 Ummmm, have you seen our keynote speakers yet? Richard Culatta, incoming CEO of ISTE, will set the tone by kicking off the conference. Culatta is a leader in innovation and education, and has worked in government, non-profit, and the private sectors. Prior to becoming the Chief Innovation Officer for the State of Rhode Island, Culatta was the Director of the Office of Educational Technology for the US Department of Education where he focused on using technology to close equity gaps in schools across the country. Prior to joining the Department of Education, he served as policy advisor to US Senator Patty Murray and as Chief Technology Officer at CIA University. Before his work with the federal government, Culatta was the learning technologies advisor for the David O. McKay School of Education at Brigham Young University and the Director of Operations for the Rose Education Foundation. He began working with instructional technology at the University of Rhode Island where he co-taught the university’s first technology integration workshops for faculty. Culatta is a certified Spanish teacher and active in promoting bilingual and arts education in public schools Then Hack Education founder Audrey Watters will close it out by shaking things up like only Audrey can. Watters is a journalist specializing in education technology news and analysis. She has worked in the education field for the past 15 years: as a graduate student, college instructor, and program manager for an ed-tech non-profit. Although she was two chapters into a dissertation in comparative literature, she decided to eschew the professor track for a different path, and she now happily fulfills the one job recommended to her by a junior high aptitude test: freelance writer. She has written for Edutopia, MindShift, O’Reilly Radar, ReadWriteWeb, and The Huffington Post, in addition to her own blog Hack Education. |
The best feedback we receive from participants is that it’s “the beach bonfire of conferences.” It’s the ultimate bonding experience for lifelong learners who are interested in advancing progressive education practices, enabled by technology. Big ideas, meet fun with friends!
Humble brag moment — we have the best lineup of presenters representing Higher Ed, K-12, museums, and libraries. We believe all learning sectors can and should learn something from each other. That’s how imaginative practices are spread. Preconference workshops are also available for deeper, hands-on learning experiences.
Our 2017 host UMass Boston is kind of a big deal. Situated in one of our favorite cities, the campus is a hotbed for projects that bolster student success. UMass Boston leadership, faculty, and staff will be attending and presenting so you can learn more. Plus, they’re co-hosting what is sure to be a fabulous mix-n-mingle welcome reception.
Oh you’re still reading? Good. That means you have achieved peak attention span to enjoy our attendee-favorite: Five Minutes of Fame. In this plenary, learn about forward-thinking edtech projects in five-minute doses. If a prolific presenter surpasses the five? Laugh at (or with) them as they get gonged off the stage.