The first week of March I traveled to Austin for my 5th time attending SxSwEDU, the very best educational technology conference of the year.
Here are a few takeaways of SxSw EDU 2024 from my friend and co-conspirator, Denise Maduli Williams of Miramar College, generated with the assistance of Gen AI tools:
🚀 22nd Century Skills: The challenge of equity in education is paramount. We need to ensure that all students acquire the skills they need for the future, not just a select few.
🌟 Higher Ed in Transition: We're operating in an era we were founded in, not the one we currently exist in. It's crucial to support innovation structurally and empower students to be architects of their education.
🤖 Equity in AI and Education: AI can bridge gaps in educational systems, but it must be used responsibly and centered on underserved students who need it most.
🏫 Community College Initiatives: Design education systems around student needs, preferences, and availability. Center students in the design process; they are the architects.
🌟 Leadership Insights: Reflecting on profound growth moments, aligning career moves with values, and prioritizing wellness for sustainable leadership
🧠 Next Gen Classroom with AI: Exploring AI's potential to unlock creativity in the classroom. It's not about fearing technology but leveraging it as a tool for innovation.
📘 Accessibility & Inclusion: Advancing every learner's potential through UDL, focusing on equity and identity.
"Design education systems around student needs, preferences, and availability. Center students in the design process; they are the architects."
SxSwEDU 2024 Re-Cap Video & The Land Acknowledgement
Day One
On Day 1, the highlights were definitely the Keynote Kimberlé Crenshaw and Featured Speaker Geoffrey Canada. 2 other inspiring sessions were "AI & The Future of Learning" with Nevada's Teacher of the Year Laura Jeanne Penrod, and the panel "Navigating a New era in Higher Ed: Facts about the Future", with Kate Colbert, Philomena Mantella, and Joe Sallustio, moderated by Linda Garza Battles.
Kimberlé Crenshaw was interviewed: " Unraveling Myths About Critical Race Theory in Education".
"It is not a fight about three letters. We need to be able to think critically about race to understand what's happening. That's the prism that allows us to see that these ideas are ideas that are meant to undermine our democracy, not to enhance it. You need to be able to understand race in terms of what some of our institutions do." -Kimberlé Crenshaw
Geoffrey Canada presented: "The Power of Place: Transforming America One Block at a Time".
"How many folks on your team are coming from the communities that you service? How many of them have grown up understanding why this work is so critical?" -Geoffrey Canada
"Navigating a New Era in Higher Ed: Facts about the Future", with Kate Colbert, Philomena Mantella, and Joe Sallustio, moderated by Linda Garza Battles:
"The biggest mistake we can make in higher education is continually choosing to operate for the era in which we were founded instead of the age in which we currently exist. The skills we need, the ways we collaborate, and the jobs available to graduates are changing. So must we."
Day Two
Day 2 was filled with sessions of particular relevance to community college educators: "Equity Concerns in AI & Education" , a Featured Session, "Promise & Peril: The Potential of Community Colleges", and "Teach AI: Empowering Educators to Teach with & about AI".
"We research the best community colleges in the country. What we mean by that is those that our actually delivering high, improving and equitable levels of student success." -Josh Wyner, The Aspen Institute
"The issues in higher education that unite us are economic and social mobility on the one hand and talent development on the other. Who can be opposed to that?" -Pascle Charlot, The Aspen Institute
"You can't separate the relational and personal from the work that we often engage in in education." -Russell Lowery-Hart, Austin Community College
Erin Geyer Smith, Shaniqua McClendon, and Akoto Ofori-Atta were on a panel discussing "Fact or Fiction? Media Literacy in the Digital Age".
"With another presidential election looming around the corner and political chatter as fractured as ever, how can everyday media consumers (with probably way too much Twitter screentime) discern fact from fiction?"
Day Three
The absolute highlight of Day 3 was the panel of Bettina Love, Sharhonda Bossier, and Jacqueline Woodson, being interviewed by Carlos Moreno, on "Finding Your Leadership Soul".
"We just want people to come and create work, because our work continues to be threatened in this country. And the more artists we have, the more spaces we can provide for them to create art, the better the world is." -Jacqueline Woodson
"You have to tell people sometimes what you need and how you need to be treated, so you can show up as your best self." -Bettina Love
"I ask for your encouragement, I ask for your thought partnership, and I ask for your critical friendship when we don't get it right. Because we're committed to it, we're committed to it over the long haul, and we can only get it right if you hold us accountable to doing that." -Sharhonda Bossier
Next Generation Classroom: Using AI to Unlock Creativity, with Guy Kawasaki.
- Growing visual literacy is a necessity.
- AI is a catalyst for personalized learning experiences.
- Visual tools empower students to transform ideas into reality.
- AI helps teachers improve their effectiveness and efficiency.
- Teachers need support to unlock AI’s full potential in the classroom.
Getting Smart on Creativity: Podcast with Stanford d.school
- The Stanford d.school serves as a beacon for bringing creative courage to life. 4 new books from the d.school speak to important aspects of this work.
- This live recording of the Getting Smart podcast brings together the authors of Creative Hustle, Design Social Change, Experiments in Reflection, and Make Possibilities Happen to discuss what educators can learn and use from these books and the authors' work at the Stanford d.school and beyond.
- Equal parts inspiration and actionable ideas, this conversation is lively, playful, delightful, and deep.
Day Four
Day 4 was brief, with 2 sessions; a meet-up for Engaging at SxSwEDU 2025 and an information-packed session "Meaningful & Safe AI: Policy & Research Perspectives", with a former policy-maker from the US Dept. Of Education and a researcher from the organization Digital Promise.