SXSWedu: the epic education conference best known for bringing together a potpourri of stakeholders in the education community is here! A spin-off of the legendary SXSW film, music, and comedy festival, the SXSWedu experience offers glimpses into the future of education with healthy doses of skepticism and of course debate.

According to the SXSWedu organizers, this year over 1500 session proposals were submitted! We’re eager to continue to share our expertise with a forward-thinking community that’s as passionate about the progress of education as we are. We have some must-see events you’ll want to check out.

Here’s where you can find us throughout the conference:

Innovating in EdTech through Human-Centered Design

Monday, March 4th

1:30-3:30 pm

Austin Convention Center

Room 8ABC

Speakers: Daniel Cole, Aaron Houssian

About this session: Designing innovative technologies is becoming an increasingly human-centered activity, drawing on methods in design thinking, user research, and human-computer interaction. Designing educational technologies, however, has hidden complexities, as it often involves designing for two sets of users: students and instructors. This interactive session will examine several methods for conducting practical and effective human-centered design with students and instructors. It will also provide participants with a set of guidelines for beginning their own human-centered design practice.

SXSWedu Startup Showcase

Monday, March 4th

3:00-5:00 pm

Austin Convention Center

Exhibit Hall 4 Meet Up Pavilion (Startup Village)

We’re hosting the SXSWedu Startup Showcase this year! This networking event spotlights the education startups participating at the conference. The cocktail-style reception will provide attendees the opportunity to demo products and offer valuable, real-time feedback in a fun and casual atmosphere.

Come interact with the following startup companies!

AdaptED Futures

Amira Learning

Bitsbox

BookNook

Care2rock L3C

Caribu

Citizen Discourse

Couragion

Crew Platform

Dynos.io

Edmit

Ever Forward - Siempre Adelante

Giide

GradGuru

iSchoolConnect Inc

Learn Fresh

LearnPlatform

LiftEd

Literal

LitLab

mylilstory

Pie for Providers

PlayPosit

ROYBI

SayKid

SoroTouch

Substantial

Tailor-ED

TutorMe

Unruly Studios

Upkey

UR Turn

Weird Enough Productions

Words Liive

Zoobean

Implementing Active Learning for Engagement and Effectiveness: An Interactive Panel

Monday, March 4th

5:00-5:30 pm

Hilton Austin

Salon C

Speakers: Dr. Jeff Bergin, Dr. Chris Dede, Dr. Erin Dolan

About this session: Active learning is one increasingly common way to engage students in the learning process through interactive, collaborative, and constructive activities. Indeed, many of these activities are affordable, effective and relatively easy to implement, but few are built on research-based methods and measured for effectiveness and impact -- without which, active learning can be less effective or even counterproductive. This panel will begin by introducing common approaches to active learning. Then, the panel will share two pieces of research: an evidence-based active learning model and an impact study examining outcomes associated with the implementation of active learning techniques. Finally, the panel will discuss the pros and cons of implementing active learning methods in a variety of classrooms.

See you in Austin, Texas the first week in March!