Breaking Down Silos, Advancing Innovation: Understanding Innovation Ecosystems in Education Technology

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium explores how innovation ecosystems help bridge the functional gap between key stakeholders in the field of education in order to advance the development and adoption of new technologies related to teaching and learning. The discussion will include a theoretical overview of innovation ecosystems in the context of education technology, examining constituent parts, key functions, primary outputs, and inherent tensions. In order to examine the utility of the ecosystem metaphor when applied to practice, we include the perspectives of several key stakeholder groups, including teachers and entrepreneurs. By examining both the theoretical underpinnings of the definition as well as its potential applications, this symposium provides a more robust understanding of how to organize innovation in education technology.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Technology as an Agent of Change in Teaching and Learning

Chair

• Barbara Kurshan, University of Pennsylvania

Papers

• Innovation Ecosystems in Education Technology: A Definition - Barbara Kurshan, University of Pennsylvania; Rachel Ann Ebby-Rosin, University of Pennsylvania; Catherine Adair McManus, University of Pennsylvania

• A New Way to Do Business: Entrepreneurship Within the Edtech Ecosystem - William Morris, EdConnective

• Utilizing the Innovation Ecosystem to Promote Change in the Classroom: A Teacher's Perspective - Hilah Barbot, KIPP New Orleans

Discussant

• Mark DeFusco, USC Rossier School of Education