The Open edX virtual conference was a great opportunity to raise awareness of Graspway in the Open edX community. The Open edX software is an open-source learning management system that is used across the globe to teach and learn online. The Open edX platform has been deployed to support everything from single classrooms, to universities, to nation-wide learning initiatives.
We have been partners with the Open edX team since 2019 and this is our second time sponsoring the conference. The 2021 Open edX Conference is a virtual event in which the Open edX community and leading experts in ed-tech discuss the latest research, new approaches to learning, and the best practices for integrating new technology into the virtual classroom.
A unique and different virtual event
The conference took place on May 27th from 3 to 7:30 (CET) and focused on shaping the future of education together. It featured a thought leader keynote, eight practical talks, and plenty of unstructured spaces for direct connections with other attendees. Attendees learned about innovative uses of technology within the areas of Pedagogy & Instructional Design, Platform & Product and Extensions & Integrations.
This was the first time that the conference was virtual and, therefore, it was a different and a unique experience. The stats of the event were very good:
- 384 Invitations Sent
- 321 Invitations Accepted
- 112 Active Participants in Sli.do (one of the platforms used at the event)
- 161 active participants in gather.town
Networking in gather.town
One of the most interesting and attractive platforms used at the event was gather.town. This platform allowed us to simulate the event area with booths and common areas and where attendees were present in the event as avatars.
This is how attendees could chat in stands with sponsors, go to common rooms and meet people from the sector. When an avatar approached another, the camera and microphone were activated and you could chat face to face with the other attendees. A fun, different and unique way of networking!
Of course, from Graspway we were present at the virtual booth: Kenneth Berry as a Sales Expert, Javier Viñuales as LMS Expert and Silvia Mariscal as Marketing Specialist.
The common areas in gather.town were really fun and used to organize informal talks. One of them was given by Anant Argawal, CEO and founder of edX. This talk was about the year we’ve been through, the challenges of training, the great growing community in Open edX… and it was a great success as we can see in this image:
It was a great event, inspiring, informative and really fun! We met many professionals in the e-learning sector and learned about the new educational trends that are coming up in the “online future” we are all facing.
Thanks to all the attendees, organizers and the Open edX community! We hope to see you next year 🙂
About Graspway
Graspway is an EdTech solution powered by OpenSistemas with the objective of building an all-encompassing cloud first product. Built to ensure a data-driven online learning experience, which improves and develops the skills and knowledge of both people & organizations.
