How did others "Make it Happen"!
Below are a number of videointerviews that I have conducted over time (except for the first) with well-known and regarded education entrepreneurs and students from previous classes of 7213 who took their idea ... and made it happen. The first interview was done by Gary Nihan for the class many years ago with Dave Borgal who founded Bottomline. See if you don't hear the various elements I have identified as crucial for getting your idea off the ground!
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Dave Borgal started Bottomline based on his experience and where he saw the need. Here Gary Nihan, a former student in 7213, and a former high school teacher of his, interviews him about how he got it up and started. It's kind of funny, because Gary keeps referring to ideas I have shared in class ... and keeps telling Dave, "Dr. Unger will be glad to hear that." Listen to have Dave got it off the ground! (12.4m) |
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Natasha Axelson, Axelson Academy. She developed the idea for her venture during 7213 five years ago and now has a nationally-recognized website for elementary educators on how to employ the literacy common core in their classrooms. (18m) |
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Erin McCubbin, Crafting College. She developed her idea for a non-profit to support students with their college applications in 7213 three years ago. (47m) |
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Can Zhao. Can developed her idea for a student-centered science program to encourage her students to pursue-science. Her website, developed initially in 7213 and then expanded upon: https://zhaocan1.wixsite.com/bioscienceleaders. An example of a student outcome: https://bisvanatomyclub.wixsite.com/bisv. And another: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10khek-1-j4AqpAsajKBcOh-V88MzuuAzRJqaNGygaxc/edit |
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Monica Housen. Monica was in 7213 spring of '17. She then took an independent study with me that summer to pursue how she could transform the way she taught math. (See her website on what she did and learned here.) Eventually, she got some colleagues to join her in her department, and they began exploring to engage students in math differently over the year. Based on her work, she designed her Thesis study to capture how she, her colleagues, and the students responded to a more student-centered approach. |
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Emily O'Rourke. In the summer of '17, in 7213 Emily began to pull all of her ideas around how to support student agency and student executive functioning in her classroom and then implemented a number of those ideas through the following school year. Here is her website: And Here is her story. |
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Paula Dillon. Paula has been supporting significant developments in her small school district that has put it on the map, awarded only 1 of 4 districts in the country with the P21 exemplary school district award. |
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Trace Pickering. Co-founder of IowaBig and asst. superintendent that supported the founding of IowaBig. |
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Chad Carlson, school director. One Stone is a number of projects and a student-run, out-of-the-box school, tuition-free, student-directed private school … doing good! What is it and how did it start! |
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Rob Riordan, co-founder of High Tech High. AND President Emeritus of High Tech High Graduate School of Education, another story unto itself! Great conversation with EDU7213 class five years ago! See more here from me too. |
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Mark Weber is a marketing analyst and brand strategy consultant and on the board of Agros International, a non-profit organization building sustainable farming villages and providing land loans to folks in rural Latin America. Agros is using partnerships with organizations such as Engineers Without Borders and Habitat for Humanity to fight worldwide poverty. Argos is an amazing organization, so many opportunities for STEM students to consider as a way to impact humanity! Listen in as doctoral candidate Sharon Santucci interviews Weber on his work with Agros.
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Barbara Gruener, founder of Corner on Character, full time character education consultant. Barbara is a teacher educator with over three decades of experience spanning educational content and contexts. She's a certified educator and counselor having taught Spanish, English, and ESL, before beginning her work in school counseling and character education. Learn more about her work in this 35 minute interview conducted by doctoral candidate Bridget Jones also found here. |
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Info ... forthcoming! |
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Andrea Henkel is a progressive educator certified in middle school special and general education. She has taught at public, private, and non-public schools throughout New York City for 8 years, including the renowned Quest To Learn school, and designed her own curricula in each classroom she led. Henkel has worked as consultant for the Institute of Play, a non-profit design studio creating learning experiences rooted in principles of game design. Henkel has a particular interest in game-based and project-based learning, and brought this expertise to her work developing writing curriculum for an ed tech company and coaching first-year teachers in partnership with San Francisco Unified Public Schools. She is currently the Senior Manager of Curriculum at Girls Who Code. Learn more about her work in this interview with doctoral candidate Yana Samuel.
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Jody Drezner Alperin & Vicky Finney Crouch are teaching artists and founders of Off The Page education. Seeing their work in person is a moving and a powerful reminder of how we can “inspires young people - to connect to the past, take action in the present, and change the future.” Listen in as doctoral candidate Janet Koza interviews this extraordinary pair about their work taking learning off the page and into the hands of learners in classrooms and on stages nationwide. |
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Ayla Gavins is the principal of Mission Hill, a public pilot school founded by Deborah Meier and located in Boston, MA. Mission Hill is also the site of the video series A Year At Mission Hill documenting the powerful collaboration fostered under Gavins' leadership between teachers, students, and families to build one of America's most thriving public schools. The series was later woven into a beautiful film about what public school could be in the film Good Morning Mission Hill by film makers Amy and Tom Valens. Learn more about Ayla's impressive work as a leader, advocate, and community organizer in her interview with doctoral candidate Stefanie Seidner.
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Rena Dulberg is the VP of Community Engagement at Think Impact, a for-profit organization that supports social entrepreneurship through experiential education. Rena is a values-driven leader who has a passion for social entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility, which have played important roles in her work both as a university administrator and instructor. In her role as VP of Community Engagement Think Impact Rena is responsible for building a robust community of social enterprise educators. In this interview, doctoral candidate Victoria O'Malley talks with Rena to learn about the inspiration for Think Impact, its successes, and how universities and students work with this organization.
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Rob Sheppard created a social venture in 2016 called Ginseng English. Before he started, Rob was the director of an adult learning program at a non-profit who saw an unmet need for more ESL classes for immigrants. At the same time, he saw that many Intensive English Programs (IEPs) had open slots. Rob also noticed the need for high-quality English programs online—ones that would remunerate their teachers well and avoid discriminating them based on their nationality or race, which is sadly a reality in the world of ESL teachers.
Rob created an online ESL school that pays fair wages and hires English teachers based on their teaching skills instead of their native language; this is uncommon in online ESL companies. Rob's goal is that after a certain amount of paying students enroll, ESL students (immigrants and refugees) who cannot afford to pay for online classes will be able to enroll in classes for free. Listen in as doctoral candidate Laura Soracco interviews Rob to learn more about his social venture. |
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Brittany Stich (MBA, Stanford) is the co-founder and head of student experience for Guild Education, a successful start-up based in Denver that facilitates education as a benefit for companies in an effort to improve the economic mobility of working adults. Brittany is a first generation college student and former Teach for America participant. She identifies as an education entrepreneur and is dedicated to providing access to opportunity. This interview covers the inspiration for Guild Education, challenges and successes during start-up and scaling, the future of entrepreneurship in the education space, and advice for emerging entrepreneurs who are mission-driven. Learn more in this interview with doctoral candidate Victoria O'Malley.
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