagogy in their institutions, describing the context in which faculty adopted the use of learning analytics and how it is influencing teaching and learning. Some institutions of higher ed are able to require their faculty to use digital platforms and learning analytics. In others, faculty must be wooed by release time, academic technology support and other benefits in order to move to new digital learning approaches. 

Participants will:

• Understand several leading edge case studies of higher ed using learning analytics 
• Explore the capacities which need to be in place in order to be successful
• Share views on key challenges to overcome and benefits to be gained

Learn from those deploying them what non-academic problems they are focused on solving. What challenges do they present? What are foundational requirements for success? How fast is the landscape changing?

 Participants will:

• Review uses of AI by universities beyond assessment and grading
• Assess key requirements for a successful implementation
• Absorb the range of AI applications already being deployed in higher ed

Governments also fund local workforce boards and their workforce development efforts. Past regulatory actions resulted in the growth of supplementary education, the growth of charter schools and career and technical education, and the crash of for-profit higher ed. ESSA has encouraged the growth of solutions focused on chronic absenteeism. With higher ed legislation on the docket, and a national election in 2020, what is the regulatory outlook for education? Are there areas of agreement that point a way forward? Or should organizations build scenario plans?

Participants will:

• Review key areas in which ESSA is influencing education innovation
• Explore the drivers behind reauthorization of federal Higher Ed statutes

With a focus on reimagining the role of guidance and other resources, practitioners will discuss innovative programs being implemented across the country. An example of this innovation will feature Cajon Valley Union School District in the San Diego area, which created a scalable integrated curriculum for students in grades K-8 to explore their interests, talents, and values, and learn how those align with possible careers. Over the course of their elementary and middle school years, students are exposed to over 50 different careers matched to their personal profile. The program was developed in collaboration with the University of San Diego, San Diego Workforce Partnership, Class of the Future Foundation, and San Diego County Office of Education. With a generous donation from American Student Assistance, the World of Work program is now available to 33,000 students in 38 schools in three additional school districts for the 2019-2020 school year. Learn from this cross-sector collaboration how to prepare students for the future of work.

Guidance includes monitoring academic and social development and promoting good decision making; career awareness and postsecondary planning; connections to work/service opportunities and youth/family services. Good schools make guidance everyone’s job through a strong culture and a combination of dedicated and distributed services.  

Participants will:

• Address the guidance gap and innovations to close it
• Review approaches to promoting career awareness and postsecondary planning

As more schools have adopted edtech, there is much more formative assessment data, including data on socio-emotional development and school climate. Early adopters are experimenting with competency-based progressions. How will these needs drive the future of assessment in K-12? 

Participants in this session will:

• Examine how educators are creating evidence of learning
• Address the challenges of assessing capstone projects and “authentic” work with inter-rater reliability
• Explore the gaps in technology support for this movement
• Identify the next steps which may drive change

What do superintendents expect from edtech now that many are already providing a tech-infused learning environment? Are they looking for better support in professional development of teachers? Clearer privacy, security, and interoperability? Better integrated suites of solutions across school operations? More evidence of impact? 

Participants will:

• Hear directly from district leaders what are the top priorities on their list from their CIOs and heads of digital learning
• Explore what superintendents believe are the barriers and challenges preventing them from getting value from current and future educational technology
• Understand what superintendents see as the potential for the next 5 years

What works to create a successful program? Are there preconditions to enable success? What role does technology play? What transparency and data privacy are required? Are their governance approaches which increase success?

Participants will:

• Learn from a five-year longitudinal study of college student success initiatives 
• Explore the types of tech solutions that are being employed to support student retention: behavioral nudge software, data analysis software, CRMs 
• Address new advising strategies and the technology that can support them

Data analytics and research teams are leveraging machine learning to optimize performance predictions and algorithms. Join us to hear leaders in the field discuss how they are using AI to transform K-12 education and where they hope to see the use/potential evolve over the next 2-4 years.

Participants will:

• Articulate the benefits students/teachers/schools are seeing over non AI-based alternatives
• Discuss the current limitations of AI for their applications and what they see as the promise of AI over the next 3-5 years
• Address how these approaches are being introduced into schools

Participants will: 

• Practice applying design thinking skills to address learner challenges 
• Explore key principles of learner-centered design 
• Learn about methods to help you identify your key target learner audience 
• Discuss the practicality of design thinking and your business goals
• Learn how to apply industry best practices beyond the workshop

It can also increase relevance and boost student engagement. A cohort of Massachusetts middle schools, funded by American Student Assistance, are bringing career exploration and post-secondary readiness into their schools. Each school is approaching the process in a unique way. Some have changed curriculum, some changed scheduling, and all have provided teacher professional development in order to move career development into the middle school years.

Tom Vander Ark will facilitate a discussion with Massachusetts middle school leaders about how they provide career education in ways that build a sense of purpose and support informed high school choices 

Participants will:

• Learn from practitioners the approaches and challenges of addressing this topic
• Address innovative approaches to provide more career exposure to middle schoolers

Panelists will describe how districts are personalizing teacher PD, in particular what solutions they are using. Are these moves related to key initiatives like teaching CS in all grades, adding more STEAM to the curriculum, adopting  universal design for learning, or moving to personalized learning? How might CEUs/PDPs and additional salary be used? What about the role of unions, or teacher leader groups? 

Participants will:

• Investigate how innovating districts are addressing the move to personalizing teacher PD to support key initiatives and teacher career development
• Explore which tech platforms are assisting them to make the move
• Understand how blended learning, train-the-trainer approaches, coaching models, and other strategies are used
• Review major challenges, and how they might be overcome 

We may be familiar with VR field trips, VR anatomy, VR physics, and VR workplace training. While there are lots of interesting experiments in AR/VR in education, where is the technology making a unique contribution and growing fastest? The cost structure of the hardware means that most applications are currently in a lab setting. Given the cost, what is the learning value over and above other products that educators already know? How do developers decide on a platform and establish a go-to-market? Are platform providers growing the content market?

Participants will:

• Review the current state of the AR/VR market in education and workforce training
• Assess the go-to-market strategies available
• Explore the market development strategies of majors like Google, Microsoft, and PTC

This panel will address the most recent pilots and progress, and the prognosis for further growth or pilot use cases.

Participants will:

• Connect with early adopters of the technology
• Absorb updates on the latest pilots
• Review projections for the future

Does this approach bring higher education and employers into closer interaction? Do intermediaries such as bootcamps provide this for higher ed, or is this a fintech innovation? How will these alternatives to standard student loans change education?

Participants will:

• Review the economics of ISAs: how they work for the lender and the learner
• Explore the ramifications of these new instruments which cross the boundaries of higher ed and workforce