This presentation describes an honors colloquium offered at a private university in the U.S. which created a socially networked class experience that bridged the classroom with life outside of it. We offered an interdisciplinary, immersive, inquiry-based learning environment around the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive conference in Austin, culminating with student research projects and a TED-like event back on campus, after the conference. The course promoted the themes of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship at the university, while strengthening students’ communication skills within an interdisciplinary domain, leading to unique opportunities for the participating students. The course attempted to build a culture of innovation based on collaboration, interdisciplinary inquiry, and intrinsic motivation.
The course built connections between the students and the 30K+ technology, innovation and entrepreneurship community that attends annually the SXSW Interactive festival. The festival brings speakers and startups in the technology, social media, business, and communications fields for five days each spring, providing attendees with a chance to see technology innovation and entrepreneurship in action as new companies are announced, and new products are launched.
In the course, we asked the students to embrace distinct themes of SXSW Interactive so that each student had a unique, inspiring, and highly relevant experience. Students researched their select themes within the framework of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship contexts, heard from speakers, attended an opportunity recognition competition with other entrepreneurship students on campus, planned their conference attendance, attended SXSW sessions all day during the festival, networked with attendees and completed structured interviews, wrote about their experiences using new and traditional media, and organized a TED-like event back on campus, with presentations to faculty and fellow students about the things they learned. All the elements of their experiences were captured in individually themed ePortfolia, available online, which include the final learning reflection and synthesis.
SXSW Interactive TCU: Learning to Change the World through Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship
1. SXSW Interactive TCU:
Learning to Change the World through
Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Dr. Beata Jones, Texas Christian University
Honors Faculty Fellow, John V. Roach Honors College
Professor of Business Information Systems Practice, Neeley School of Business
b.jones@tcu.edu
#ECIE2016, September 15, 2016, Jyvaskyla, Finland
The 2nd Innovation & Entrepreneurship Teaching Excellence Awards
@ the 11th European Conference on Innovation & Entrepreneurship
5. Motivation: Authentic Learning
Subject of Learning
•Real-world
relevance
•Ill-defined problems
•Multiple sources &
perspectives
Process of Learning
•Sustained
investigation
•Collaboration
•Reflection
(metacognition)
•Interdisciplinary
perspective
Outcome of Learning
•Polished products
•Integrated
assessment
•Multiple
interpretations and
outcomes
Lombardi, D. (2007). Authentic learning for the 21st Century: An overview. EDUCAUSE. Retrieved from:
https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli3009.pdf
Reeves, T. C., Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (2002). Authentic activities and online learning. Annual Conference Proceedings
of Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia. Perth, Australia. Retrieved from
http://www.ecu.edu.au/conferences/herdsa/main/papers/ref/pdf/Reeves.pdf
6. Motivation: Significant Learning
Self-Directed Guide to Designing
Significant Learning Experiences
Fink, D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An
integrated approach to designing college courses. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
7. The Setting: TCU
• Texas Christian University
• Coeducational, suburban, private university in Fort Worth, TX, U.S.A.
• 9000 undergraduates; 10,500 total enrollment
• Tag Line: “Learning to Change the World”
8. The Setting: The Course
• SXSW Interactive TCU: Learning to Change the World
through Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
• Upper-division, 3-credit elective course, Spring 2015
• 12 honors students from 5 of the 8 colleges
• Authentic, significant learning using AAC&U high-impact practices,
enhancing 21st century meta-skills
9. The Setting: The Course
• SXSW Interactive TCU: Learning to Change the World
through Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
• Interdisciplinary
• Immersive
• Passion-driven & inquiry-based
• Project-based
• Socially-networked around SXSW Interactive
10. The Setting: SXSW Interactive
• Interactive Festival in Austin, TX
• Meets annually; Five days in early- to mid-March
• Preview of the technologies of tomorrow
• 30K+ attendees
• Industry leaders, start-up competitions, expos, networking events, special programs
11. SXSW Interactive 2015 Themes
1. AI and Intelligent Devices
2. Art and Inspiration
3. Branding and Marketing
4. Content and Distribution
5. Design and Development
6. Diversity and Emerging Markets
7. DIY, Hacker and Maker
8. Convergent and Immersive
Entertainment
9. Entrepreneurship and Business
10. Fashion, Style and Wearable
Technology
11. Food
12. Gaming and Game Development
13. Health and Medtech
14. Non-profit and Activism
15. Policy and Civic Engagement
16. Privacy and Security
17. Science and Space Exploration
18. Smart Transportation and Cities
19. Social and Relationships
20. Sports
21. Work and Career
13. The Course: Objectives
Image source: http://www.thetoddanderinfavoritefive.com/5-survival-skills-your-kids-must-know/
14. The Course: Assessment
REQUIREMENTS POINTS
SXSW Interactive TCU - Theme ePortfolio- Research Project 400
SXSW Interactive – Ted-like Presentation to the TCU Community 100
SXSW Interactive - Conference Participation 100
Weekly Class Preparation and Class Participation (11@10-20 pts each) 150
TOTAL POINTS 750
18. The Course: Learning Coherence
…‘‘the manner in which
opportunities to learn
have been arranged
(organizationally,
logistically) to achieve a
common goal’’ (Tatto, 1996, p.
