Sorry. First thing I think about when I hear the word “mojo” is Austin Powers. I don’t know if all of the other web search results of “getting your mojo back” are referring to The Spy Who Shagged Me, but for the sake of argument, let’s just say that it means regaining enthusiasm for something.
I will admit that I wasn’t greatly enthused about the opportunity to go to SXSW EDU. I pondered whether my reticence to attend was warranted, and my anxieties about traveling were well documented in my last post. I’ve attended a few conferences in the last 10 years, almost exclusively related to WordPress. A couple of WordCamps in Jacksonville, WPCampus in person in Sarasota, and online in 2020 because of the pandemic, as well as Reclaim Open in Fredericksburg, Durham, and Oklahoma City. Back in the day, I regularly attended the NMC conferences, my first being in Monterey, and then presenting in Madison, Anaheim, and Boston. For all of those conferences, I traveled by myself, though I knew a large number of attendees at the WPCampus and Reclaim events. For SXSW EDU, I traveled with two of my colleagues from UNF, but none of us knew what to expect at the EDU version of the original SXSW conference. My colleague Niam had been to a prior SX as a music artist. I’ll let him blog about that. Niam, do you have a blog?
One month later I still miss Austin, and as I previously enumerated my regrets about the trip, I left out one specific omission and that is the taking of video – you know, a moving pictures record. I had brought my fancy new gimbal and a fancy new wireless mic and I was going to Vlog. Maybe even interview some people. However, I talked myself out of those situations. Again, it was a complicated trip for me. I can blame it somewhat on lack of inspiration, but if I saw one other person with a vlogging setup I may have stepped up, but it wasn’t to be. I’m also still figuring out my relationship with recording on camera and posting videos of myself talking. My one glaring exception being my “fun” auto-tracking video test, almost a year ago now. Maybe that’s my motivation – create a new video before April 23, 2025!
Anyway, the rest of this post will be dedicated to the sessions I went to at SXSW EDU with some comments where appropriate.
Opening Keynote – https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP1147782 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCIT1L5muoQ
This was a good start to the conference with an inspiring speaker. Anne-Laure Le Cunff talked about making space for “continuous iteration” (YES!!!), asking questions about your daily interests or “self-anthropology”, and to “try and change something” (perform tests (my favorite word). “I will [action] for [duration]. She prompted us, “I will connect with three people over the next three days”. She gave herself the test of recording herself each day for ten days to get over fears of public speaking. Maybe I can do it for vlogging. She ended the talk with the aspiration to create “the kind of society where not only we would foster more imagination and innovation, but it would also be the kind of society where we value people not based on the quantity of answers they provide, but based on the quality of the questions they ask. That certainly spoke to my “love for science” brain. OK, I’m primed for a conference! I need to rewatch the Q&A session. Maybe???
Screens to Solutions: A Youth-Led Tech Revolution – https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP150655 (recorded audio) – https://www.oursubscription.org – This was a panel regarding young people and social media and the relationships therein – this is a topic fraught with the inclination to over-react. No doubt the panelists deeply care about students and told of some horrific stories. Caution to the folks on the panel though who might support legislation that has the opposite effect on the safety issues that they are concerned with.
Revolutionizing the Future of Media & Education – https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP147693 – The youngs doin’ cool stuff. I wish there was a video recording, but not all sessions had cameras.
Keynote: Screening Bias: Breaking Down Barriers for Women in STEM on TV – https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP1147469 Another inspiring keynote largely reenforcing the diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility arguments. I wish there was a recording to go back to, because the history of Emily Calandrelli’s breakthrough into becoming the “female Bill Nye” – she has a Masters degree from MIT in Aeronautics and Astronautics as well as Technology and Policy by the way – is as maddening as you would imagine.
Belonging Matters! School Welcoming with ULTIMATE CITIZENS – https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP156523 – From the 2nd day of SXSW EDU is another presentation of a film currently screening across the country – but I wasn’t able to attend the Austin viewing. The story is about a school counselor and the presentation was guided more into how those in the room were navigating the shortage of school counselors. This session was a good primer for the TV series “The Class” which I’ve posted about and will refer to again below. I briefly fantasized about attending the screening in Vero Beach FL, but it’s just too much (both literally and figuratively) to try to make it happen.
Future Ready Impact: Redefining How We Measure Success – https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP150107 (recorded audio) – a panel where a lot of the right things were said. Need to go back and listen.
MindShift KQED: Can Better Conversations Improve Media Literacy Among Students? – https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP156139 (recorded audio – I ask my question at 49:52) – I left this presentation starting to feel like no one was ever going to share my excitement for the Fediverse. I talked with Tanner Higgin afterward and he certainly saw the need in decentralizing social media. I have to keep reminding myself it’s early days in the decentralization process 😉
Keynote: What We Make Visible to Children: Art, Storytelling, & Picturebooks – https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP1148232 – YouTube video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i1yKAcUnRA – An incredibly inspiring presentation and follow-on conversation about the importance of children’s books having characters that depict all of the diverse groups of kids, and nurturing empathy (Sorry, Elon).
Innovation & Change in Higher Education – https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP150132 (recorded audio) – The most striking thing about this conversation was that a small private Christian school in Nashville could have a diversity, equity, and inclusion page on their website, and all Florida public universities have had to scrub any mention of the subject, let alone promote it.
“The Class” Screening & Q&A – https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/OE45364 – This, of course, is the series that I posted about. It is available at PBS.org (after you select your local PBS station). As of writing this, the 3rd episode is available and episodes 1 & 2 don’t disappoint.
Do Students & Society Still Value Higher Ed? – https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP155959 – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmd0olkiqlA – This presentation can best be summed up as, data, data, data, yep, still valued.
Keynote: Turning Conflict into Progress in Our Divided Times – https://schedule.sxswedu.com/2025/events/PP1148037 – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3-1NCIyy5o – It was hard to take to heart the hope of this presentation (Canadians had just become the target of U.S. tariffs, then later in the day, delayed), but I admired Shamil’s efforts and experience.
Leave a Reply