Eric Curts
Eric has been in education for 32 years, and currently serves as a Technology Integration Specialist for the Stark/Portage Area Computer Consortium (SPARCC) in North Canton, Ohio where he oversees Google for Education implementation, training, and support, as well as other technology integration initiatives. Eric is an authorized Google Education Trainer and Innovator, and provides training to schools, organizations, and conferences throughout Ohio and across the country. He is a co-leader of the Ohio Google Educator Group.
Eric runs the award-winning blog ControlAltAchieve.com where all of his edtech resources can be found, and is the author of the book “Control Alt Achieve: Rebooting Your Classroom with Creative Google Projects”.
Jeff Spencer
Jeff Spencer is a science instructional coach with the Illinois Regional Office of Education #17 and a researcher at the University of Michigan studying the design, implementation, and adaptation of culturally relevant teaching materials in the classroom. His work focuses on building professional learning structures that support the implementation of practices-based science education in classrooms throughout Illinois. His research focuses on creating partnerships amongst Indigenous community members, research scientists, and faculty in northern Alaska to inform the development of culturally relevant and place-based science curricular materials. Prior to this, Jeff was a high school science teacher for six years at a large, diverse high school in Aurora, CO. At this position, he led teacher professional development around cultural relevance and mentored young teachers as they engaged with the culture of their community. He is also a senior fellow with the Knowles Teacher Initiative, an organization geared towards supporting secondary teacher development and building leadership capacity and is involved in design and facilitation with Open Sci Ed, Modeling Instruction, and the POGIL project. When not teaching and doing research, Jeff spends time with his family, enjoys cooking and eating all types of food, and is an avid cyclist.
Lindsay Zilly
As an edtech working mom of five, I have mastered the art of multitasking. I can create content, facilitate a virtual learning session, and break up a sibling argument all while keeping a pot of coffee brewing. When I’m not revolutionizing the education system, you can find me binge-reading educational documentaries and trying to convince my kids to appreciate the beauty of a well-organized lesson plan.
I am a lifelong learner and for the past 17 years, I have had the privilege of creating meaningful professional learning experiences for students and educators. I help connect teachers to experts and provide instructional support for educators. I have been a Director of Professional Learning, an instructional technology coach, an intermediate school teacher and am now a Senior Program Strategist. In every role I take on, I work towards fostering a culture of innovation in today’s generation and partner with them to be responsible and ethical life-long learners of the digital age. I am a Google Certified Educator, Apple Learning Specialist and Microsoft Innovative Educator.
Follow Lindsay on Twitter and Instagram:
@Lindsay_Zilly
Pam Harris
Pam Harris is a mom, a former high school math teacher, a university lecturer, an author, and she wants to change the way we view and teach mathematics. While Pam was teaching high school math, her four children grew and mathematized their world in a way she had never imagined. “I had always bought into the myth that math is a disconnected set of facts to memorize, with rules and procedures to mimic. I now call that fake math.”
Pam’s own kids, research, and experiences teaching real math have shown her what it means to mathematize and to support learners in their own journeys. Real math is thinking mathematically, not just mimicking what a teacher does on the board. You can shift your brain from using rote memory to mathematizing. Pam helps teachers make this shift for themselves, and helps teachers teach in a way that supports students to learn real math.