176).
Tatto, M. (1996). Examining values and beliefs about teaching diverse students: Understanding the
challenges for teacher education. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 18, 155–180.
19. The Assignment: Student ePortfolio Template
https://tcu.digication.com/sxsw_tcu_student_portfolio_template/Welcome/
32. Effectiveness – Learning Outcomes
Assessment of
student work:
93% average grade
on the presentation
95% average grade
on the portfolio
100% average grade
on conference
participation
33. Effectiveness - Student Feedback
1. “An incredible experience that has been a defining aspect of my time here at TCU”
2. “I was able to learn something from every single thing I did.”
3. “SXSW was an extremely rewarding and empowering experience and I cannot wait to
go again next year.”
4. “By networking (…), I learned more about myself in those five days than I have in my
entire life.”
5. “Not only did I grow in confidence, but I also left this course feeling empowered.”
6. “What I actually learned in this class surpassed everything that I believed I could
learn.”
7. “SXSW taught me how to communicate, innovate, and connect in more ways than I
have ever known before. This class allowed me to make connections not only with
people in Austin, but also with people around the world.”
8. “This learning experience happened before, during, and after the conference and will
continue to serve me throughout the rest of my college and work career.”
9. “Best class ever”
35. Effectiveness – Industry Response
Students
Internship &
externship
offers
Graduate
school
recruitment
Faculty
Company
partnership
offers
Recognition
&
Publications
37. …to 21st Century Meta Skills
& Learning to Change the World
FEELING: including empathy, intuition, and social intelligence.
SEEING: the ability to think whole thoughts, also known as systems thinking.
DREAMING: the meta skill of applied imagination.
MAKING: mastering the design process.
LEARNING: the autodidactic ability to learn new skills at will.
Neumeier, M. (2013). Meta skills: The five skills for the robotic age. San Francisco, CA: New Riders
Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship are the key skills to hone for our students.
“features five days of compelling presentations and panels from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders and an unbeatable lineup of special programs showcasing the best new websites, video games and startup ideas the community has to offer. From hands-on training to big-picture analysis of the future.”
In the course, we asked the students to embrace distinct themes of SXSW Interactive and pose a research question, based on their passions, so that each student had a unique, inspiring, and highly relevant experience.
“High-Impact Practices [HIPs] are techniques and designs for teaching and learning that have proven to be beneficial for student engagement and successful learning among students from many backgrounds.” Of the eleven HIPS proposed, the four most relevant at the course design level are:
K-20 Model; Supported by MacArthur Foundation;
The Connected Learning framework offers a learning approach designed for the demands and opportunities of the digital age, tying the research on how students learn best with the digital technologies available.
Connected learning strives to integrate the education that students pursue based on the following three learning principles. Learning should be 1) interest-powered, 2) peer-supported, and 3) academically oriented. Research shows that learners who are interested in what they are learning achieve higher order outcomes, and when learning among peers, sharing, and giving feedback to one another, they produce deeper learning.
The design principles broaden the learning principles above through the power of technology, creating learning environments which are 1) production centered, 2) openly networked, and 3) share purpose. “Learning that comes from actively creating, making, producing, experimenting, remixing, decoding, and designing, fosters skills and dispositions for lifelong learning and productive contributions to today’s rapidly changing work [...] Learning is most resilient when it is linked and reinforced across settings of home, school, peer culture, and community, where peers in diverse and specialized areas of interest engage in shared projects and inquiry” [ConnectedLearning.tv, 2015].
If learners can learn in an environment that makes clear how ideas are connected and related, their understanding deepens and they can make their learning experiences more meaningful.
To capture all the diverse learning occurring in class and make learning visible, we have adopted an ePortfolio platform from Digication and built an ePortfolio template (Jones, 2015b) with all the assignment prompts for the course.
All the elements of their experiences were captured in individually themed ePortfolios, available online, which include the final learning reflection and synthesis. The themes embraced by the students included: Medtech & Science, Global Impact, Fashion & Wearables (Sohr, 2015), Marketing & Branding, Gaming, Entertainment & Immersion, Social & Privacy, Food & Experiential Dining, Content & Distribution, Sports, Work & Career, Start-ups and told 12 distinct, calling-to-action technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship stories.
Students researched their select themes within the framework of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship contexts, using past SXSW website and TCU Entrepreneurship Daily Emails
Students organized a TED-like event back on campus, attended by a crowd of about 150, with presentations to faculty and fellow students about the ideas that inspired them.
Promoting Social Entrepreneurship and Community Action
8000+words, multimedia, storytelling portfolios
Completed in weekly assignments
TCU community also enthusiastically embraced the course, highlighting it in the student newspaper (Humble, 2015), business school magazine (Cole, 2015), honors college website (McCurdy, 2015), and university magazine.
Multiple 2015 SXSW Interactive participants who interacted with our students at the conference reached out to us after the conference wanting to be involved with the program in the coming years.