The Cannes of Education, the South by Southwest festival for education is entering its eighth year, with hundreds of sessions on the policies, trends, and innovations making a huge impact on American education today.

The SXSW conference and festival attracts a lot of attention and star power every year, but the annual festivities aren’t just for upcoming musicians and filmmakers.

SXSW EDU, now in its eighth year, runs from March 5 – 8, 2018 in Austin, Texas, and brings to the education world what SXSW offers to artists and those in the art and related industries: a place for personal and professional growth for educators and leaders in education policy, practice, and technology.

Scores of speakers and panelists are converging on Austin, Texas, presenting on a range of thematic tracks, from early learning to equity, social and emotional learning to Virtual Reality.

The packed roster of speakers includes a keynote speech by Melinda Gates, whose philanthropy through the Gates Foundation is looking to revolutionize American schooling through “personalized learning,” and tutoring entrepreneur Dupé Aleru, who founded Tutors for Tots, Tweens & Teens, a successful tutoring and test prep business in Long Beach, California.

You can catch some entertainment at SXSW EDU, too, with live performances and films.

Who goes to SXSW EDU?

SXSW EDU comprises a mix of educators, administrators, business and industry leaders, governments and non-profits, and students.

Here’s a breakdown of last year’s crowd:

What do you get to see as an educator?

For starters, you’ll hear from a diverse set of voices and experiences in education, so it’s really what you’ll make of the experience that counts. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to network and find people who are engaged in the same kind of work as you are,” says Janaha Hayes, the 2016 National Teacher of the Year, and SXSW EDU 2017 attendee.

Attendees have access to a 15-minute, one-on-one meeting with mentors, to foster a lifelong professional connection, as well as meet ups for different education communities, afterhours parties, and music and film events.

Registration costs $495 until the conference starts; walking up costs $545. Attending SXSW EDU gives you access to all of the four-day program’s events, film screenings, mentoring, and more.

Monday’s opening night keynote features four teachers – Micaela Blei, Chris de la Cruz, Crystal Duckert, and Tim Manley – telling their stories in “Stories of Schooling & Getting Schooled", in collaboration with non-profit storytelling advocate The Moth Education.

Making the most of the experience

The SXSW EDU conference puts on hundreds of informative sessions, and this year, 200 sessions are eligible for professional development credits, thanks to SXSW EDU’s work with the Association of Texas Professional Educators.

Get on top of major education movements, with sessions on how educators are working with Big Data to evaluate social and emotional learning, and how NYC is scaling its Community Schools strategy.

“There are sessions on equity, on the arts, on moviemaking, on start ups, on turning your class into an edcamp,” says Rebecca Mieliwocki from Los Angeles’ Luther Burbank Middle School, who attended last year’s SXSW EDU. “There are so many things you can walk away with here [for] every teacher.”

The same goes for tutors who are looking to expand their businesses with the right connections and best practices.

So, with only a few weeks to go, get planning! (Or mark your calendars for SXSW EDU 2019.)

banner and content images from www.sxswedu.com