The door to the future is through education. We have a shared dream to create a better future for our students, providing them with the best education now so they will have the best opportunities to succeed in college and their subsequent careers when they are older.
We believe that in order to do this, we must provide our teachers and administrators with the most up-to-date resources they need to succeed. This isn’t just about the hardware and software solutions our schools and district deploy—it also includes social media influencers. These individuals are teachers, administrators, and educational experts who are “in the know.” And although Facebook may have the numbers and Pinterest may be the go-to source for creative lesson content, Twitter is also extremely popular.
So, we thought it might be helpful to share some of the EdTech and e-learning influencers who we believe are driving the conversations and discussions.
Neil C. Hughes: Tech columnist Neil C Hughes interviews innovative startups, EdTech leaders, CEOs, solopreneurs, and entrepreneurs who share their experiences and offer invaluable advice. Recent interviews include the CEOs of The Virtual High School, Lexia Learning, itslearning, and Mark Elliott—our very own Boxlight CEO.
Jeffrey Bradbury, Founder of TeacherCast: Jeff created TeacherCast as a way to help curate resources for teachers and students to help them learn how to use educational technology in their classrooms. What started as a concept has now grown into a globally recognized brand. Check out TeacherCast Podcast, Educational Podcasting Today, and the TechEducator Podcast.
Monica Burns: Dr. Monica Burns is a curriculum and EdTech consultant, Apple Distinguished Educator, and Founder of ClassTechTips.com. As an educator, Monica was part of her school’s Federal Magnet Funding leadership team and a vocal advocate for bringing 1:1 technology into her 5th grade classroom. Realizing the power of tech tools in the classroom, Monica started ClassTechTips.com to provide a resource for educators and administrators on implementing EdTech in the classroom. Since starting ClassTechTips.com, Monica has presented to teachers, administrators, and tech enthusiasts at numerous national and international conferences including SXSWedu, ISTE, and EduTECH. She is a webinar host for SimpleK12 and a regular contributor to Edutopia. Monica is also the author of Deeper Learning with QR Codes and Augmented Reality: A Scannable Solution for Your Classroom (Corwin Press, 2016) and #FormativeTech: Meaningful, Sustainable, and Scannable Formative Assessment with Technology (Corwin Press, 2017).
Alex Corbitt: His Twitter bio lists him as a passionate English teacher (he works at The Bronx School of Young Leaders) who strives to innovate, collaborate, and share. He has over 28,000 followers and is walking the talk as he uses the Twitter community as a “reflective professional learning network” where educators can learn how best to integrate new and existing technologies into their instruction.
Joan Young: Joan is an elementary teacher and academic coach with a keen interest in mobilizing technology to leverage student interests and address learning challenges. In addition to teaching, she has been Teacher-in-Residence at Imagine K12 and served as a consultant to EdTech startups. Joan blogs at allkidscanflourish.blogspot.com, tweets to over 12,000 follwers, and is the author of 25 Super Sight Word Songs and Mini-books (published by Scholastic) and Encouragement in the Classroom (ASCD).
Robert J. Marzano: Robert regularly shares his insights to his 98,000 followers on Twitter. He is the author of 30 books, 150 articles and chapters in books, and 100 sets of curriculum materials for teachers and students in grades K–12. During his 40 years in public education, Marzano has worked in every state multiple times, as well as a host of countries in Europe and Asia. He is also the Co-Founder and CEO of Marzano Research Laboratory, where he spends his days actively translating research and theory into educational practice. He recently participated in an ASCD-sponsored webinar The New Art and Science of Teaching—click here to listen to the recorded webinar and download the handouts.
Be sure to check out Onalytica’s comprehensive list of the top 200 experts, opinion leaders, and brands for EdTech and e-learning for 2016.
Who are some of your favorites? We’d love to hear more, so feel free to share in the comments section below. Want to stay up to date with all things related to education and EdTech? Be sure to subscribe to our Mimio Educator blog!
