Right now , we are positioned to help take that accelerated experience that everyone is having with Zoom calls and add the ' now what ?' concept . That is what RethinkEDU does ; we take content , put it in front of you as a user , create the opportunity for those who have continuing interest in the content to join a community of people that are like-minded , and then remain involved in dialogue that is long lasting . Many associations held a “ virtual ” conference last year and most of them were simply a substitute for the “ real ” thing . RethinkEDU is not just a one-time event . It is available 24 / 7 / 365 and it changes and grows regularly ; eventually , it will change and grow every day . State affiliates of all the national associations in the K-12 space are jumping on the platform and they are creating their own channels . Think of this . I am sitting here in Minnesota and potentially getting content from somebody in California that I did not have access to previously because I was not a member of their association , or their local chapter . But now from the platform , I can access it whenever I want . RethinkEDU It is a platform , a website , that is always there to be accessed when convenient . It is like Facebook in that you open it up , log in , and there is the content and conversations .
Except it is specifically and exclusively for people in the K-12 field .
Libengood : Importantly , because we are an innovation company , this will be an evolutionary process , designed and created specifically to meet NAPT member needs . The fun part is that it will change and grow in whatever ways the community wants it to grow and change . Everyone in the community gets to be involved in creating and changing it as we move forward . We are excited to see where we end up a few years from now .
When can we expect to see ACTS !, and what will we see to kick off the 40 weeks of professional content ?
The NAPT Community , the networking component , is growing every day . NAPT ACTS ! already has a library of archived content from NAPT and we are starting in January with new content . If you are a member of NAPT , you can go to the NAPT website , log in to the Members Only section and get immediate access to RethinkEDU . Or you can just go straight to the RethinkEDU website and create a profile there . Vendors are also going to play an important role . We are vendors at CESO , so we understand the frustration of sitting in an online “ vendor hall ”, participating in a “ virtual ” trade show , hoping to have a conversation with someone who is not a co-worker . One of our goals , one of NAPT ’ s primary goals , is to position vendors as experts , because we are . We are experts in what we do because we have had experience with so many different school districts . We understand the hesitancy of conference delegates to interact with sponsors and vendors . Not everyone likes the traditional , typical sales experience . So , for sponsors and the vendors , our goal is to position them as experts . Vendors that are participating in NAPT ACTS ! are creating K-12 professional content , not as sales content , but as experts in their field , in their craft . That content is going to start to show up in the ACTS ! channel . As we get more vendors , NAPT ACTS content is not just 40 pieces of content . It is going to expand very quickly as all these vendors are getting on , they ' re creating content . Again , not sales content , but educational content .
How will NAPT ACTS ! help put NAPT members back in the driver ' s seat , in terms of maintaining their professional network and sense of community ?
Frederick : You get out of something what you put into it . We created RethinkEDU to connect people , to get content in front of them , and provide an opportunity to engage in that content . But it is what you put into it . If somebody really wants to connect , they are going to connect . You are going to go across state boundaries . You are going to connect with individuals who , at a conference you may not have bumped into , but you are going to bump into them on the platform . They may be dealing with similar scenarios and have solved some of your pain points and you can take those ideas and adopt them and change them . That is where we are going to see some cool growth where people are " getting back in the driver ' s seat ." We are not trying to make things normal again . We want to grow and evolve as an industry .
How does the service work ? How can NAPT members access the content ?
Frederick : As an NAPT member , you would log into
www . RethinkEDU . io When you log in , it looks like Hulu a bit . There is a dashboard . You can see the workshops and the keynotes and click on them and then stream that content on demand . There is also a community part . The forums have different discussions , and you can engage in those discussions that have high level topic categories of interest . Users will be able to see all the members within NAPT ACTS ! and connect with them . The platform also allows you to do in-app messaging , follow vendors , everything you would expect with Facebook . That is the experience you will have . As the platform evolves , other channels will start to open , so you can start searching them and connecting to that content .
How do you see the platform evolving ?
Frederick : NAPT is the first national association to see the potential of RethinkEDU but it will not be the only one . We are already working with others to create their communities , too . The vision is to have every national association in the K-12 market space and every state chapter of those associations involved in RethinkEDU . We realize it is going to take time and small steps to get where we want to go but think about how amazing it will be when a school district can have its entire team collaborate with the entire team from another school system or two or three and create a professional development track tailored to their unique needs . This synergy will be the ultimate value proposition for NAPT members , school systems and their various departments . The next small step is to release the RethinkEDU app . You will be able to download it in the Google or Apple app store . That will be a powerful enhancement . Also , in January , we are adding additional technology which learns what information you are seeking and then recommends additional content . It is called “ curating ” the content . As more content is added , the experience will become genuinely unique and personalized for every user .
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