NSF Convergence Accelerator Conference
Improving Online Education Through Technology, Research, and Data
First Meeting:
September 30th, 5-8pm EDT
September 30th, 5-8pm EDT
Background: Georgia State University, with the help of the Learning Agency, have been tasked with bringing together 30 top experts from academia, industry, government, and non-profits to discuss the improvement of educational technologies for distance or remote learning for K-12 and higher education. This conference will provide ideas for potential use-cases and prototypes, and lay the groundwork for future collaborations across a variety of disciplines to research, develop, and refine effective and equitable remote educational technologies. The end goal is a white paper that outlines our 5-6 “big ideas and issues” we foresee in educational technologies.
Criteria: The NSF will use our discussions to identify topics that the NSF can use to track proposals for 2021:
- Deliverables: If this topic becomes a CA track, what deliverables would the subsequently funded research & development efforts produce in the 1 year of Phase I plus two years of Phase II? How would those outputs impact society?
- Convergence: What different disciplines and disciplinary approaches/methods are needed to understand and address the challenges? What types of research would be needed for this track to be successful?
- Partnership: What different types of organizations and stakeholders would be engaged by this topic? How would they be engaged? What contributions would they make?
- Track Coherence: Do each of the sub-topics proposed have a way to fit together so that the set of projects supported create an integrated whole?
Schedule: The virtual conference would be held across 4 days in late September and early October.
September 30th, 5-8pm ET:
A full group meeting where we will go over the scope of the project and generate randomized small groups to discuss deliverables, convergence, and partnership. Following a full group meeting, we will facilitate small group conversations to generate ideas and interesting collaborations across experts.
Week of October 5th - 9th:
The sub-topic groups we coordinate will meet individually, tasked with fleshing out subtopics in terms of convergence.
Week of October 12th-16th:
The sub-topic groups will meet to discuss deliverables such as funded research, development efforts, and societal impact.
Week of October 19th-23rd:
The sub-topic groups will meet and address the role of partnerships. They will think through what different types of organizations and stakeholders would be engaged by this topic.
A full group meeting where we will go over the scope of the project and generate randomized small groups to discuss deliverables, convergence, and partnership. Following a full group meeting, we will facilitate small group conversations to generate ideas and interesting collaborations across experts.
Week of October 5th - 9th:
The sub-topic groups we coordinate will meet individually, tasked with fleshing out subtopics in terms of convergence.
Week of October 12th-16th:
The sub-topic groups will meet to discuss deliverables such as funded research, development efforts, and societal impact.
Week of October 19th-23rd:
The sub-topic groups will meet and address the role of partnerships. They will think through what different types of organizations and stakeholders would be engaged by this topic.