In response to the 2020 lockdown, Inflexion partnered with the AP College Board to develop a virtual platform for the AP Summer Institute Conference, ensuring teachers could continue accessing critical professional development resources during a time of global disruption. Inflexion launched a fully featured online solution within 2 months, creating a collaborative virtual environment where teachers could share files, participate in activities, and engage in workshops seamlessly. Today, the platform remains a key offering, extending access to educators who face geographic and financial barriers to attending in-person conferences.
Client Background
The AP Summer Institute Conference is a flagship professional development program hosted annually by the AP College Board. The conference provides training, resources, and collaboration opportunities for AP teachers nationwide, helping them prepare for the challenges of delivering rigorous, college-level coursework. Traditionally hosted in Sacramento, the conference has long been a foundation of teacher preparation, but participation costs, including travel and accommodations, have posed challenges for educators from underfunded or geographically distant school districts.
The Challenge
When the COVID-19 lockdown began in early 2020, the AP College Board faced an unprecedented challenge: how to transition its essential Summer Institute Conference to a fully virtual environment in time for the summer session. With thousands of teachers relying on the conference to prepare for the upcoming school year, there was little time for delays or missteps. Beyond the immediate need to go virtual, the challenge revealed an ongoing equity issue: teachers from underserved communities often struggled to attend in-person events due to high travel costs. The solution needed to address both the urgent pandemic disruption and the long-term need for accessibility and equity.
The Solution
Inflexion leveraged its expertise in custom-built technology solutions to create a fully featured, user-friendly online platform for the AP Summer Institute Conference. Key components of the solution included:
- Collaborative Virtual Tools: Teachers could seamlessly access shared files, engage in group activities, and work together online, replicating the interactive environment of in-person workshops.
- Workshop Facilitation: The platform integrated video conferencing tools, allowing teachers to attend training sessions, participate in discussions, and learn from AP experts.
- Rapid Deployment: Despite the tight timeline, Inflexion launched the fully functional platform by June 2020—just months after the initial lockdown.
This virtual platform not only ensured the continuity of the conference but also introduced a sustainable, accessible option for educators moving forward.
Implementation
Inflexion’s team worked closely with the AP College Board to design and deploy the virtual platform in record time. Understanding the urgency, the team focused on developing a tool that was simple, reliable, and flexible. The platform’s intuitive interface allowed teachers to navigate workshops and collaborative activities easily, ensuring minimal disruption to the learning process. By integrating essential features such as file sharing, interactive activities, and video conferencing, Inflexion created a seamless experience that mirrored the in-person conference as closely as possible.
Results
The platform went live in June 2020, delivering an uninterrupted Summer Institute to thousands of teachers despite the global lockdown. Inflexion’s rapid, equity-driven solution delivered significant benefits to the AP College Board and educators alike. The AP Summer Institute Conference successfully transitioned to a virtual environment, ensuring teachers received critical training on schedule without disruption. By removing geographic and financial barriers, the platform extended access to teachers from underfunded or distant districts, addressing long-standing equity challenges. While in-person conferences have resumed, the virtual platform remains a vital option for educators unable to travel to Sacramento, expanding participation year after year. The rapid deployment of a fully functional, high-quality platform within months, showcases Inflexion’s ability to deliver scalable solutions under pressure.
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