Learning about the education landscape is one of the great advantages of engaging with Central Texas Education Funders (CTEF) - from staying abreast of current education trends, to identifying opportunities and connecting with others who share a passion for education. This past July, CTEF had the opportunity to connect with Ron Reed, executive director for SXSWedu, to learn more about the upcoming SXSWedu 2013 Conference to be held in Austin, Texas on March 4-7, 2013.
SXSW conferences are notorious for being on the cutting edge of innovation— in film, interactive and music - and in keeping with tradition, SXSW designed an education track to explore and preview what is next and new in K-12 and higher education.
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| SXSWedu 2012 keynote: U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, (Photo courtesy of Texas Observer) |
Approaching its third year, SXSWedu spotlights thought leaders, practitioners and entrepreneurs in education and mixes educational programs and social events to create an interactive dialogue of creativity and innovation in education. One of the tools Reed highlighted in his call with CTEF was the launch of the PanelPicker, a user-friendly, online proposal tool, allowing active engagement of conference participants. This feature allows the community to share their individual voice on SXSWedu’s programming. Participants can suggest ideas, review posted session proposals, comment and cast votes on the conference's program offerings.
What's exciting is that PanelPicker doesn’t just open a forum for new ideas, it opens the proposal vetting process with a broad reach to education stakeholders across the globe. In 2012, SXSWedu attracted more than 2,000 people for the conference, representing 44 states and 13 countries. This was a 250 percent increase from their first year in 2011. It is this type of creativity that SXSWedu sparks to get education stakeholders from all edges of the world to exchange innovation in education topics and open doors to success.
Needless to say, CTEF members left inspired and excited of what's to come during the SXSWedu 2013 Conference. One concrete step of CTEF's call with Reed is its help to promote awareness of the conference March 4-7, 2013 and highlight opportunities for education entrepreneurs, funders and providers to pitch their work and best practices in K-12 and high education on PanelPicker. Don't dilly dally too long as PanelPicker submissions close September 7! Click here to get started on your winning idea. Good luck and hope to see you at SXSWedu 2013!
