Education technology has come a long way since Magic Lanterns and Black Boards but has it come far enough? Most people will agree that the technology used in educational administration and classrooms is far behind industry standards and capabilities. Through AWS services we can significantly advance the technology provided to students and staff to aid in the learning journey. WGU is leveraging services like Kinesis, Rekognition, SageMaker and more to drive intelligent and adaptive innovation in the world of education. With the focus on smart curriculum and program creation, Machine Learning taxonomy in asset bundling and authoring, as well as artificial intelligent driven digital asset management, we are looking to not just iterate on the education flywheel but to redefine it. A student's experience will never be the same with a personalized, adaptive learning path driven by data and powered by innovation.

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Adam Boswell
Sr. Principal Engineer, Western Governors University
Session: 222443
Innovation in EDU
Iterate vs Leap Frog

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Who Are We?

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WGU Background
Nonprofit, founded in 1997 by bi-
partisan group of 19 governors.
98,000+ students; 105,000+ graduates
in all 50 states.
60+ degrees in four colleges for high-
demand fields:
• Business
• Teacher Education
• Health Professions
• Technology
Competency-based, 100% online

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Nontraditional Students are the Majority
…and they have different needs
• Flexibility
• Access
• Affordability
• Ability to leverage knowledge and
skills already acquired
• Opportunity to advance career, not
just begin or change
Nontraditional students =
contemporary students

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The WGU Model Works
More student
support
Average time to
bachelor’s degree
Debt at
graduation less
than half the
national average
Grads become
engaged employees

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History of Technology in Education

7. Timeline of Technology
The Hornbook
Early 1600 1725
1801
The Radio
1925 1977
1646
The Magic Lantern The Jacquard Loom
Blackboard The Apple II
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Iteration
A procedure in which repetition of a sequence of operations yields
results successively closer to a desired result

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Line Upon Line: The Textbook
Bible 1616 McGuffey 1836 Textbooks 1996 Laptop 2016

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Curriculum Creation
1. Issue/problem/need is identified: What
2. Characteristics and needs of learners: Who
3. Changes intended for learners, outcomes/objectives: Ability
4. Important and relevant content: What
5. Methods to accomplish intended outcomes: How
6. Evaluation strategies for methods, content, and intended outcomes:
Competency

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Curriculum Delivery

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Tradition
The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation

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I’ve Seen You Do It!

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Innovation
A new method, idea, product, etc.

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The Photograph

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What Drives Our Innovation?

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The Merovingian

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Merovingian - 1

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Merovingian - 2
Amazon
Amazon

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The Merovingian
Amazon

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Or…maybe we just keep iterating
Early 1600’s Found in Classrooms in
2018

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Q & A

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Sr. Principal Engineer
Western Governors University
Adam Boswell
Adam.Boswell@wgu.edu
linkedin.com/in/zjoia

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Thank You!