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Ron Clark - Luncheon Keynote Speaker 

Known to many as "America's Educator," Ron Clark is the 2000 Disney American Teacher of the Year, a New York Times Bestselling author, the subject of a television movie and the founder of The Ron Clark Academy. Ron is regularly featured on network and cable television (The Today Show, CNN and Oprah,) and was dubbed by Ms. Winfrey as her first "Phenomenal Man."

Ron Clark brings charisma, energy and devotion to the education profession. Ron pioneered innovative projects in rural

North Carolina working with minority students in a low wealth area. His highly effective programs garnered national attention and led to a White House invitation to be honored by the President of the United States.

Ron Clark's personality is marked by a sense of challenge and adventure. Upon watching a television piece chronicling low test scores and the lack of teachers in inner-city New York, Ron packed his car and moved to Harlem. After being warned by the principal that his class was the least disciplined group she had seen in years, Ron prepared himself by visiting the home of each student before the first day of school. Ron Clark involved his students in projects in the city and state, and his "low achievers" soon began to excel; and by the end of the year, their scores were higher than the “gifted” classes in his district.

In 2003, Ron Clark released the New York Times Bestselling book "The Essential 55" which includes his 55 expectations of students - as well as all individuals - young and old. Ron's second book, "The Excellent 11," was released in August 2004 and further captured the attention of parents, educators and students alike.

Most recently, Ron Clark has founded The Ron Clark Academy, an inner-city school serving students from across metro Atlanta. The privately-funded institution is unique for its innovative teaching methods and curriculum based on worldwide travel. Each year the students, grades 5 through 8, apply their in-class lessons to international adventures. And, by the time of graduation, each child will have visited six of the seven continents. Teachers from around the world visit the Academy to observe the innovative and "out-of-the-box" methods for achieving student success.

In addition to his many duties as an educator, Ron Clark is a much sought after keynote speaker. He shares the uncanny adventures he has had in the classroom and speaks of his experiences teaching in Harlem. Within his humorous and heartwarming stories, he delivers a message relevant to each of us. It is a message of hope, dedication and the never-say-never attitude required to achieve goals and dreams.

Hall Davidson - Featured Speaker

Hall Davidson began teaching in 1971. He taught middle and high school English, mathematics, Spanish, and bilingual mathematics. He has been on the faculty of two colleges teaching technology for teacher credential candidates. He left the classroom to teach math on television in Los Angeles on an Emmy-winning program and spent 20 years at Los Angeles area PBS stations teaching, leading staff development, championing content creation by students and teachers, and ultimately producing television series on education, technology, parenting, and live theater. He frequently contributes articles to national education publications and co-authored TechWorks, an internationally distributed classroom technology kit and with a team founded Kitzu.org, a resource of free online kits to encourage project-based learning with media. He was elected to the board of Computer-Using Educators where he served for six years.

For a dozen years he coordinated the nation’s oldest student media festival, the California Student Media Festival and has reviewed over a thousand student projects. He has keynoted major technology conferences and consulted for professional organizations and corporations and been on advisory boards and committees for organizations as diverse as the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the California School Library Association. He has two children who attended Los Angeles public schools, one of whom is now at the University of California. He was twice re-elected as site chairperson at the local elementary school where the categorical budget required his signature.

He joined Discovery Education in 2005 where he blogs, creates webinars, and works in educational partnerships as a director of the Discovery Educator Network. He has spoken about technology and education to audiences around the world.

Leslie Fisher - Featured Speaker 

Pre-Conference and Concurrent Sessions

Leslie Fishers interest in technology began while studying music at the University of Southern California. She quickly realized the value of utilizing computers for music mixing and recording. She grabbed her 300 baud modem, jumped on the Internet (before anyone really called it the internet) and started looking for music resources. She soon realized she was spending more time discovering technology than playing music so she changed her major and tried to figure out what geeky thing she could do for the rest of her life.

After graduating from USC with a Business and Marketing degree in 1989 and a quick stint as a Trainer, Leslie joined Apple Computer in 1992. When the Internet took off in 1994, Leslie was one of the first Apple employees assigned to study Internet growth and implementation.

In 1997, Leslie was roadkill on Apple's road to recovery and part of their massive lay off. Leslie planned to spend most of her huge severance package golfing and waiting a few months to look for a job. The day after her layoff, her phone began to ring with Apple customers requesting consulting, training and presentation services. Before she could say fore, Fisher Technologies Inc. was created to help educators with their technology implementations and decisions.

Fisher Technologies Inc. is now a worldwide company (meaning one employee named Leslie gets to travel the world teaching) specializing in Web Development, Web Tools as well as Digital Photography, Editing and Workflow.

Kevin Honeycutt - Featured Speaker 

Pre-Conference and Concurrent Sessions

Kevin Honeycutt spent 13 years teaching art in the classroom and working with kids to help them plan for the future. A few years ago he left the classroom for a chance to work at ESSDACK, an educational service center that allows him to research and develop programs that can help educators and learners.

