This years One Spark will be noticeably different that last years inaugural event.  There is a new education venture debuting at this years One Spark. The Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership – a conference and training venue in northeast Florida – announced the new initiative, #EDSPARK, last November: “#EDSPARK, an initiative of the Schultz Center, will curate a One Spark Venue where Creators with education-related Projects can exhibit at One Spark.”¹ Last year, venues and creators were not really aligned in an thematic way.²

#EDSPARK will be the largest venue at this years One Spark, located on the second floor of the Wells Fargo building in downtown Jacksonville. The curated venue will house a total of 46 education-focused One Spark Creators. In addition to educators, #EDSPARK also opens up One Spark to students and younger creators – the general Creator rules for One Spark require a minimum age of 18. However, for #EDSPARK, “Students must work with an adult mentor on their projects or be a part of a team that includes adults in order to participate in EdSpark curated creator projects.”³

Deborah Gianoulis, the President and CEO of the Schultz Center (Left), commented on the new initiative:

We couldn’t be more excited to become a part of this creative festival…One Spark is an ideal environment for teachers, parents and others interested in innovation in education to bring their ideas, projects, concepts and products to life. In addition, it opens One Spark to students under 18 and provides them with a platform to dream big and out of the box on anything in which they have an interest.⁴

Beyond a curated, education-focused venue, #EDSPARK will have an additional role at One Spark 2014:

In addition to adult and student Creators, EdSpark will recruit student performers from throughout the region to our venue downtown during the five days of One Spark. The Schultz Center will serve as a staging area for all school field trips to connect with a personal One Spark Volunteer Guide to tour the festival.⁵

#EDSPARK is shaping up to be a very informative and useful initiative. #EDSPARK is definitely be near the top of our list for One Spark 2014.

Here is a short video discussing #EDSPARK:

Check out all of our One Spark 2014 coverage.