Earlier this month, Providence hosted more than 1,200 educators for this year's Blended and Personalized Learning Conference.
During the conference, educators and school leaders met to "discuss blended learning as it exists today on the ground — both in terms of the day-to-day implementation in blended classrooms, and the strategies and systems that have effectively supported replication and scale across schools and districts," its website states.
The event was hosted by the Christensen Institute, the Learning Accelerator and education nonprofit the Highlander Institute. The Institute is an entity that looks to help schools embrace "new and innovative learning models," its executive director, Dana Borrelli-Murray, told Rhode Island Inno.
"People should be highlighting this, seeing this as an academic driver in our state; this could have great economic ramifications."
The conference, which is celebrating its seventh anniversary, was just one way the nonprofit wanted to operationalize its mission.
What started in the school cafeteria with 50 attendees is, today, a sold-out, three-day juggernaut that uses the Rhode Island Convention Center to house teachers from in-state and beyond, the latter of whom represent 30 percent of attendees.
The draw? The immersive, pertinent content that meets teachers where they're at and inspires them to think bigger, Borrelli-Murray said.
"It's not about education wonks sitting on a panel, talking about things at high level," she continued. "It’s much more practitioner-based, hands-on and action-oriented."
Ultimately, conference curriculum invited attendees to answer questions like, "How do you find new ways to do innovation-based learning in a 21st-century economy?" And, "How do you use data and tech in a smart way?"
Conference goers attended "Shark Tank"-esque pitch sessions, mixers and dinners at local hotels and restaurants, and more.
"Every year we keep adding to it, because we hear the needs of these practitioners," Borrelli-Murray said. "Our big thing right now is, this has been growing at a rapid rate; how do we meet the needs?"
While Borrelli-Murray and the team behind the conference don't want to have to take the conference out of the state, it's growing at such a rapid rate they have to take a hard look at what's best logistically for the conference moving forward.
The size of the program may draw crowds big enough to necessitate moving it elsewhere, but it hasn't garnered a considerable amount of traditional media attention, a move Borrelli-Murray called "frustrating."
"People should be highlighting this, seeing this as an academic driver in our state; this could have great economic ramifications," she said.
And, it encourages and empowers teachers, who can then better serve students, Borrelli-Murray said.
"This conference is really about them," she continued. "The objective of all of this is, you’re creating students who are able to work in the world, the future that’s happening. Right now the traditional system is not quite equipped for that."
However, educators are on the right path.
Borrelli-Murray cited a highlight of the event, where three students from Providence sat on a panel to share their in-school experiences.
"They absolutely crushed it," she said. "They set the tone for the entire day. All the adults in the room were on the edge of their seats, because that’s what it’s all about. They are going to absolutely change the world."
Editor’s Note: Dana Borrelli-Murray was a 50 on Fire 2018 Inno Blazer in the education and design category. Read all about the awards here.
