TEDxSF Salon – Skool’d: rethinking Higher Education

As part of the TEDxSF Salon, SKOOL’d: Rethinking Higher Education focused on the need for innovation in higher education to create more affordable, accessible and relevant models for today’s world.

“In order to reinvent education, we must first unpack the underlying assumptions and shortcomings of current models… Despite dramatic advances in technology and cognitive science, higher education hasn’t changed in decades – and institutions are too entrenched in current models to disrupt themselves to meet changing student needs. SKOOL’d will feature the industry’s brightest minds: the thought leaders and entrepreneurs who are challenging the status quo and re-imagining higher education.”  Emily Chiu, education entrepreneur and TEDxSF Salon Curator

SKOOL’d: Rethinking Higher Education was moderated by Synecticsworld’s Kyle Hermans

With featured panelist:

Bror Saxberg, Chief Learning Officer at Kaplan (who is a specialist in cognitive science and adult learning), will explore myths about how the human mind learns and how we can design more effective learning environments based on the science of what really works in learning.

Michael Horn, Co-Founder of Innosight Institute and author of Disrupting Class, will focus on how new models of education will dramatically shift the existing landscape and change both how the world learns and how education is delivered.

Ben Nelson, Founder & CEO of Minerva, will share how he plans to disrupt the Ivy League and build an elite university that delivers a better learning experience – at a cost of less than $10,000 a year.

Gene Wade, Founder & CEO of UniversityNow, will explore the underlying assumptions behind today’s education paradigm, and discuss how impending paradigm shifts will shape the future of higher education and what college looks like.

Gunnar Counselman, Founder and CEO of Fidelis, will focus on moving beyond the diploma and resume in order to design a more comprehensive way to map individual abilities and potential.

Founder of the UnCollege Movement and Fellow in Thiel’s 20 Under 20 Program, Dale Stephens, will share his experiences in homeschooling and “un-schooling” – and present a unique perspective on how individuals can hack their own education and achieve personal success outside of traditional institutions.

Michael Ellsberg, author, Forbes blogger and public speaker, will present insights from his latest book, The Education of Millionaires: It’s Not What You Think, and It’s Not Too Late, and explore how some of the world’s most successful people have achieved their success without completing college.

Visionary songwriter, musician and author, David Berkeley – hailed as “one of the most promising contemporary American singer-songwriters” – will perform his latest songs throughout the event. David will also weave in story telling, based on his personal journey of learning and self-discovery – from studying at Harvard, to teaching at a public school in Brooklyn, to pursuing a career in music.

TEDxSF Salons

The new TEDxSF salons feature a select group of speakers who will deliver talks that unveil new understandings, alternative models and practical takeaways. More intimate than previous events, TEDxSF designed the Salons to provide a deeper look into a single topic as well as to create a venue through which there can be more community building and audience-generated content and discussion. The premiere Bay Area TEDx group will hold Salons throughout the fall and winter and each of the Salons will focus on one contemporary institution in turmoil. TEDxSF will simulcast each Salon and provide video replays on the TEDx.com and TED.com web channels.

(Content for this page sourced directly from from TEDxSF press release http://www.pr.com/press-release/371260)