My name is Paris Gamble, and I am the COO of Lifestyle Learning.
In previous years of attending #SXSWEDU 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.
I never posted my recap via any social media channels. This year is the first time in 2 years we have been back to Austin for the face-to-face experience that SXSW EDU is known for. My business partner, Dr. Anthony DePass and I attended this year. Dr. DePass and his non-profit, Understanding Interventions, is doing fantastic work making people aware of the successful interventions towards getting more students of color pursuing #STEM degrees. Please check out his work on http://www.understandinginterventions.org.
I want to highlight some of the amazing people (my apologies in advance for missing some people) and companies I saw in Austin:
Kelvin Bently (WGU Labs), V Scott Solberg (Boston University), RosaRebellion Podcast (rosarebellion.com), John Clifford (Niche), Aaron McCloud (Intervene K-12), Stacie McClam (School Dismissed), Scott Hampton (avhs.org), Bart Epstein (EdTech Evidence Exchange), Jean Eddy (American Student Assistance), Tinsley Maier (Edgi Learning), Justin Dent (outschool.org), Kayan McKreith (The Holdsworth Center), Jim Larimore (Riid), Caitlin Klein (leveragEDfoundation.org), Pat La Morte (Zoom), Andrew Rotherham (Bellweather Education Partners), Zoe Pitzer (Grayvyne), Monal Parmar (Education Vision Technologies), Grant Brooks, Gregory Jordan (SeligoAI), Laura Segre (Nexgen News), Natasha DeJesus (Wiley Beyond), J. Stuart Ablon (Think:Kids), Tia Lites (Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy), Enzo Cheng (Coding Rooms), Rico Corazon, Candace Howze (Ron Brown Scholar Program ), Melissa Lobato (IDEO), David Soo (JFF), Curtis Valentine (Reinventing America’s School’s Project), Malcolm J. Bryant, S. Vijay Sekhara (Mass Challenge), Roscoe Compton-Kelly (Education Open Doors), Russell Shilling, Judith Goldstein (American Student Assistance), Maria Flynn (American Student Assistance), Charles Corprew (Camelback Ventures), Hassan Hassan (4.0), Bernita Bradley, Derrel Bradford (50CAN),Kristina Francis (JFF), Dave Miyashiro (Cajon Valley Union School District), Shaon Berry (Metro Esports), Karl Bennett (Exiger), Liz Willen (Hechinger Report), Patricia Urena (The Moth), ECMC Group, Pressto, Alee, B Unbound, Uversity, Magma Math, Working Nation, Afrorithms, Surf Skate Science, Idea Public Schools, Voicelets, H2O for Life, AWS Edstart, Royelles Gaming For Girls, and Cerebrate.
I always feel encouraged at SXSW EDU because the people that attend are easy to talk to and the vibe is always about how can things be better.
Below are a few sessions that resonated with me:
Eliminating the School-to-Prison Pipeline – Outstanding session with actionable information and references.
Applying the Lessons Learned of Pandemic Education – Bernita Bradley and Justin Dent’s experiences made things hit home.
Career Readiness in America: An Inaugural Report – Lays it out as it is, based on local, state and National data. Very EYE-opening!
The Intersection of informal & Formal Learning – Loved learning what can be done.
The attendees, vendors, sponsors, and SXSW staff are so NICE and open to discussion. People were literally telling others about our products and our story. I met two of the nicest teachers (from St. Louis and outside of Austin) I have ever met Thursday morning.
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.
