Warner School Reaches Outside Traditional Boundaries to Connect with Edtech Companies in Boston

Warner School faculty and students had the unique opportunity to connect with two Boston-based edtech companies as part of the Learning in the Digital Age (LiDA) strategic initiative. In November, David Miller, assistant professor and director of the Warner School’s program in K-12 digitally-rich teaching, and five Warner PhD students met with teacher-turned entrepreneur Dave Meyers, CEO and founder of TeachersConnect, and serial entrepreneur Jean Hammond, co-founder of LearnLaunch, in Boston, Mass.
 
“This is an example of how the Warner School is reaching outside of the traditional boundaries to connect with companies that have the potential to create research opportunities for our students," says Miller, "and offer valuable outside knowledge to our graduate programs and other resources in the new digital age.”   
 
Miller sees many similarities between these two companies and the work that Warner is doing in the way of digital teaching and entrepreneurship.
 
TeachersConnect is an in-person and online network that gives K-12 teachers a safe place to ask questions and share ideas and experiences with each other. The TeachersConnect community also creates a way for teacher prep programs to build deep, long-lasting relationships with their graduates to gather the data they need to meet new standards and improve their courses swiftly and purposefully. Watch the TeachersConnect video. 
 
LearnLaunch is a world education hub dedicated to connecting, supporting, and investing in the education technology ecosystem to drive innovation and transform living. LearnLaunch offers a vibrant community, educational events, a collaborative co-working space, and a selective accelerator program to promote the growth of the edtech sector. 

The two-day trip was an opportunity for doctoral students to evaluate, provide feedback, and give insight into the connectedness among the LiDA initiative and the K-12 Digital Conversion Consortium centered at Warner. Doctoral students who participated in this trip include:  Yu Jung Han, Xiaoyu (Ella) Wan, Linh Dang, Kristana Textor, and Xueyan (Sherry) Duan.
 
LiDA aims to allow faculty, staff, and students to build knowledge about the changes in learning and teaching—in K-12 schools, higher education, and other learning environments—that are resulting from the connectivity, practices, and technologies of the digital age.