The Open edX Conference is back for another year. Our 2019 theme – Collaborative Learning. Community Led. – speaks to our focus on the growing importance of collaborative learning and how educators, students and technologists are together building the next generation of educational technology.
If you’ve attended in years past, you know the enthusiastic, supportive community makes this a must-attend event. If you haven’t, now’s your chance to mingle with the best and soak in all of the expert knowledge, advice and best practices.
Here are seven reasons you must attend the 2019 conference. Have another? Share with the #OpenedX2019 hashtag.
- Insightful keynotes at the top of their fields: We’ve got a top-notch lineup of speakers from across disciplines, including Candace Thille of Stanford University and Amazon, Jamie Smith of Linux Foundation, Dean Baker, economist and co-founder of CEPR, and Walter Bender of Sorcero and One Laptop per Child. These folks are truly thought leaders, and their keynotes will inspire you to conquer the future of collaborative learning.
- An enthusiastic community and networking opportunities: Not to brag, but the Open edX community makes this conference better than any other. Last year, we had representation from 30 countries and a mix of roles including developers, researchers, educators, content designers, IT professionals and other education executives. We know networking opportunities are one of the top reasons you attend, so expect many opportunities to mingle, network and learn from each other throughout the conference. (P.S. If you haven’t already joined our Slack or GitHub repository, be sure to do so.)
- Inspiration for new projects: After last year’s event, 85 percent of survey respondents said they planned to work on engagements begun at the conference. This doesn’t surprise us given the high caliber attendees we see every year. You’ll hear a lot of motivating talks and ideas during these few days, including how your peers are tackling challenges, new cutting-edge approaches to learning and research-backed sessions.
- Diverse programming: This year’s schedule (more details will be released in the coming months!) will be jam packed with lightning talks, breakout sessions and more. You’ll learn the technical aspects of implementing collaborative learning as well as the Open edX platform, hear what your peers are doing successfully, and better understand new approaches to keeping pace with trends in ed tech.
- Extended opportunities for further learning: We know how valuable you’ve found the tutorials and Developer Summit, so we’ve set aside a day of tutorials and in-depth training prior to the official conference start, as well as a Developer Summit the day following the main conference. Be sure to take advantage of the hands-on learning!
- Sunny ocean views in San Diego: Of course learning about the latest in ed tech is the main draw, but miles of beaches and palm trees, amazing weather, pristine views of the Pacific coastline and great food certainly don’t hurt. Maybe you can even extend your stay a few days and take a spring break? Promise, we won’t tell.
- Even more to come: We’ll be sharing more about additional speakers, the full agenda and more opportunities to connect with the community in the following weeks. We’ve taken your feedback to make 2019 better than ever. Have something you want to see at this year’s event? Let us know!
Mark your calendars and register today! To sweeten the deal, we’ve got savings for your conference pass and discounted hotel blocks. Check out all the details here and follow @OpenedX and #OpenedX2019 for the latest news.
