Selecting a program focus for the Ed Tech Industry Summit is one of the most valuable, yet most difficult, part of the planning process.

However, given the trends we see occurring within the education institutions and the ed tech companies, this year’s program focus “Bridging K12 and Postsecondary,” was relatively easy.

Closing the Chasm
Historically, there has been a major divide between K-12 and Postsecondary institutions. Years ago, there was little articulation or communication between high schools and colleges. Students in high school chose courses within a college or vocational track, graduated with the required credits and grades, then went off to a two-year or four year school where you started at ground zero with their course requirements.

Nowadays, students are earning college credits while in still high school – either to remain challenged, save money or both. For educational and economic reasons, high schools are becoming more ‘linked’ through:

• The tremendous growth of Advanced Placement courses and exams, where students can earn college credit while in high school
• The focus by US Dept of Ed and the current Administration on having high school students “college and career-ready”
• The development of state and local programs, like:
  1) Jump Start to College and Concurrent Enrollment, where students take courses at their high school AND in nearby 2 year or 4 year institutions in the same semester.
  2) Early College High School where, in one program, the students take courses that meet high school graduation requirements and provide credit for the courses normally taken during the first two years of college.

The Industry Parallel
The vehicles for acceleration, exam credits and dual enrollments have paved the way for ed tech companies to transition their products and services from one market into an adjacent market.

For some companies, it’s:

• Selling course materials originally designed for postsecondary into the high school market (i.e. changing sales and distribution strategies and sending sales teams into high schools or district administration).
• Repurposing high school content and context to fit postsecondary course needs (i.e. Transitioning Algebra I and II courses into Developmental Math courses).
• Discovering that their professional development programs and assets fit faculty needs, whether it be elementary, secondary or postsecondary levels (i.e. providing video PD segments about pedagogy to pre-service as well as practicing teachers or selling “how to” segments for using a software application to faculty at any level).

In conclusion, we are confident that this year’s theme, “Bridging K12 and Postsecondary”, will:

• help distinguish the program content from previous years.
• provide a basis for selecting the best speakers and contributors.
• exemplify a trend in the education institutions and the industry.
• highlight successful strategies for growing an Ed tech business.

Join us this year on May 6-8 and find bridging strategies that grow your business and customer relationships.

See you in San Francisco!
Karen Billings
VP Education, SIIA
202-789-4487

Karen Billings is Vice President for the Education Division at SIIA.