Nontraditional Learning Professionals at SXSW EDU 2024

As a nontraditional learning professional, you are creating pathways to learning that are fun, community-driven and engaging. By accommodating diverse learning styles, including those of neurodiverse students, you create an encouraging learning environment to empower students to continue learning.

However, achieving this comes with obstacles, including navigating constantly evolving technologies, advocating for support, and more.

Find your community of fellow nontraditional learning professionals at SXSW EDU and discover groundbreaking new strategies and insights to inspire you as you continue to shape the future of learning.

Top Sessions to Attend for Nontraditional Learning Professionals

Learn about new tools that support educators in adapting hands-on art and making activities for learners with disabilities in the Workshop Anti-Ableist Tools for Inclusive Art & Maker Education.

Want to develop and grow arts education? Join the Panel Intergenerational Programs Advancing Arts Education to learn how to make music and create theater alongside students in ways that benefit all participants and their communities by leveraging older community members.

Explore afterschool programs and implementation best practices before discussing how to advocate for those opportunities in your community at the Panel Making Afterschool Learning Count.

Hear how Dungeons & Dragons-inspired teaching kits allowed students to go on collaborative storytelling adventures right in their classrooms, increased test scores, and can fuel after-school learning in the Featured Session Takeaways from Our Freshman Year of D&D in Schools.

Browse the Full Schedule

Connect With Your Peers at Interactive Meet Ups

Join Federal Games Guild (FGG) members for an interactive meet up focused on the impact and potential of serious games for STEAM education at the STEAM Meet Up with the Federal Games Guild!

Meet your colleagues to network and discuss ways that your neurocognitive abilities can be highlighted in the Advocates for Neurodiverse Educators & Learners Meet Up.

Join other educators to share experiences, exchange ideas, and learn from one another in a space that champions alternative approaches to teaching and learning at the Encuentra Tu Camino: Find Your Path Meet Up.

Mentors to Meet for Nontraditional Learning Professionals

Get advice from mentors who can provide you with insights into your specific interest area within nontraditional learning:

• Chalon Jones – talk to Chalon about instructional support for neurodiverse students and more.
• Chloe Koo – talk to Chloe about art education and more.
• Jane Singleton – talk to Jane about creating inclusive work environments for neurodiverse employees and more.
• John Wie – talk to John about networks and scholarship programs in games and tech, and more.
• Lola Garay Abad – talk to Lola about pedagogical quality in teaching materials and more.
• Michael Cassens – talk to Michael about creating a community in Esports and more.
• Ruth Mercado-Zizzo – talk to Ruth about arts education and more.
• Stephanie Campbell – talk to Stephanie about table top role-playing games and more.

Roundtable Discussions to Join for Nontraditional Learning Professionals

Meet with your peers and a mentor in a group discussion setting with a focus on nontraditional learning:

• Bringing New Media & Art Approaches to the Classroom
• Improving Instruction for Neurodiverse Learners

Explore With Your Peers

Learn about Austin’s history, art, music, and nature by putting on your hiking shoes and joining your peers for the Greenbelt Hikes with Explore Austin and Downtown Austin, Austin East Side Art, and Austin Music Walking Tours.

Catch These Film Screenings

Discover why you should join a club – and why the fate of America depends on it – at the screening & Q&A of “Join or Die.”

Want to Explore More Content for Nontraditional Learning Professionals?

Explore More Programming Opportunities:

• A Gamechanger: How Chess Might Just Save the World
• Beyond Borders: Using Choral Music Education to Connect
• Can you Gamify the Whole Curriculum?
• Creating a Sustainable Path to Neuroinclusion with XR
• Creative Hustle: Blaze Your Own Path, Make Work That Matters
• Designing Games for Social Impact: A Game Plan for Educators
• Discover Scholastic Esports: Engaging a Diverse Generation!
• Educating Future Space Leaders
• Empowering Students Through Thoughtful Design
• The Future of Mental Health Education
• Hip-Hop & Politics: Political Education & Radical Tradition
• Inclusive Learning Through Play & Ideation
• Letters from a Neurodivergent Student Leader
• Mindful Meeples: Problem Solving Thru Tabletop Game Design
• Missed & Misdiagnosed: Overlooked Neurodivergent Teens
• Molecular Literacy: Teaching Chemistry Like Teaching Reading
• Music Therapy in the Chi: Recording Arts Infused with SEL
• The Nature Gap: Why ‘Outdoors for All’ Matters
• Neurodiversity in STEM: Uniquely Talented Problem Solvers
• Providing a Voice & Making the Nevers Possible for ALL
• Savior or Disruptor?: Non-Degree Credentials & Higher Ed
• Schools Unified in Neurodiversity (SUN)
• Sí Sabo: Children with Bilingualism in Their Bones Speak
• Skills-First Practices: The Catalyst for Inclusive Mobility
• STTAAR Power: Discover Your Storytelling Galaxy
• Teaching Engineering Problem Solving Through Tabletop RPGs
• Using Music to Engage SWD in CS Learning

Browse These Tags:

Child Development | Creativity | Curriculum Design | Diversity & Inclusion | Experiential Learning | Expo | Gaming | Instruction | Neurodiversity | Personalized Learning | Project Based Learning | SEL | Special Education | Teachers | Universal Design

Browse These Tracks:

Accessibility & Inclusion | Arts & Storytelling | Community Initiatives | Teaching & Learning

Join Your Community of Nontraditional Learning Professionals:

Unlock a world of connections when you register to attend and gain access to EDU Social, our online marketing platform. Browse through this year’s attendees and start the conversation before you arrive.

How to Save on Attending SXSW EDU 2024:

• Get approval from your boss – use the “make your case” email template to convince your boss to provide funding and approval for your attendance at SXSW EDU 2024.
• Register early – save on the walk-up rate when you register to attend early.
• Attend with a team – take advantage of discounted rates when registering with a team of 10 or more.

Don’t Miss Out On SXSW EDU 2024

Register and book your hotel today to break new ground in education through compelling sessions, in-depth workshops, mentorship, film screenings, trailblazing competitions, a dynamic expo, networking opportunities, and so much more at SXSW EDU from March 4-7, 2024.

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Photo by Caleb Pickens.