On Thursday, August 14, 2014, I had the opportunity to attend a unique event featuring a wide-range of educational technology start-up companies. This is the second year the Educational Technology Start-Up Collaborative has held a conference in Chicago to introduce K-12 educators to new and innovative tools that are just getting off the ground. The format of this conference is simple: each start-up in attendance gets 3 minutes to pitch their product to the audience. Start-ups spend the rest of the day talking with teachers about their product, providing hands-on demonstrations, and even recruiting teachers to get their classrooms involved in their start-up project. This year, specialized workshops were offered in addition to the start-up showcase, allowing participants to explore topics in literacy, STEM, and design in a focused environment. You can view my notes on the start-up tools I learned about as well as the STEM and design workshops I attended by clicking here.
Bill Marsland 