The District School Board of Niagara and Brock University’s Faculty of Education have collaborated on a unique initiative to support innovation in Canadian education and technology.
Housed inside 2,100 square feet at the DSBN Academy in St. Catharines, the newly minted Educational Research and Innovation Hub will bring together a wide range of stakeholders to cultivate powerful new learning technologies.
It will be a home to several original start-up companies and the collaborative atmosphere of the Hub will promote discussion, idea sharing and creativity amongst educators, researchers, graduate students, entrepreneurs and education technology companies.
The Hub aims to eliminate the disconnect between educational insight and the innovation process. It will bridge this gap by providing entrepreneurs with the opportunity to observe actual classes and the strategies teachers use to support student learning. Start-ups will also be able to refine their products by observing their use in an actual classroom setting.
This will allow companies to make necessary enhancements to ensure they are best meeting the needs of students, teachers and schools.
We invite you to stay up-to-date with all of the work, research and findings that take place in this innovative, collaborative space.
Mission
The mission of the Hub is to facilitate collaboration amongst educators, researchers, entrepreneurs and educational technology companies to support the development of innovative educational tools and resources that support 21st century teaching and learning.
Vision
By providing a physical and virtual space for educators, researchers, entrepreneurs and educational technology companies to interact and collaborate, the Hub will nurture the ongoing relationships needed to mobilize the knowledge of these combined communities and support the development of innovative educational approaches, tools, and resources.
The Hub will achieve this by:
- Creating a co-working space where educators, researchers, entrepreneurs and educational technology companies can develop ongoing relationships.
- Facilitating research opportunities that pair university researchers with entrepreneurs and educational technology companies to investigate the impact of newly created educational technologies and support the development of new innovations.
- Developing an ongoing series of presentations, colloquia, focus groups, and networking opportunities that bring educators, researchers, software developers, entrepreneurs and educational technology companies together to connect, collaborate and disseminate innovative idea
Benefit
Regardless of technological ingenuity, the effectiveness of any educational innovation is dependent on its ability to address the needs of the education community. The Educational Research and Innovation Hub allows EdTech entrepreneurs to better meet the needs of the education community by providing opportunities for them to examine the education process or observe the use of their products in authentic contexts.
