This month, the Department of Education launched a new collaborative community “designed to identify, improve, and implement innovative solutions to educational challenges” – the Open Innovation Portal. The portal makes use of social media and web 2.0 technologies to provide users with a platform for sharing ideas, connecting with other education innovators, and collaborating on solutions to challenges in teaching and learning.

Utilizing interactive and social media tools (social networking, group rating systems, user reviews, etc.), the Open Innovation Portal allows users to suggest ideas and solutions to specific challenges in education and request feedback and questions from the community. Through collaboration and peer review, innovators can refine their ideas, network with potential funders, and find partners for potential grant proposals or exploratory projects. Check out https://innovation.ed.gov/ for more information.