GSX for Good

A: C.A.R.E. – Connect and Re-Engage Education

Team Members: Lance Ford and Mary Schlegelmilch

Teachers need and want training on how to integrate collaborative technologies into the curriculum. Our idea will use both video and Spark to provide an enterprise level solution, allowing teachers to reach their students before, during and after a classroom engagement. Spark will allow for parent involvement through calendaring/meeting activities. Top of mind for education leaders is student retention and success and they are looking for ways to ensure student engagement. Let’s use the devices that students, parents, and educators already have with Cisco Spark to re-engage the school community.

B: Spark MINION

Team Members: Ian Mc Garry, Lisa Harding, Regan DeDiana, and Sebastien Mignacco

Digitization is redefining our workforce. According to the US Department of Labor, 65% of today’s students will be employed in jobs that do not exist yet. Cisco, providing solutions that are pervasive across IT, has never been in a better position to prepare this new workforce for its impending digital future. This idea provides students the opportunity to learn skills they will need for the future anywhere, anytime in a secure and safe global community.

Spark MINION will be a web based platform where school children can program their own Cisco Spark Bots (a Spark MINION Bot) through simple drag/drop & programming lesson plans. This platform will provide educators with everything they need to develop introductory programming courses including incorporating other Cisco Solutions such as Spark Board.

The solution is designed to motivate children to learn and give them confidence and ability to think about how they might design solutions of their own to help manage their lives, their school workloads and develop skills that will prepare them for the evolving digital economy

C: VIRTUE – Virtual Reality Classroom for Education

Team Members: Brian Narcum , David Fernandez Acosta, and Zeeshan Rizvi

We can provide immersive education and collaboration experiences to children in remote and underdeveloped areas. Effective education requires presence; students can’t learn what they can’t even see. Presence requires costly physical transportation, sharing of facilities and resources. Some students cannot get to a classroom, or simply cannot be present for many reasons. If provided with a virtual reality headset integrated with Cisco Spark, Webex and infrastructure capabilities at the campus, they are instantly transported into the room with everyone else and feel included. Virtual reality will be a part of future education curricula. With VIRTUE, we have a unique opportunity to add this critical evolution to our Cisco Digital Education Platform.

Let’s Celebrate While We Make a World of Difference!

Cisco’s Networking Academy celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Stop by the Makerspace in The Hub to see how the Networking Academy prepares individuals for the workforce of the evolving digital economy. While at the Makerspace, take the opportunity to help build Raspberry Phi Desktops, to be donated to Network Academies around the globe. Own It!

It’s Not Easy Being Green

GSX is committed to sustainability and being socially responsible. We achieved some amazing results last year. This year we want to do even better, and we need your help. Learn how you can help GSX drive good green outcomes! Here are some simple ways to do your part: