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Join Sal Khan as he shares the inspiring story of how he founded Khan Academy, a nonprofit organization that is now educating millions of people worldwide. While Khan Academy may be best known for math videos, today the organization offers free interactive practice exercises and articles in the humanities and sciences, as well as test prep for the SAT and LSAT that adapts...
At a moment when decades of academic achievement have been lost, can we amplify the benefits of A.I. equally across society, or will we allow a deeper digital divide to leave out even more students? Khan Academy founder and CEO Sal Khan talks about the potential for this nascent technology to transform education, activating and engaging an entire generation to create chang...
The public’s opinion of institutions of higher learning is diminishing. Whether it is because of the high cost or perceived ivory-tower elitism, or due to worry about an overly liberal mindset, Americans are debating the state — and even the necessity — of higher education today. What happens when swaths of society devalue the academy? How should institutions promote the...
The world faces many challenges—from climate change to political instability to widening inequality—that transcend borders and impact us all. If today’s young people are to be equipped with the imagination and skillsets to tackle these growing threats, educational excellence is key. How do we build successful education systems at scale and in every community? And what expe...
The 21st century brings with it unprecedented global uncertainty, interconnectedness, and unimaginable opportunity. Yet many students in the United States and around the world complete their formal education with insufficient tools to navigate this new world. This session examines some of the foundational skills, acquired through traditional and innovative means, that youn...
Since the end of World War II, the United States has dramatically expanded access to a college education so that, today, approximately two out of every three Americans pursues a higher education. Still, many groups remain largely excluded, and even among those who do go, where a student starts college has become increasingly tied to their wealth and that of their families....
How can we use this moment of post-pandemic reawakening and reinvention to ensure that every young person in America is ready for the future? Join this session to participate in an immersive discussion about the future of K–12 learning — one in which opportunity and a self-determined life are within reach for every child, no matter their background. Three leaders confront...
A look at the challenges facing higher education, with a leader who has a perspective unlike any other. Richard C. Levin spent two decades as the president of Yale University before becoming CEO of Coursera. In what ways are traditional universities vulnerable? And can the start-ups really deliver on their promise — in the US and around the world?
The University of Chicago has just announced new funding to expand access to a broader talent pool of well-deserving applicants, ending requirements to send in scores for ACT and SAT tests. The College Board has revised the SAT to emphasize classroom study and offers free practice tests through top online-ed site Khan Academy, to give every student the opportunity to prepa...
As members of the Giving Pledge, Melanie and Richard Lundquist have given more than $400 million over the past decade to critical causes ranging from educational opportunity to health care access to climate change mitigation. What drives a modern philanthropist to do what they do, what models of giving work best, and where are the opportunities for private dollars to make...
Escalating costs of higher education are driving some colleges and universities to rethink their business models. Demographic changes are reshaping student populations. Job pressures for newly minted college graduates are fierce, challenging curriculum and budgets. And politicians are wringing their hands as other countries are improving education outcomes more quickly...
Do American universities have an obligation to educate their students to be the next generation of citizens and civic leaders? What does it mean for a university “to offer students an education that will promote their flourishing as human beings, their judgment as moral agents, and their participation in society as democratic citizens”? Join a workshop with leaders from th...
Virtual exchange is online education that brings young people together in virtual classrooms with their peers around the world. These low-cost programs are uniquely capable of reaching those who do not have access to international education. Virtual exchange combines technology and curriculum to give young people cross-cultural competency and 21st century skills—language,...
Students today face a complex, economically competitive future. Yet in too many schools, they are missing a critical piece of their education. Our K-12 schools appropriately emphasize the rigorous academic skills students need to be ready for college and career. But now there is compelling evidence that we must complement the focus on academic achievement with development...
With students learning in more places and different ways than we have ever seen, the pace of change in education is dizzying. Join our panel of education experts in a discussion about what the classroom of the future will look like, how educational innovation can bridge divides, and how we can work together to get there. Presented by the Walton Family Foundation
For over a decade, Ascend at the Aspen Institute has lifted up parents’ voices and experiences to inform bold solutions for economic mobility in the United States. How does lived expertise influence the way programs and policies are created? What can we learn from a new wave of philanthropic efforts to invest in communities and their parent leaders? Four dynamic leaders sh...
Americans now owe a staggering $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, according to Forbes. With growing online opportunities catered to self-taught learners and the ever-evolving digital nature of work in the modern world, do we still need to sit in classrooms to get a college education? Are companies and government institutions rethinking the long-standing requirement of a f...
US higher education is challenged by several dynamic forces: Americans are less likely than in the past to attend college, but those who do are more diverse. Costs and debt are rising — as is mistrust of higher education. And the skills needed to succeed in the workforce are evolving rapidly as technology advances. Can the nation’s 4,000 colleges and universities succeed b...
Join Richard Barth, CEO of the KIPP Foundation, and Rich Buery, chief of policy and public affairs for the KIPP Foundation, in conversation with Ross Wiener, executive director of the Aspen Institute's Education & Society Program. Hear about lessons learned in running one of the country’s most successful public charter school networks, and participate in a discussion of th...
Why is there resistance to the idea that public funds should be used for art? What does it mean for the stewardship of cultural and educational organizations and the support of individual artists? And how does the relationship between non-profit and commercial culture impact how we value the creative sector?