Closing the Opportunity Gap Through Innovation

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Closing the opportunity gap is a tall order, especially during a pandemic when new challenges have compounded previous difficulties.

In this episode, Dr. Wendy Oliver interviews Susan Bearden, Director of Digital Programs for Innovate EDU, to investigate how innovative thinking can move the education system toward some solutions.

Wendy and Susan discuss how socioeconomic status contributes to the opportunity gap and the digital divide, and reflect on the ways the pandemic has exacerbated the difference between the haves and have-nots in education. They also discuss what it means to be innovative in the classroom. (Hint: It might not mean what you think.)

Susan has been at the forefront of K-12 innovation throughout her career, and you won’t want to miss her thoughts.

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Wendy Oliver

With more than 20 years of experience in digital education, Dr. Wendy Oliver, a highly qualified Tennessee teacher and administrator, thrives when implementing innovative learning models and creating amazing learning experiences for students. Throughout her career, Wendy has had the opportunity to develop and pioneer a district, TN’s state-wide, and international digital learning programs. She served as the Chief Learning Architect for Arizona State University’s digital charter network of schools and recently launched a network of private, for-profit schools. Wendy created Oliver’s Frameworks for Blended and Online Instruction, and subsequently, a software that allows teacher to self-assess their knowledge of instruction in each respective environment, a software that has been implemented in multiple districts and states.
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Susan Bearden

Susan M. Bearden, CETL is the Director of Digital Programs for InnovateEDU, where she leads Project Unicorn and is facilitating the Technical Working Group for the 2024 update to the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) . Prior to joining InnovateEDU, Susan served as CoSN's Chief Innovation Officer. She also served a Senior Education Pioneers Fellow at the ED Office of Educational Technology, where she led the 2017 update of the federal government’s K-12 school infrastructure guide, Building Technology Infrastructure for Learning. A former K12 technology director and author of Digital Citizenship: A Community-Based Approach, she has received numerous awards for education technology leadership, including the ATLIS Pillar Award, being named one of the Center for Digital Education’s “Top 30 Technologists, Transformers and Trailblazers,” the ISTE “Making IT Happen” Award and the Bammy Award for School Technologist of the Year. In 2022, EdTech K12 Magazine named her as a top 30 K12 IT influencer.
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Closing the Opportunity Gap Through Innovation

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