EDITORIAL OVERVIEW – ISSUE 27
AMAZON WEB SERVICES TO SPONSOR EDUCATION’S “OSCARS”
As the 2018 Reimagine Education Conference draws closer – two days left to secure your Early Bird ticket! – we’re delighted to confirm that Google will be speaking alongside one of the world’s most innovative virtual reality companies, Imperial College Business School, and the US’s #1 university for innovation.
Our ‘Ed+Tech’ track – one of two at the conference – will explore the pedagogical and organizational implications of new technologies, and exploring ways of integrating VR/AR technology into the classroom is one key objective of this track.
To this end, we’re very proud to introduce our three speakers, and our moderator, for a panel that will examine Labster’s educational partnership with Google and Arizona State University. Labster – an award-winning company providing VR lab simulations to educators and students that would otherwise be unable to access them – were the Reimagine Education Overall Award Winners in 2016, and, we’re delighted to observe, have gone from strength-to-strength since then.
Most recently, they’ve partnered with Google to leverage the latter’s Daydream technology in ways that continue to facilitate a truly reimagined educational experience. Through the new Labster Daydream app, users are now able to receive easy access to Labster’s acclaimed VR virtual lab simulations – with new content to follow in the future.
Arizona State University is currently enjoying an ascendancy as the US’s best university for innovation, according to US News. ASU is co-founder of the University Innovation Alliance – a leading coalition of 11 major public research universities in the US seeking to ensure that institutional innovation can scale and diffuse – and have been recipients of Reimagine Education Awards in previous years.
ASU faculty played a central role in the development of The Labster VR labs, who validated the content of the labs and ensured that all learning objectives were met, while ASU were also able to provide full course credit to students using Labster VR simulations as part of their course.
The collaboration doesn’t end there: this fall, ASU will launch its first fully online biology degree using Labster VR. This degree will consist of 30 Labster VR simulations in cellular and molecular biology, ecology and animal physiology.
The collaboration between ASU, Google, and Labster makes manifest central Reimagine Education principles. It involves co-operation between edtech startups, major technology companies, and traditional brick-and-mortar universities – all with a passion for disruption and innovation. It leverages new technology in scalable ways. And it involves new modes of educational provision, allowing concomitantly new methods of acquiring credentials. We are extremely excited about the possibilities offered by this collaboration, and are sure that all delegates – irrespective of sector, nation, or discipline – will find the discussion illuminating. To meet the speakers – read on!
Moderator: Dr. Sarah Grant, Manager of Online Learning Design, Imperial College
Dr. Sarah Grant is Manager of Online Learning Design for Imperial Business Schools’ prestigious Edtech Lab. In this role, she exercises her pedagogical expertise by leading the learning design of Imperial College’s pioneering online and blended programs. In doing so, she plays a central role in ensuring that Imperial Business School is at the forefront of innovation in technology-enhanced education and identifying and scoping new profit-generating programs. When she is not designing learning, she is conducting research into new pedagogical approaches, speaking about education and consulting with startups. At the conference, she welcomes contact from any startups seeking to connect with a renowned learning design expert.
Labster: Samuel Butcher
Samuel Butcher is Scientific Collaboration Specialist at Labster. A biomedical scientist by training, Samuel’s career has covered partnership work in both the healthcare and education sector. After spending four years working in partnership with healthcare trusts in the UK to improve patient outcomes and expenditure, Samuel returned to the scientific environment in which he was cultivated, working closely with universities across Europe and America to revolutionize the way they teach science.
Google: Jennifer Holland
Jennifer Holland is Program Manager, G Suite for Education and Daydream at Google, having worked at Google for over 11 years. In addition to her core responsibilities, she is a passionate volunteer and social intrapreneur. Previously, she started Google Reach – a corporate volunteer program for Google – and is founder and director of the Community Leaders Program, a digital literacy program offered in six cities across the US. Outside of Google, she has designed and co-taught courses in Microfinance and Social Business at the University of San Francisco, from where she received her MBA in 2009.
Arizona State University: Philippos Savvides
Philippos Savvides is currently Manager of Online Learning at ASU. He is deeply passionate about optimising the interaction between technology and learning. In his current role, he helps identify needs and build systems that enable access, enhance the online learning experience and improve student outcomes.