2023 Year in Review
Talk about a big year for The Exchange!
The Exchange started the year by welcoming our build partners in Dallas, setting up our relationships, and discussing big dreams about our work. By the time we got to the summer, our Beta districts were working to inform the design of our products. We met with representatives from districts and charter schools across the state to understand problems educators in all roles experience and how that can be reflected directly in our work. (Learn more about our Human-Centered Design process here.)
Immediately following that event, we bore down into technical work, building dashboards and applications to fit educators' needs. This development cycle began the path to our first products like Leadership Analytics, Rally, our online community, and the Onboarding Wizard and Tech Console.
We had several opportunities to speak on the national stage about our work. The first came at SXSW EDU in March. That early experience set the tone for what others hope to see from Texas' work in data interoperability and how it can be applied in other states. Our team also participated in panels and presentations at the Ed-Fi Summit in October, showcasing the countless hours our build partners and team have put into this solution. We tackled development work and user research, discussing in-depth the needs of teachers in the classroom and administrators on campus, keeping in mind who we are working for every step of the way. In every instance, we were met with optimism about the project and how this work could make an impact.
Our collaborative regions kicked off the Ambassador program in August, so we have the right people in place to help our districts and charter schools. This group is the liaison between The Exchange, regions, and districts to teach them about our products and services and to walk them through the process. In October, we launched the first version of our product and opened the call for all regions who want to join our Ambassador program. This group is critical in showcasing how the power of the Ed-Fi Data Standard and The Exchange products are used and what that can mean for all educators.
In November, we started a new round of development for our next set of enhancements and applications to launch in January 2024.
2023 proved to be an incredible year for our project, and we cannot wait to see what 2024 holds!