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Click the link to check out HomeWorks' sneaker design in the Future of Learning Competition!
--- Reposted from Mike Yates on LinkedIn ---
"In partnership, the Reinvention Lab at Teach For America and Ninety Nine Products, a socially responsible sneaker brand, teamed up to answer this question: What does the future of learning look like?
14 education organizations signed up to embark on a storytelling and design learning experience which ended in the very design competition I have been talking and writing about. During this experience, they had the chance to learn from AMAZING innovators in the sneaker world like Jeff Henderson, Bri Labosse, Jream Henderson, Brandon Bjerre, Sara Jaramillo, Khiana Lowe, and more!
Each organization was tasked with communicating what the future of learning might look like using a sneaker as their canvas. They could use as many colors as they wanted and created an image (not their logo) to tell the story of the future of learning.
Guys...They create some spectacular work, ultimately making our jobs really hard because, remember, this is a competition meaning only one design can win. To give you a glimpse into all of this, let me introduce you to the final four and the stories they are telling.
The Future of Learning is Inclusive
Founded in 2016, HomeWorks Trenton is a 501(c)(3) non-profit operating a free, after-school residential program for marginalized high school girls that provides academic and social-emotional enrichment activities to supplement public schools and build community leaders.
The HomeWorks Trenton design team included educators, HomeWorks staff, and students. They wanted their design to speak to the inclusivity, diversity, and belonging that will be vital to make the future of learning a bright one.
The Future of Learning is Fluid
The Freedom School of Arts and Entrepreneurship is an all-boys school in Fort Worth, Texas set to open Fall 2022. While the school is designed to specifically cater to the needs of Black boys, all students are welcome. Through a S.T.E.A.M-driven curriculum, FSAE hopes to create a future of learning that is truly fluid.
FSAE chose this blue to represent the fluidity and flexibility of the ideal journey that is the learning process. The heel of their sneaker features the words "Be Free" as a reminder to students that learning belongs to them and that it is the key to becoming free.
The Future of Learning is Personalized
Rock by Rock's mission is to equip families and educators with the tools, resources and supports they need to build socially responsible learners who are confident, capable, and ready to lead by making our world a better place one rock at a time.
Inspired by a drive to create a highly personalized future of learning, the Rock by Rock team decided to make a sneaker that is also customizable. Should this sneaker win, it will come with a box of markers allowing anyone to draw designs on every white space.
The Future of Learning is Human
The LIFE School is an innovative high school in Atlanta, where students learn through passion projects and hands-on academic work. As a LIFE Learner, our students start businesses, intern with companies, take project-based courses and partake in off-site experiences, allowing them the opportunity to earn an accredited high school diploma in a non-traditional and nurturing environment.
LIFE students put their ideas into this sneaker inspired by a pair of Air Jordans, Adaptive Learning software, passion projects, and the intersection of human interaction with technology.
Left me Blown Away
Each design left me inspired and hungry to start working to make the future of learning more inclusive and personalized and fluid and well...more human. These teams and the stories they created left me blown away."