This is an exciting time to be alive and his passion is to help teachers get comfortable with the technology tools their kids need for success in the future. Kevin travels everywhere trying to open new doors and develop new “pockets of possibility”. Another passions is educating kids, parents and teachers on the issues of bullying, cyber-bullying and online safety. Today’s parents are up against it with all of the new realities in kids’ worlds. Kevin has the honor of having a career that permits him the time to research online issues and to share what he learns with people. Kevin remembers there was no internet when he was a kid and nobody taught him how to be and act online. This means that as a father, he has a lot to learn and to keep learning. He knows there are other adults who are missing the skills necessary to guide their kids online and kids don’t always know the real implications of their online behavior.

Kevin likes to bring my personal life experience and a sense of humor to the mission of helping prepare 21st century learners!

Gail Lovely - Featured Speaker 

Pre-Conference and Concurrent Sessions

I am a former classroom teacher in grades K-8. I believe that teaching is my calling and a deep part of who I am. I taught in Southern California inner-city schools for 9 years before moving into first district, and later county-level, positions in staff development and technology in the classroom. I founded a company, Lovely and Associates, to help educators integrate technology and curriculum through excellent staff development and support. Along the way I developed integrated curriculum experiences for teachers and students and provided innovative staff development using innovative models of meaningful and active learning in realistic curriculum-rich settings. I enjoyed being an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University for many years, teaching technology integration courses to students in the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, and also enjoyed my time teaching undergraduates at the University of Houston. Along the way I have hosted an online community for K-2 teachers on Scholastic Network, founded the K2 Email List for Classroom Connect, written ongoing columns in Learning and Leading with Technology, Instructor Magazine, Electronic Learning, and Curriculum Administrator Magazine. I love to teach and continue to do so by sharing my vision for the active classroom, the improvement of the relationship between teacher, learner and curriculum and other inspirational yet practical messages through many keynote sessions at educational conferences and by hosting professional development seminars. I am the proud mother of two technology-savvy boys ages 16 and 19. We currently call Friendswood, Texas home.

Clif Mims - Featured Speaker Pre-Conference and Concurrent Sessions

Clif Mims is a native of the Mississippi Delta and has more than 16 years of teaching experience. He taught elementary and middle school students and coached basketball and math teams to numerous championships. He later became a faculty member at the University of Georgia while simultaneously earning his Ph.D. in Instructional Technology from UGA. Dr. Mims became an assistant professor of elementary mathematics at the University of Mississippi in 2003. Clif joined the University of Memphis' Instructional Design and Technology faculty in 2005 and now serves as Program Coordinator.

His research interests are related to the effective integration of technology with the processes of teaching and learning, especially in teacher education.

Clif is an avid fan of the Mississippi State University Bulldogs and enjoys tennis, camping, fishing, movies and television. He and his wife are the parents of three children.

Pre-Conference LInk: http://clifmims.com/blog/archives/3445.

Kathy Schrock 

Featured Speaker

Concurrent Sessions

Kathy Schrock is the Director of Technology for the Nauset Public Schools on Cape Cod, MA. A large part of her job deals with embedding technology throughout the curriculum in all areas and at all grade levels. Previously a library media specialist, she is very interested in search strategies, evaluation of Internet information, copyright issues, emerging technologies and gadgets, and the use of technology as a tool to support instruction. Kathy is also an Adobe Education Leader, a Google Certified Teacher, and a Thinkfinity Trainer.  Kathy has been an avid user of the Internet since November of 1993, and continues to investigate daily and add links to new sources which will be helpful for educators. She has written hundreds of articles on technology and education and has authored four books about the Internet and its power to support teaching and learning. Kathy created her site, Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators, in 1995, to help teachers easily wade through the many resources on the Internet. In 1999, Kathy partnered with Discovery Education and continues to update the resources available on her site daily.

Alice Yucht 

Featured Speaker

Concurrent Sessions

I’ve been an educator for over 40 years, as a classroom teacher, school and public librarian, student-teaching supervisor, educational consultant, lunchroom overseer, and even (very briefly) a Board of Education member.

In June 2003 I retired from “full-time” work, and now freelance as an online instructor, mentor, writer, consultant, presenter and inservice provider, and resourcerer. Best of all — I get to read anything I want whenever/wherever/however I want!

Over the years I’ve mentored multitudes of fledgling teachers and frazzled school librarians in workshops, courses, and practicums, as well as spontaneous moments of mutual desperation.

Now I teach graduate courses for teachers and librarians in the Professional Development Program at Rutgers (NJ) University’s School of Communication, Information and Library Studies. In 1996 I received the coveted Carlin Award as “the instructor who most successfully employs humor to enlighten and educate,” and in 2006 I was honored as the Part-Time Lecturer of the year.