From what are big educational ideas made?

Silicon valley is an iconic example when people talk about innovation. To breed innovation, it's important to remember that it's not only about individuals with ideas, but about the right conditions, like a "large number of cutting-edge entrepreneurs, engineers and venture capitalists" (wikipedia), in the case of the Valley. On top of that, you add a flavour of Californian sea, sun and wine, and you season it with a bit of pioneering attitude, and voila!

I'm today in California for theBig Ideas Fest.

The three-day Big Ideas Fest is an immersion into collaboration and design with the focus on inspiring and modeling cutting-edge thinking in K-20 education.

The programme and the names of speakers are pretty impressive! I think there will be an interesting buzz in the air, as the event brings together cutting-edge educationalists, "doers and shakers" who are interested in brainstorming on big ideas that are needed to move education in the right direction. The session is starting in a few seconds, so I'll be reporting back later.