July 11, 2013

Naviance Summer Institute 2013: Day 1 Highlights

Jul. 11, 2013 at 08:00 AM | By Emily Kissane | Comment Count

Naviance Summer Institute is officially underway with 588 attendees representing countries from around the world. Taking place at the Waldorf Astoria in beautiful Naples, Florida, NSI brings educators from K-12 and Higher Education in a unique environment. Here are some highlights from day one of the main conference.

Naviance Summer Institute Awards Breakfast

Naviance co-founder and Hobsons K-12 President, Stephen Smith welcomed guests by addressing two key initiatives for Naviance in the coming year:

PrepMe, an adaptive learning ACT and SAT test prep platform, will support students’ everyday education choices.
Naviance Network members can turn on free access to inspirational Roadtrip Nation videos via Family Connection. Roadtrip Nation supports intergenerational connections through its interactive archive of video conversations with accomplished individuals ranging from CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to filmmakers, scientists, sports writers, entrepreneurs, political activists, and everything in between.

Award Winners fROM the morning include . . .

Innovative Program of the Year – Minneapolis My Life Plan for a comprehensive approach to student success that resulted in an increase of 30% of students with college and career plans over three years.
Excellence in Leadership – Suzie Thomas of Clear Creek Independent School District (ISD) for designing creative activities to inspire student engagement and establish a nationally recognized college-going culture.

Congratulations from Hobsons and Naviance to all the winners!

Donna Shalala’s Keynote

“In the 21st century, education is a lifeline; higher education isn’t an end in itself but is a means for new beginnings.”

Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami, has more than thirty years as an accomplished scholar, teacher, and administrator. During her keynote, Donna stressed four factors that are transforming higher education: consumerism, technology, economics, and globalism.

Consumerism: Today’s students want quality and choice, academic flexibility, and opportunities like international education and self-designed majors.
Technology: Advancements in technology, like MOOCs, expand access to students but raise concerns about the quality of education provided and how to go about measuring student outcomes. Although ed tech can make learning more interactive and relative to students, teachers and administrators should keep in mind that technology doesn’t necessarily transform instructional design—the human touch is still important
Economics: The price tag of getting a post-secondary degree is rising as institutional costs increase and state financial support decreases. The bold truth is that families aren’t saving as much for college as they did in the past. But, students today aren’t passive about their futures. They are connecting their education plans to career aspirations, establishing goals, and tracking their progress towards their goals.
Globalism: Institutions need to help students succeed regardless of family structure, income, background. Our campuses are more diverse than ever, and we have a great opportunity to learn from each other.

NSI 2013 on Twitter