Education Improved in the USA: Current Trends in E-Learning

Hugh Forrest

Director, SXSW Interactive Festival

March 13-17, 2015 in Austin, TX, USA

hugh@sxsw.com

@hugh_w_forrest

Overview of today’s talk

• What is SXSW Interactive

• What is SXSWedu

• The SXSWedu video

• The SXSWedu trivia game

• 10 education and e-learning trends in the US

• Conclusions and questions

Thank you for inviting me

And, thank you for attending today

• This is my second time to be in Spain

• In Barcelona earlier this week talking about privacy

• Was in Madrid and Zaragosa last November

• Honored to be invited here again

• Always aiming to build an even stronger alliance between Spain and our work at SXSW

• One of our big growth areas for SXSW Interactive is international attendance

What is SXSW Interactive?

• Living breathing manifestation of the Internet

• Trade Show, Job Fair, Gaming Expo

• 800+ panels and presentations

• From code to food, we cover all kinds of topics

• In our best moments, we preview the future

• Creativity, inspiration and innovation

• About 30,000 total attendees

• Great place to make 1-on-1 connections

As SXSW Interactive has grown

• We have added several new events to the SXSW family of events

• Goal of these new events is to gently push some of the SXSW Interactive growth to various other verticals

• SXSW Eco (October in Austin)

• SXSW V2V (July in Las Vegas)

• SXSWedu (in Austin, before SXSW Interactive)

Details on SXSWedu

• Started in Austin in March 2011

• So, 2015 is our fifth year: For 2015, SXSWedu is scheduled Monday, March 9 through Thursday, March 12 in Austin

• Mission statement: “SXSWedu Fosters innovation in learning by hosting a diverse and energetic community of stakeholders from a variety of backgrounds in education.”

More details on SXSWedu

• Has about 5000 total attendees from across the US and around the world

• SXSWedu is now the fastest-growing event in the SXSW family of events

• Why such fast growth? Because so much interest in this topic from on so many levels

• To get a better feel for SXSWedu, let’s watch the two-minute promo video

SXSWedu Sizzle Reel

Video is a great taste of the event

• Believe it or not, being in Austin in March for Edu is even more fun than this video

• But I really love how much energy this video helps to create in space of two minutes

More Energy: The SXSW Trivia Game

• We do this to create more engagement and interaction with the audience

• Also helps give the audience a little more information / context about the event

SXSW Trivia Game: Ground rules

• No fair looking at your smart phone or your laptop computer for the correct answer to the trivia question

• First person who answers correctly gets two free badges to SXSWedu 2015.

• This is a $950 value – but your winnings do NOT include transportation to and / or lodging while you are in Austin

SXSW Trivia Question

SXSW Trivia Question

• The women shown in the previous photo heads up a very inspirational, very forward-thinking non-profit organization

• Recently named to Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30 list of best social entrepreneurs

• Her name is Shiza Shahid and she is one of the Feature Speakers at SXSWedu 2015

• For two free badges to SXSWedu 2015, what is the name of the non-profit organization that Shiza Shahid currently leads?

SXSW Trivia Game: The answer

SXSW Trivia Game: The answer

Now to the main focus of today’s talk: Identifying new industry trends

• Identifying trends and previewing the future is what we always try to focus on at SXSW Interactive and at SXSWedu

• With that in mind, for the remainder of my speech, let’s talk about 10 significant trends in education and e-learning in the US

Trend #1: MOOCs grow and grow

Trend #1: MOOCs grow and grow

• MOOC is the acronym for Massive Open Online Course

• By definition, this is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web.

• In addition to traditional course materials such as videos, readings, and problem sets, MOOCs provide interactive user forums that help build a community for students, professors, and teaching assistants

Trend #2: Blended / hybrid classrooms

Trend #2: Blended / hybrid classrooms

• The concept of learning as an intentional mixture of both online and onsite learning is being embraced and explored intensely

• Students do their independent learning online, using class time with the teacher to address ay lack of understanding, in a more personalized way

Trend #3: Personalized learning

Trend #3: Personalized learning

• Like it or not, students are wired differently and they tend to progress through the curriculum at different rates

• Technological advances allow teachers to more effectively personalize lesson plans to individual students

Trend #4: Education + Startups = Love

Trend #4: Education + Startups = Love

• More and more startups are getting into the education space.

• Why? Because many things in education have not changed in the last 100 years

• Also because there are significant opportunities for those who can change them

• Reverse is also true: We are seeing more focus on entrepreneurism in education

Trend #5: Stronger focus on STEM

Trend #5: Stronger focus on STEM

• STEM is the acronym for Science Technology Engineering and Math.

• Given how much focus there is in the US on emerging technology (and startups), we are seeing significantly more emphasis on STEM in both traditional classroom settings as well as e-learning approaches

• But, brings up the age-old question of what is education

Trend #6: Learn to code

Trend #6: Learn to code

• Above and beyond STEM, more and more institutions are teaching students how to program and how to code

• This again speaks to the large need for this kind of labor force in the United States and elsewhere

Trend #7: Makers remaking learning

Trend #7: Makers remaking learning

• Maker movement in the US (and worldwide) continues to gain momentum and popularity

• More and more of these maker principles are being adopted in the classroom

• Also interesting to note how many libraries in the US have been converted to maker spaces

Trend #8: Gamify everything

Trend #8: Gamify everything

• Video games are immensely popular with younger (and older) audiences

• Can the popularity of this medium be leveraged for learning?

• Lots of heated debate on the pros and cons of this approach

• Nicholas Carr (The Shallows) vs Steven Johnson (Everything Bad is Good For You)

Trend #9: New languages and cultures

Trend #9: New languages and cultures

• In the United States, we are continuing to see an increased focus on Spanish as this language (and this culture) becomes more and more prevalent

• In the United States, we are also seeing an increased focus on Mandarin as China edges closer and closer to the world’s dominant economy

Trend #10: Not all teachers love tablets

Trend #10: Not all teachers love tablets

• For all the triumphs of technology in the classroom, we are also seeing a persistent backlash against this development

• “We had the money to buy them, but maybe not the best implementation,” said Mark Toback, the current superintendent of Hoboken (New Jersey) School District. “It became unsustainable.”

Big picture conclusions

• Lots of new ideas -- and we will see this space evolve even more in the near future

• More specifically, technology continues to significantly change the landscape of learning

• In the classic sense of the word, the education landscape remains ripe for disruption

• But, traditions die hard and this move towards new forms is still not universally accepted

Thanks again for coming to this talk

• Happy to answer any questions that you may have about any issues

• Can always e-mail me questions at hugh@sxsw.com

• Follow me on Twitter at @hugh_w_forrest

• Find more info on SXSW 2015 at sxswedu.com and sxsw.com/interactive

See you in Austin in March 2015