Presented by RADIUS, Groundswell, and Ashoka
ReSchool is a hands-on conference+design sprint for education innovators of all stripes. We’re working to create community across sector boundaries, push bold thinking, and prototype new models, together.
Whether you are designing a whole new school or independent program, a teacher pursuing innovative curriculum models, or a student or passionate amateur with bold ideas for how to make education better, this is the place to find inspiration, like minds, and collaborators in bringing those ideas to life. Join us!
When – May 29th and May 30th, 2015
Who – Up to 100 innovators and practitioners drawn from institutions, entrepreneurs, students, teachers, and beyond. Project teams will be diverse.
Opening Keynote – Prof. David Helfand, President, Quest University Canada
Day 2 Keynote – Charles Tsai: From Excellent Sheep to Motivated Elephants – A New Vision for Mass Education
Cases: Include Compass Community School, Tiny Home School, the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation’s RECODE initiative, CityStudio Vancouver, SKY: No Limits, and Oak and Orca Bioregional School. Read more here.
Where – SFU Surrey (across the street from the Surrey Central skytrain)
250-13450 102nd Avenue, Surrey, B.C., Canada V3T 0A3
Ticket Info
Institutional participant – $400
Individual participant – $225
Student participant – $100
Get your ticket here!
There are a limited number of bursaries available for participants who face financial barriers. Please apply here; applications considered on a rolling basis until bursary funding is gone.
Once you have registered, please scroll to the bottom of this page for participant information.
Program details
A very hands on and very full 2-day event designed to inspire, practice, and prototype:
Day 1
o provocation and inspiration on education innovation;
o community building;
o unearthing key design principles for the future of learning, through building your dream program with a small team over an afternoon;
o community debrief; and
o design sprint pitches.
Day 2
o deep dive case studies of emerging models drawn from participants;
o training in design sprints for innovation;
o forming teams to build prototypes for the future of education (new independent schools, innovation school prototype concepts, new local or national programs etc.); and
o a wrap-up showcase of prototypes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Should Participate?
Anyone who has a passion for learning and education is invited to participate. Even more specifically, anyone who is interested in the revitalization, reformation and reinvention of education as we know it today, will be keenly interested in this experience.
This might mean you are an educator or administrator working in the formal K – 12 or post-secondary system. Or, it might mean you are a practitioner or informal educator who builds your own curricula. It might even mean you are a student — a passionate amateur — who has big bold ideas for what you wish your education could be. We want you there too. In fact you’re central to this process.
This doesn’t look like a typical conference: What will I get out of participating?
A central goal of ReSchool is to move from just talking about what education could be to actually creating the models we wish existed. We notice a pretty strong correlation between the style of traditional conferences and current mainstream models of education: Sit. Listen. Repeat.
How can we innovate education when our convening models are structured in the exact same way? To innovate education we must innovate the processes we use to gather. ReSchool is our attempt to do this.
When we first conceived of the idea, we summarized it as StartUp Weekend for Schools! Its evolved since then, and we’ve kept some elements that will be familiar to conference goers: A keynote speaker and a few other short Pecha Kucha/TED style talks; networking; coffee breaks, for example. All those things will be there. We might even sit in a lecture hall or two.
But, the energy, process innovation and outcomes of a StartUp Weekend are the experiential twists we’ve injected into the same old conference experience. The two days will both move you toward prototypes for new courses, programs and learning experiences, as well as provide you training in design methods. You can expect to leave these two days with:
*experience in human centered design methods and rapid prototyping tools — bring them back to your work! Use these processes again!
*bold new ideas to integrate into your work and/or a ready-to-implement prototype of the new course, program, school or experience you seek to build
*a community of collaborators — we’re going beyond networking to deepen relationships among education innovators
*a deeper understanding of current trends and futures forecasts affecting education
What is a Design Sprint?
A design sprint is a process that enables teams to rapidly create new products (at least in the Google context where this particular term was coined). It is part of the suite of tools and processes associated with design thinking methodologies, in particular popularized through the work of Ideo.
We will be using an adapted design sprint process that we’ve created especially for ReSchool to move teams of participants from ideas to prototypes.
(While you’re looking at links, check out this great toolkit Ideo built just for educators wanting to use design thinking!)
What is a Case Study? What kinds of ideas will be considered as Cases?
A Case Study is what we’re calling the ideas that will go through the design sprint process. They will be pitched by team leads, and then design teams comprised of ReSchool participants will work together to move from idea to prototype.
A group of participants will be selected to present their ideas as case studies. More details on the case study selection process is forthcoming.
What if I do not have an idea I want to work on? Can I still come?
YES!
Absolutely. If you are interested in the future of education, in seeing current education models innovated, we absolutely want you to be there. A key part of the design sprint process is forming teams to work on ideas. As a participant not looking to build an idea, you will be an invaluable member of someone else’s team.
Information for Participants
Agenda & Programming
Friday: 8:30am-6pm (Registration begins at 8:15; please arrive by 8:30 latest)
Morning: Welcome, David Helfand Keynote, Education 2025 – Imagine
Afternoon: Education 2025 – Build, Lightning Pitches
Optional: Dinner at Surrey Central Brewpub (sign up at registration)
Saturday: 8:30am-6pm
Morning: Open, Charles Tsai Keynote, Innovation Talks, Case Workshops
Afternoon: Innovation Design Sprints, Showcase, Closing
The facilitation team asks that you plan to be fully present for all sessions. ReSchool is a hands-on event where sessions flow together and build on one another, with a variety of session formats and interaction styles.
Please bring a watch or phone for timekeeping. SFU Surrey guest wifi will be available.
Food
Morning coffee + light snacks, mid-morning coffee, lunch, and mid-afternoon coffee + snack will be provided from John Volken Academy. There will be vegan and vegetarian options. If you have a severe allergy and require more details about food options, please contact events[at]radiussfu.com.
Please bring your own water bottle.
Friday evening we have a reservation for 40 people at Central City Brew Pub for those who want to stay and socialize after the formal programming ends (each of us pays for our own meal + gratuity). There will be sign-up available at registration, first come first served. We will attempt to increase the reservation size if needed.
Dress code: comfortable
There will be lots of moving around and a healthy mix of sitting, walking and standing — be comfortable!
Videorecording & Social Media
We have a team of videographers taking footage of the event, including roving interviews, to help us share the experience and insights with those not in the room. Please let us know in advance (preferably) or at registration if you have concerns about being on video or featured in social media.
We’re using the hashtag #ReSchool2015 and have started a Twitter list of organizations and individuals who are attending. If you’d like to be added to the list in advance, please tweet at @RADIUS_SFU (or be old school and email us at mknight[at]radiussfu.com with your Twitter handle).
Transportation & Directions
Morning registration and coffee is in the SFU Surrey Dale B Regehr Grand Hall (a.k.a. mezzanine or atrium), outside the Registrar & Information Services Office.
Campus Map & Area Map
Directions to SFU Surrey by car, bus, and skytrain
Please note that there have recently been service disruptions on the Skytrain route and give yourself a bit of extra time.
Accommodation
SFU Surrey has an arrangement with The Sheraton Guildford nearby, for 15% off the rate, with free parking, internet and shuttle service to SFU. The rates do still come in at about $145 per night. When you book you ask for the “CAUBO rates, set #377098″. Other nearby hotels include the Coast Surrey Guildford Hotel, Sandman, and Days Inn.
Alternatively, any hotel or AirBnB along the “Expo Line” skytrain will be quite convenient to the conference, as SFU Surrey is immediately beside Surrey Central Station. The commute from Vancouver is about 45 minutes once on the skytrain.