Conference Circuit: Education Technology Advocates Cross Digital Divides

Modern educators may have access to a wealth of technology resources, but many of these potentially groundbreaking tools have yet to achieve their full potential. Plus, many teaching professionals have been unable to leverage the tools others take for granted. These challenges inspired this year’s theme of Boston education technology accelerator LearnLaunch Institute  (opens in a new tab)’s annual conference  (opens in a new tab), “Across Boundaries: Delivering on Edtech’s Promise.”

Entrepreneurs, educators, investors, students, and industry experts will gather at Harvard Business School in Boston on January 23 and 24 to discuss the increasingly important role of technology in teaching and how to maximize access to digital tools and strategies.

Voices from all corners of the education technology community will discuss issues such as the need for technology companies to get teacher input to improve their products and customer interactions and the ideal form of personalized learning for high school students. Breakout sessions will tackle other issues such as how to use technology to close the skills gap for adult learners, how to raise funds for education technology startups, and how to utilize big data to improve student outcomes in college.

The Week Ahead

January 26-29: The Nevada Water Resources Association  (opens in a new tab) plans to take advantage of its meeting venue to highlight environmental issues during its 2015 annual conference. A tour  (opens in a new tab) of the event space, the Peppermill Resort Spa & Casino, will give attendees a closer look at “the only resort in the United States whose heating source is totally provided from geothermal energy produced on the immediate property.”

January 27-31: Manufacturers, sellers and providers of technology-based assistive devices and services will benefit from a variety  (opens in a new tab) of bootcamps, product demos, and educational sessions at the Assistive Technology Industry Association  (opens in a new tab)’s 2015 conference in Orlando, Florida.

Down the Line

January 31-February 6: The 68th annual meeting  (opens in a new tab) of the Society for Range Management  (opens in a new tab) in Sacramento, California, will focus on “managing diversity” within the industry, with an assortment of technical tours  (opens in a new tab) to give attendees the chance to improve their skill sets and explore California wildlife at the same time.

(Ableimages/ThinkStock)