Welcome back to Leslie’s List, where I wrap up every week by sharing some of my favorite posts and articles from the world of higher ed and ed tech.
This week, I start with some exciting happenings right here at Echo360. To say it’s been an eventful week would be a complete understatement.
For starters, we moved our headquarters into a terrific new office space on Monday. It’s much roomier and the space is open, perfect for brainstorming sessions and collaboration among our employees, so it’s a great move for us. The picture above features the view from our bright new offices on the 7th floor in Reston, VA.
The move in itself was huge news.
But even bigger than that was the announcement that Echo360 raised $18 million in capital funding to help speed our growth and take higher education’s first and only Active Learning Platform to the next level! This is quite an accomplishment in the fast growing and competitive #edtech sector and we are all incredibly excited to enter this next phase of our journey. For all the details, read all about it in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.
Here’s a look at some of the other things that piqued my interest this week:
- If you’re in the United States, you may be experiencing the abnormally early onset of frigid cold across much of the country. Hashtag: #TooSoon! But much to the dismay of students of all ages, technology may turn snow days into a thing of the past. Sorry kids!
- What does “student-centered learning” really mean? And why does it matter?
- The dark side of college athletics is dominating the news these days, especially at my alma mater, which shall remain unnamed. But this college president reminds us why college athletics still hold tremendous value for universities and student athletes when programs are managed with the right priorities in place.
- Finally, this post on discovering something new each day to keep things fresh across a 27-year teaching career spoke to me both professionally and personally. Proof positive that we’re never too old to learn something new and many times, transformative change and connectivity can emerge from simply observing the little things around us in a new light.
As always, thanks for reading and wishing you all a wonderful weekend. Be sure to connect with us on Twitter to continue the conversation!
