In an article on EdReach – a website that provides a platform for education innovators – Christopher Nyren, founder of Educated Ventures, listed a number of reasons why Chicago should be one of the “most prolific ed-tech hotspots on the planet.”
Here are some of the facts Nyren shared:
- The Midwest boasts two of the largest players in K-12 education technology in Plato Learning and Renaissance Learning.
- Chicago is the home of three of the winners of the MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning Competition.
- Chicago has a list of impressive start-ups, including eSpark Learning, Wowzers, SchoolTown,ThinkCerca, SkateKids, PrepMe and WyzAnt.
- Chicago-based venture and private equity funds have completed more than 45 investments in the education market and represent more than $10 billion in combined assets under management.
- Chicago features a large number of foundations with education-focused missions, includingNew Schools for Chicago and the MacArthur Foundation, to name a few.
So why isn’t Chicago the No. 1 place for ed-tech worldwide?
Tom Vander Ark, partner in Learn Capital – a venture capital firm investing in learning content, platforms and services with the goal of transforming educational engagement, access and effectiveness – explained why on his “Education Week” blog:
“Some cities benefit from productive state policy, not Chicago. A national policy insider said that Illinois ‘has a real lack of leadership on education reform, generally much less for digital learning.”
He’s not the only one who wants the state to get its act together.
Digital Learning Now!, a national organization that promotes the use of ed-tech in schools, gave Illinois an “F” in their 2012 Report Card. The bad grade was the direct result of polices that hamper the use of digital learning, including virtual schools.
One policy they highlighted is an old law that requires virtual charter school students to meet physically once a week, even if it provides no educational benefit for the student.
Instead of repealing laws, Illinois is enacting more that will surely lower its scores in next year’s Digital Learning Now! Report Card. In fact, the governor is poised to sign legislation that will establish a one-year moratorium on charter schools using blended learning outside of Chicago.
But all is not lost. We have the ingredients for an ed-tech revolution in Chicago, but we just need the proper conditions in place to let it grow.
That’s why we’re hosting the Chicago Digital Learning Symposium. This in-depth, one-day event will help lay the groundwork for how Chicago can become a leader in digital education.
Attendees will learn about the national, state and local digital learning landscape, hear from educators who built digital learning programs from the ground up, access cutting-edge develops who are creating technology aids that can be used in the classroom, gain the knowledge of how to successfully incorporate digital learning in their classrooms and understand the policy reforms that can advance digital learning deployment.
Panelists include Michael Horn from the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, Susan Fine from New Classrooms Innovation Partners and Howard Tullman of the Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy.
Here are the details:
Chicago Digital Learning Symposium hosted by the Illinois Policy Institute
Date: Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Time: 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Location: Union League Club of Chicago, 65 W. Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604
If you are interested in attending, click here.
