Keynotes

Myk Garn

Myk is the Director of Educational Technology for the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with leaders and policymakers in 16 states. The SREB Educational Technology Cooperative provides information and analysis on the potential impact of educational technology to guide schools, colleges, state education agencies, and legislative policy makers as they create and expand effective uses of technology.

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Curtis Bonk

Curtis, Professor of Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University and founder of CourseShare, LLC and SurveyShare, Inc. Curtis teaches instructional systems technology courses (many via distance education--Web and videoconferencing), researches on collaborative educational technologies, and promotes a more learner-centered approach to instruction.He was a former accountant and CPA and educational psychologist. In his third career, he moved from educational psychology to the IST department in July 2005 after serving in ed psych for 13 years. He is also adjunct in the School of Informatics. He has done more than 800 talks around the world for college faculty, corporate trainers, and K-12 teachers on how to teach on the Web (see TrainingShare.com). He also has more than 200 publications (see PublicationShare.com for examples).

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Kristin Kipp

Kristin is the National Online Teacher of the Year 2011 and a high school English teacher and instructional leader for Jeffco’s 21st Century Virtual Academy in Jefferson County School District. In her career at Jefferson County, she has taught eighth through twelfth grade English, been a department chair/instructional leader and served as an instructional coach teaching other teachers. For the past three years she has also been involved with Colorado Online Learning, teaching adjunct courses as well as serving as director of curriculum and instruction.

Jeffco 21st Century Virtual Academy is a tuition-free high school for students age 14 to 20. The school provides rigorous curriculum, which is also used by Jeffco high schools and aligned with state standards.

In her online courses, Kipp stresses three primary connections. First, students should be deeply connected to content, engaging critical thinking as they learn and practice skills. Second, students should be connected with their teacher. Students need to know that there is a caring teacher on the other end of the computer who will not allow them to settle for mediocrity. Finally, students should be connected with each other. Learning is rarely a solitary pursuit, even online. Students need to be interacting with each other to help their learning deepen and broaden.

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Bonita Walker-Jones

Bonita L. Walker-Jones is the co-founder of Virtual Opportunities Inside a School Environment (V.O.I.S.E.) Academy High School. V.O.I.S.E. is the first school to offer the blended-learning model in the Chicago Public School District. At V.O.I.S.E., her responsibilities are: Digital Curriculum Coordinator, Online Learning Specialist, Teacher Mentor, Instructional Leadership Team Member, and Master Teacher. Additionally, Bonita facilitates and authors online courses for Illinois Virtual Schools.