Opening Keynote @thelivbits

Olivia (aka LivBit) is a 11-year old who is smart about all things shark and hopes to be a future ichthyologist. She is an ambassador for the Gills Club, an organization promoting girls in science through inquiry-based experiences meant to grow enthusiasm and activism for sharks.
Olivia is also a passionate advocate for books and using social media to promote student voice and audience. She loves to tweet out messages that help kids love authors, books, and big ideas about life. Olivia is also an accomplished ballerina and spent several weeks this summer at American Ballet Theater's Summer Intensive Program, where she connected with dancers from all over the world and found out that she is a city girl at heart.
Olivia's work on LivBits has been featured all over the world, including conferences in Singapore and England. She is so excited to be speaking at events, as a voice for kids and social media and looks forward to more opportunities working with authors and organizations who share her drive to promote digital citizenship for kids. She has presented at Twitter San Francisco, the Digital Citizenship Summit, and other conferences.


Closing Keynote-Carl Hooker

Carl Hooker has been a part of a strong educational shift with technology integration during his 22 years in education. He’s a former classroom teacher and school administrator who has led multiple successful 1:1 programs across the country. He's also the author of the six-book series titled Mobile Learning Mindset, a guide for teachers, administrators, parents and others to support and embrace mobile learning in our schools. He’s also a keynote speaker and a consultant for multiple school districts across the country and a Future Ready Schools national faculty member. He also recently started hosting an ISTE podcast called “Learning Unleashed”Follow him @mrhooker on Twitter, his blog https://hookedoninnovation.com and his website at http://CarlHooker.com

Kristen Brooks

Kristen Brooks believes that technology in the hands of her most at-risk students might just be the way to finally narrow the achievement gap. A 23-year veteran educator, Brooks found her niche 14 years ago when she pioneered the first K-5 computer lab in her district. In 2014, Brooks was struck at the lack of smart technology - and its skill set- amongst her school's Title 1 students. Surely, she thought, there was a way to bridge the two worlds. Knowing she had to do something to meet the needs of her students, Brooks opened the first iPad lab in her district and the bridge was built.​She works with all 1175 K-5 students in her school using project learning. From coding to design, her students are given opportunities to grow their technological skill-set and enter the new digital literacy world with confidence. Brooks is also a Certified BrainPOP Educator, an OSMO ambassador, a Seesaw ambassador, a 2015 PBS Digital Innovator Award recipient, a 2016 Apple Teacher and an Apple Distinguished Educator Class of 2017. Creator of the #WESiPadLab in the Cherokee County School District Plus #iPads4Elem and #iPads4Edu presentations at an Educational Technology Conference near you!



Matt Holley

Matt is in his tenth year with Lubbock-Cooper ISD and fifth year in an Emerging Technology Coordinator role. He has had a passion for technology since he was young. Matt continues to stay on the cutting edge of personal tech as well as seeking out new and innovative ways to include technology in the classroom. He is a certified Apple Learning Specialist and creator of the very successful event called Confluence which is a pedagogy and technology conference (learn.lcisd.net) He is also an Apple Teacher and a Google Certified Educator who enjoys fly fishing, Star Wars, gadgets and exploring. Check out https://mholley.lcisd.net/ Twitter: @LCISDMatt

Jenallee

Jeni Long and Salleé Clark are Instructional Technologists with Eagle Mountain Saginaw ISD. This dynamic duo, known as #Jenallee, is passionate about technology integration and making learning accessible & fun for all! Between the two of them, they have presented across the 27 schools in their district, at their Regional Education Service Center, BETT, ISTE, FETC, TCEA, TIA, TCEA for Tots, & across Central America. They are both MIE Experts, MIE Trainers, Ed to the Max Consultants, Flipgrid & Wakelet Ambassadors. Check out more of their work at https://thejenalleeshow.com/ and follow them @Jenallee1 @JLO731 @SalleeClark

Andy Leiser

Andy Leiser is a professional educator and technology integrationist from Hastings, Minnesota. He is passionate about sharing the story of education from the point of learning whilst amplifying the voices of our creative and innovative students to audiences beyond the classroom walls. He wants to ensure that our students are conduits of learning; shining brightly and illuminating the lives of others with new information and ideas. Andy is an Apple Distinguished Educator, a Green Bay Packers owner, and solid example of Minnesota Nice - with a slight, but discernible, accent.

Rosie Fluegel

Mrs. Rosie Fluegel has been a leader in Instructional Technology at McAllen ISD for 20 years. Rosie is at the forefront of new educational technologies and she's deeply committed to helping learners understand the transformational power of digital learning. She has spoken at local, regional and state technology education conferences. Rosie works closely with classroom teachers and principals, as well as district administrators to achieve best practice technology infusion into teaching and learning. She is also a certified Apple Learning Specialist working closely with teachers to make the most of their 1:1 iPad learning environment.

Gonzalo Sandoval

Gonzalo Sandoval - In 1995, I began my career in education as a secondary mathematics and computer science teacher in Edinburg, Texas. After earning a Master’s degree in education, I moved to McAllen ISD as a technology specialist in 2002. As a technology specialist I provide ongoing staff development for teachers and administrators in our district. Technology trainings include iPad and Chromebook integration in the classroom. I provide support for district wide technology components currently implemented in our district such as Robotics and Google Apps. I earned a master's degree in computer science at the University of Texas RGV in 2017.

James Varlack

James Varlack has worked in education for 11 years teaching middle school math and coordinating campus technology. He is a Google Level 1 and 2 Certified as well as a SMART Certified Educator. His goal is to help improve teaching and learning using technology. He hosts the weekly Twitter chat #RGVEduChat connecting educators from around the Rio Grande Valley to each other and around the world. Check out Twitter @jamesvarlack