The 2024 ASU + GSV Summit was filled with exciting conversations and thoughtful insights from leaders and innovators in the education, technology, and workforce development sectors. It’s always inspiring to immerse yourself in the creative world of tech entrepreneurs, and at ASU + GSV, these entrepreneurs are actively solving for pain points or opportunities in our K – 12 and postsecondary institutions.
Below are a few takeaways and insights following the different sessions and conversations I engaged with at ASU + GSV.
1. AI continues to be a focal point across the education landscape.
AI was a very popular topic at the 2024 Summit, and the majority of speakers spoke positively about how it can help meet schools’ needs. As we know, the average U.S. reading and math scores have dropped; and there’s a clear need to help students get back on track. Panelists discussed how to use AI to accelerate learning and how AI empowered tools could revolutionize the way a teacher plans their days and years.
The topic of personalization was pertinent as well: How can technology be more personalized, more pinpointed to address gaps in students’ understanding? This made me think of our approach at Discovery Education. Our engaging and effective solutions meet students where they’re at in their learning journey and scale teacher impact as they can more readily differentiate instruction based on each student’s unique needs.
As teachers, youth, and stakeholders align creative and essential AI tools that support the school-going experience, it’s imperative that with growing innovation, we also prioritize student safety, information accuracy, and ease-of-use as critical tenets in the edtech space.
2. K – 12 education plays a crucial role in workforce development.
Alongside conversations around AI’s potential in education, a secondary theme at ASU + GSV Summit was workforce development. Specifically, what tools and partnerships K – 12 schools are leveraging and what models of service work best for connecting students with careers and shaping their path through credentialing, post-secondary planning, and creative self-assessments.
It’s my belief that bridging industry to classrooms and preparing the future workforce takes strategic partnerships and thoughtful tools. When we offer real-world learning opportunities and bring diverse industry voices into classrooms, we can nurture student curiosity and inspire the next generation of innovators. Building future and career-ready students is a key pillar in Discovery Education’s mission. We partner with industry-leading organizations to ensure students have access to high-quality educational resources that address relevant topics impacting today’s classrooms, communities, and the workforce. And our digital tool, Career Connect, provides educators with a simple, streamlined way to bring industry voices and expertise into their classrooms.
Additionally, as we continue to make these industry connections, we’re learning so much about employee volunteerism and its impact on K – 12 education (this eBook offers a deep dive into this topic).
3. Nurturing curiosity is a key factor in corporate edtech success.
After being around other innovators and leaders at the Summit, I’m reminded of the undeniable power of curiosity. Whether I was speaking with leaders from early stage edtech companies or those from traditional, long-standing organizations, it’s evident that nurturing curiosity is key to fostering innovation and, ultimately, providing educators with the best-in-class digital solutions.
Discovery Education was founded out of ‘curiosity’ – exploring the power of real-world, standards-aligned content at educators’ and students’ fingertips. If we want to stay ahead of how tech-savvy students and digitally enabled classrooms are meeting the demands of learning, we must stay true to our curious roots – in our solutions, services, and partnerships. We invite you to stay curious with us along the way.
