Credit: Illustration by Jason Stout / Thinkstock

Public education has been possessed by the beast that is standardized testing, and student disengagement is at an all-time high as their academic careers have been reduced to bubble-filling. But there are many educators trying to disrupt the status quo, bringing unconventional and innovative techniques to the classroom. This SXSWedu, running March 7-10 at the Austin Convention Center, will spotlight an array of those disruptors, from comedians and punks revolutionizing teaching to technologists using virtual reality to save lives.

This article appears in March 4 • 2016.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.