What Happens in Half Moon Bay Doesn’t Stay in Half Moon Bay

People leave Big Ideas Fest with lots of new ideas. They also leave with experiences that impact their work and their lives. Past participants keep us abreast of new insights they’ve gained into their jobs, how they’ve used Action Collab processes in their work, and even how Big Ideas Fest inspired them to change jobs or start a company.

Over the past couple of years, we keep asking ourselves how we can more systematically support the work of Big Ideas Fest participants when they return home. We coined the phrase “Someday, Monday” to imply, what will do on Monday (not what will you simply do someday). This has  inspired us in a new initiative which you will be hearing about soon, called #BIFLocal, where our goal is to nurture education innovations at the local level all over the country. Here are some of the comments from participants that helped inspire us in our efforts to iterate on our design!

"I left inspired, motivated and convinced of the power of using design thinking in education. And unlike most conferences I left with tangible tools to use in my work going forward: the action collab process - from the improv games to rapid prototyping - has been so valuable in my work as a social impact consultant!" – Manasa Yeturu, GOOD Fellow, Los Angeles, CA

“Big Ideas Fest has allowed me to not settle for the norm, to not just go along with what has always been. Since attending in 2012 and 2013 I have embraced the idea of failure as a step in the construction of an idea. I have implemented that way of thinking in my role as a professional development specialist in my county, and life in general. I’m a much better thinker now, thanks to Big Ideas Fest!" ­­ – Sean Antonetti, Clayton County Public Schools, Jonesboro, GA

"At my first Big Ideas Fest experience, I was both challenged and inspired to apply the new skills and passions for user centered design and innovation both within my organization and to our work with educators. We have spent the last year building a community and learning agenda around integrating design thinking into instructional approaches and decision making frameworks at all levels. As an innovative and collaborative organization, we are excited to expand our connection with ISKME and Big Ideas Fest 2014 by bringing a full team this year. We are excited to learn together and continue to bring these lessons back to Colorado educators." – Tara Jahn, The Colorado Initiative, Denver, CO