There’s no question the landscape in higher education is changing. Universities and colleges are scrambling to create new curricula, tap into toolkits, introduce MOOCs and integrate project-based learning to be positioned on the edge of 21st century higher education. But the landscape is fresh and experiments are abundant. Some ideas are half-baked, some deliver old stories in new ways, while others are truly groundbreaking.
The only problem is the world doesn’t yet know which is which and the metabolism of innovation hasn’t been optimized. That’s why, starting in February 2013, eight of us are hitting the road with the Educate 20/20 Roadtour to find out for ourselves and share our discoveries with the world.
Each of us has taken a different journey to get here. Our experiences have opened our eyes. They’ve opened our hearts. And they’ve opened our minds to the power of relevant and meaningful education to transform lives. We are not seeing this in many classrooms. In fact, we know much of it can’t happen in a classroom.
All eight of us have experience at the vanguard of 21st century education—we’ve created several revolutionary initiatives such as Co Spaces, The Mycelium School, The Open Masters, Educate!, One World Youth Project and P2PU. While we all have a different focus, we all share a deep desire to grow and accelerate innovations that will inspire educational models to help people realize their passions while gaining the tools, experiences, and knowledge they need to bring them out into the world.
We want to shift the focus from what’s wrong in higher education to what’s possible by spotlighting what’s out there, what’s working—and we want to understand why. In speaking with students, faculty, curriculum designers, entrepreneurs and community members, we’ll learn of the higher education needs in our rapidly changing times and discover what colleges and universities are doing in response.
We’ll journey coast-to-coast to highlight, capture, and share innovations. The tour will navigate 2,500 miles and make stops at 15 of the most innovative college campuses and programs throughout the country. In February we’ll also host a grand synthesis at the AshokuUExchange in San Diego. While on the road, the team will capture stories, share ideas and host pop-up learning opportunities. We’ll be equipped with professional photographers, media partners and documentarians to capture these stories and deliver them in a way that will drive innovation on a macro scale.
Our times are calling for a new story in education and we invite you to imagine what our education system could look like in 2020. We hope to inspire the replication and adaptation of innovative educational models across the country and throughout the world.
Click here to add supporting Educate 20/20’s Indiegogo fundraising campaign to your GOOD “to-do” list.
