Care as a Driver of Innovation: Fostering Cross-Sector Collaboration in Early Stage Edtech Design
SESSION DATES & TIMES COMING IN AUGUST 2026
Audience Classification: Digital Learning Audience Expertise: All Levels - This session is intentionally designed to engage and provide value across experience levels-from beginners to seasoned leaders. Grade Level Focus: Pre-K, Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, High Schools, Higher Education, Adult Learners Primary Audience: All attendees Does this session focus on a specific product? No – This session is focused on ideas, strategies, or practices, not a specific product or service.
Founder & Executive Director Taos Education Collaborative Taos, NM, United States
Abstract Description : This interactive poster presents findings from my dissertation study on cross-sector collaboration in educational technology design. Drawing on interviews with educators, researchers, and edtech/industry partners, the study surfaced persistent barriers - including misaligned goals and structures as well as organizational culture - that hinder effective collaboration. At the same time, participants highlighted shared values, trust, and clear partnership structures as key enablers of meaningful innovation.
Conference attendees will review the study's findings with draft recommendations for building more care-centered, inclusive, and impactful edtech ecosystems. These include strategies such as early-stage co-design sessions, cross-sector advisory boards, incentive-aligned funding models, and authentic practitioner feedback loops. The session invites participants to annotate, remix, and expand on these recommendations, contributing their own expertise to strengthen them and provide feedback through dot voting and sticky notes, with the goal of generating interest, awareness, and engagement in overcoming obstacles to effective cross-sector partnerships.
Learning Objectives:
Identify and analyze the barriers and catalysts for cross-sector collaboration in edtech design, drawing from research findings, peer insights,a ND their own lived experience.
Actively engage with the research findings, co-creating actionable strategies, such as co-design practices, advisory boards, and practitioner feedback loops, that participants can then adapt or take back to strengthen collaborative work within their own contexts.
