InnovateK12 Newsletter: April 8, 2019
Celebrate the Wins.
a note from Kristin Daniels, InnovateK12 Executive Director

As we prepare for our last cohort meeting and celebration in May, itโ€™s hard to not look back in awe at what we have accomplished! 

The cohort membership grew from 8 Minnesota districts in 2017-2018 to 23 districts from across the country for the 2018-2019 school year. Throughout the year, member districts launched creative and inspiring innovation events. At our monthly cohort meetings we got first peeks at event themes and logos, learned about new ideas to engage and celebrate staff, and heard the inspiring stories behind a few special ideas. From the enthusiasm and focus, the number of ideas submitted and comments made, to the number of votes cast and ideas moving forward, the energy of the cohort is evident.

What are some things you learned from other cohort members? What are some things you shared? In May, we will have our last meeting for the 2018-2019 school year. We hope that you will join us to celebrate and share your district story. The wisdom of the cohort continues to grow with your experiences.
InnovateK12 Cohort Updates
End of Year Celebration
Continuous Improvement: How Do We Get Better?
Friday, May 3, 2019

Minneapolis Airport Marriott
(location of the 2019 K12 Innovation Summit)
2020 American Blvd E, Bloomington, MN 55425

12:00pm - 1:30pm National Cohort via Zoom
30 minute overlap for ALL 2018-2019 Cohort Districts!
1:00pm - 3:00pm Face-to-face MN Cohort
3:00pm Happy Hour at Marriott
Let's gather one last time as a 2018-2019 cohort and take time to celebrate! Please come prepared to share highlights from your year and what you are looking forward to for the 2019-2020 school year. (1-2 min). We will plan for a 30 minute overlap of the national and Minnesota cohorts! Join us for Happy Hour at 3pm.
InnovateK12 Sandbox
Challenge Update
There are over 40 people registered for the InnovateK12 Sandbox Challenge and there's been plenty of activity!
There are still 12 days left to take the new Spigit platform for a test drive! Just submit your contact information here and we will send you an invite!

Why join the demo challenge? The updated Spigit platform has many features that have been designed to get your staff engaged in the challenge. Get to know them now so you can best utilize these features during your district challenge.

  • The platform is visually appealing. Text rich editing make it possible to add images and links to all ideas and comments. And users can add images to their profile!

  • Ideas are dynamic! We are utilizing a Spigit feature called "Idea Graduation" that measures crowd engagement with ideas and moves ideas to a new idea stage called "crowd validation" when the idea gets enough views, comment, and votes.

  • Challenge updates by email. An email will be sent to any registered user whenever an idea is posted within a 24 hour window. You will also receive an email when you submit and idea, when you are mentioned in a comment or when you are invited to join a team.

  • Participants can gain achievements! Participants can earn "Achievements" as they engage and participate on the platform. "Crowd Endorsements" are awards that are given by users to others in recognition of actions within the community.

The challenge is just for fun, but you'll be able to see how the software works and how it can help you start building a culture of innovation in your school or district! Join us!
Current Phase - Ideation and Collaboration
April 1st at 5:00am CDT
In this phase, participants may submit ideas, edit ideas, comment and vote (thumbs up).

Participants are encouraged to explore the user profile features, including skills and interests.
Archived - InnovateK12 April 5th Webinar
April 5th at 12:00pm CDT
We had an interactive demonstration of the software during our April 5th Friday Webinar . Check it out!
Phase 2 - Pairwise Voting
April 12th at 12:20pm CDT
The Sandbox Challenge will transition to Pairwise Voting during our April 12th Friday Webinar! In this phase, participants may use Pairwise to vote on the top ideas.
Challenge Ends - Winners Announced
(This challenge is just for fun but results are based on real voting!)
April 19th at 12:30pm CDT
The Sandbox Challenge will end and voting will no longer be available. Top ideas will be announced during the April 19th Friday Webinar! Webinar participants will get a sneak peek at the report features of the platform.
Thank you to our K12 Innovation Summit Sponsors!
We Love Our Sponsors!
InnovateK12 is lean organization, trying to keep the costs as low as possible for our membership. That is why it is so helpful when sponsors step up to offset the cost of our annual networking conference.

Each of the innovative companies that sponsor InnovateK12 are innovators in education and believe in the power of innovation to make a positive difference for students and teachers. Please donโ€™t hesitate to reach out to them and let them know that you appreciate their support!
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