My name is Paris Gamble and I am Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder) of Lifestyle Learning (https://lifestylelearning.com/). I have attended SXSW EDU from 2016-2019, 2022 and this year. I believe I am qualified to give a good recap on how SXSW EDU 2023 went.
In previous years of attending SXSW EDU in person I would recap my experience for Darron Lamkin (Executive Director of the non-profit Class Matters) and others I knew to pass on the knowledge I had gained and to the explain the vibe of the conference. If you are not familiar with Darron Lamkin or Class Matters, check them out at https://class-matters.org. Last year was the first time I posted my recap for others to see.
My business partner, Dr. Anthony DePass and I attended this year. Dr. DePass and his non-profit, Understanding Interventions, do fantastic work collating and organizing successful interventions towards getting more students of color pursuing #STEM degrees. Please check out his work on http://www.understandinginterventions.org.
This year we introduced Transition Navideer (https://transitionnavideer.com). This powerful tool provides a comprehensive and personalized approach to career transition, offering a wide range of resources and support to those looking to make an informed career change and achieve their goals.
I always feel encouraged at SXSW EDU because the people that attend are easy to talk to and the vibe is always about how things can be better.
I want to highlight some of the amazing people (my apologies in advance for missing some people) and companies that I talked and saw in Austin: Aaron McLoud (Intervene K-12), Niyoka McCoy (Stride), Sarah Fryar (Edinno), Tomika Brown (EMC’s The College Place), Timothy C. Thompson (Tuscany Strategy Consulting), Darcy Hardy (Anthology Inc.), Brian Moon (PerigeanTechnologies), Sinclair Wu (RightOn Education), Rico R. Reed (University of South Carolina), Joshua Marks (Hip Hopportunity LLC), Drew Milner (Cygnus Education), Carlos Reyes (Newark Public Schools), Zakk Black (The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research), Patrick Waldo (Unicornforms), Girija Ramapriya (Brazen Learning), Derrick Wesley (Directed Analytics), Serena Deutch (Vela Education Fund), Stephen Schwartz (ChanceLight), Joe Cozza (GrayVyne), Mareeka Dookie (Empatico), Larissa Bennett (Rye Consulting), US Currency Education Program, Lisa Thompson (Prairie View A&M University), Nathan Stewart (TimelyMD), Taco Bell Foundation, Kid-grit, Roadtrip Nation, LearnPlatform, WorkingNation, Hassan Hassan (4.0), Tracey Clark (4.0), and Lereca Monik (4.0).
I would like to highlight the work done by ECMC through their #QuestionTheQuo campaign. Their survey results made a very strong case for the need for our career exploration product, Career Navideer.
Our flagship product, Career Navideer (https://careernavideer.com/) continues to resonate with the people we talked to at the conference. Career Navideer is a powerful career exploration platform that provides students with personalized guidance and resources to help them make informed decisions about their future careers.
Below are a few sessions I attended that resonated with me:
Expanding Pathways in Postsecondary Education – This breakout session was excellent in providing both points of view and disseminating key information from surveys and studies about pathways. Key tidbits included if students don’t see opportunities before they exit middle school, they shut down.
Modern Learning: Future Possibilities for K12 – A good session focused around meeting students where they are and the use of game-based learning.
College Debate: Elevating Student Perspectives – The highlight of this session was the GenX panelists. They provided a point of view regarding college, debt, and postsecondary education. It was a very interesting dialogue.
Insights from the Out-of-System Space – This was an excellent session bringing the perspectives of founders creating educational spaces outside of the norm.
Wanted: Access to Career Connections for Teens – The speakers were excellent! Very good perspectives and points of view on this topic.
Investor Talk: Skills, Employability, and Pathways – I was extremely impressed by experience and awareness of each speaker. Part of the discussion summarized where we were pre-pandemic, during the pandemic and after. It was really eye opening.
During the conference we heard the message more and more that there must be better ways to increase postsecondary education success for students. Student Success Modules are online educational modules designed to help students achieve postsecondary success. Topics include: Academic Success, Success, Memory Skills, Goal Setting, Effective Communication, Time Management, Critical Thinking, Note-Taking, Decision Making, Ethics, Information Literacy, Financial Literacy, Financial Planning, and Career Planning.
The attendees, vendors, sponsors, and SXSW staff are so NICE and open to discussion.
If you get the chance to go to SXSW EDU next year, take advantage. I guarantee you will come away with renewed energy from talking to others that are trying to solve problems in Education. The passion some of the young people have that attend cannot be matched. #SXSWEDU #Education #edtech #sxsw
