ePals hosts the world’s largest K-12 social learning network and provides safe, learning-centered communication and collaboration solutions for schools and districts. Serving 700,000 classrooms in over 200 countries and territories, ePals' network offers teachers, students and parents unprecedented ability to facilitate teaching and student learning by sharing projects and best practices, connecting with other classrooms around the corner and around the globe, and accessing content and lesson plans designed for an increasingly digital and networked world. ePals' award-winning products include: the ePals Global Community™; enterprise-grade K-12 email solution SchoolMail®365; customizable collaboration platform LearningSpace®; and In2Books®, a common core eMentoring program. More information available at http://www.epals.com/.
Ideal: Imagine a world where young people are strong problem solving, geographical thinkers with solid 21st century career skills who actively contribute to the good of their local and global communities. Esri actively works to address this ideal. Esri, founded in 1969, is the world leader in GIS (geographic information systems). GIS and geographical problem solving are being used everyday by millions of persons in thousands of occupations to tackle issues in our communities and across the world (www.esri.com/mapmuseum). Since 1992, the Esri Education Program has advanced GIS in schools via software, data, curriculum, and training opportunities and collaborations. More information available at www.esri.com.
The Intel® Teach Program offers teachers proven professional development supporting 21st century skills. Intel Teach promotes standards-aligned, project-based approaches and multiple forms of assessment for learning. Courses help teachers transform instruction to engage students in deeply relevant ways with appropriate use of technology, Web 2.0, and social networking for learning, creativity, and communication. More information available at www.intel.com.
Project Tomorrow is a national education nonprofit group based in Irvine, California. The vision of Project Tomorrow is to ensure that today’s students are well prepared to be tomorrow’s innovators, leaders and engaged citizens of the world. We believe that by supporting the innovative uses of science, math and technology resources in our K-12 schools and communities, students will develop the critical thinking, problem solving and creativity skills needed to compete and thrive in the 21st century.
We approach our mission by:
- Conducting national research projects such as Speak Up.
- Facilitating the replication of model projects in schools and communities.
- Providing online tools and resources for students, teachers and parents.
- Contributing to the national and regional dialogue about educational issues.
SMART Technologies, the global leader in interactive whiteboards, develops interactive products that improve the way the world communicates, collaborates and learns. For more than 20 years, innovation and commitment to excellence have been at the core of our business. As a result, we have helped educators set new standards with interactive products that support student-centered learning and business people achieve better results with easy-to-use collaboration products that support better meetings. Our global reputation for bringing expertise in collaboration technology to deeply involved customer relationships reflects our commitment to creating products that enable extraordinary improvements in they way we work and learn. More information available at http://smarttech.com/.
Content programming for SXSWedu 2012 is expected to include more than 100 breakout sessions, addressing topics of interest in K–12 and Higher Education. Breakout sessions are available for review and comment by our community, who contribute to programming decisions via our proprietary session proposal environment, PanelPicker. Sessions will broadly be categorized into a number of different content strands, ranging from Early Childhood, to College & Career Readiness, and Higher Education. Additional strands include Assessment, Digital Content, Open Educational Resources, Gaming & Learning, Research & Evaluation, Emerging Trends and General Education, among others. In support of many of the content strands, SXSWedu is developing a “Spotlight Series of Distinguished Speakers”, inviting thought leaders aligned with various content strands to inspire and engage attendees. Confirmed Distinguished Speakers include: Mike Feinberg, Co-Founder KIPP; Cathy Catherly, CEO, Creative Commons; and Karen Cator, Director of Educational Technology, U.S. Department of Education, with more invitations pending. Visit http://sxswedu.com/ for more information.
TaskStream helps ensure that students have the knowledge and skills they need to be successful. We provide the highest quality Web-based software and supporting services to efficiently plan and manage performance assessment processes, facilitate the demonstration of learning achievement, and foster continuous educational improvement. With TaskStream, educators can: encourage students to build media-rich e-portfolios to showcase accomplishments; collect project- and performance-based student work and reflections to evaluate higher-order skills; use customs rubrics to assess student achievement of learning outcomes and standards; and analyze individual and group performance data to assess instructional effectiveness. For more information, please visit www.taskstream.com.
Turning Technologies, LLC develops interactive assessment solutions designed specifically to increase student learning outcomes. Proven research-based technologies and consulting services enable teachers and administrators to gather vital data needed to progress monitor, differentiate instruction, and increase student achievement. The company’s results-oriented approach centers around quality content, intuitive student response technology, comprehensive data analysis tools, and customizable professional development programs. Dedicated to providing technology and supporting K-12 educators’ student achievement goals, Turning Technologies strives to provide actionable assessment tools for classroom use. To learn how Turning can assist your student improvement goals, visit www.TurningTechnologies.com or call 1-866-746-3015.
