EdSurge Summits Expand to Include Administrators

EdSurge Summits Expand to Include Administrators

By Katrina Stevens     Jun 25, 2014

EdSurge Summits Expand to Include Administrators

You asked, we listened.

EdSurge’s Summits have been a huge hit with educators and entrepreneurs--a place to share common ground and have a genuine dialogue about how to best support student learning.

Our next Summit will take place in Los Angeles on September 12 and 13 on the campus of USC’s Rossier School of Education.

On Saturday, we will bring together more than 500 educators and 30 companies, just as we did in Baltimore, Nashville and Mountain View, Calif. Teachers had much to say about their Summit experience: “I felt so appreciated and pampered while learning about new technology to use in my classroom,” shared Baltimore County teacher, Melanie Coates. “My voice seemed to matter.” Another teacher Jenna Shaw, from Baltimore City, further shared that the EdSurge Summit “empowered teachers to take control of their expertise, their knowledge, and the power we have when we come together and think outside the box.”

Administrators saw value too in participating in the Educator Day: “The EdSurge Summit was an important event for administrators,” commented Ryan Imbriale, Executive Director of Digital Learning, Baltimore County Public Schools, “because it helped catalyze conversations between administrators and teachers about specific tools classrooms might need.” Brett Turner, Director of Personalized Learning at the Tennessee Department of Education, further explained that “EdSurge summits foster the collaborative, yet critical, conversations needed to push the field forward to benefit all students.”

But both administrators and companies have asked to have special time together, too.

Now they will.

We want administrators to have a similarly powerful experience, one focused on the questions that they wrestle with every day: What products are effective over an entire school or district? How should administrators deal with data? And how can administrators create genuine partnerships with companies and communicate the needs that their students have?

What Will Happen At Administrator Workshops?

Administrator workshops will be more intimate events involving about a dozen companies and 100 administrators. Both administrators and companies will get “dossiers” on each other, to help prepare them for a constructive dialogue. The heart of the day will involve in-depth sessions where both companies and administrators can share perspectives and feedback about how to best support learning. (Here’s a detailed schedule: under "Detailed Agenda" click on the grey box called "Administrator Workshop.")

How to Participate?

We’re committed to continuing to make this program free for educators.

  • To take part in the Los Angeles Administrator Workshop (Friday, Sept. 12), educators should request an invite at summits@edsurge.com.
  • To take part in the Los Angeles Educator Day (Saturday, Sept. 13), all educators (teachers, tech coordinators, administrators and more!) can sign up here.

EdSurge is working with local administrators and teachers to identify district priorities and to select companies for both days of the Summit. The goal of our selection process: to ensure that the companies that participate are building products that genuinely interest the educators in the region.

Companies can apply to take part in either the Administrator Workshop or the Educator Day--or both. The deadline for companies submitting applications is July 11, 2014, by 6pm PST. The schedule of fees for companies to participate in these events is included on this application page.

We can’t wait for Los Angeles--and the additional Summits that we’re planning for the autumn. Join us: Learning is happening here!

Learn more about EdSurge operations, ethics and policies here. Learn more about EdSurge supporters here.

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