blended 2016 Reflections and Information

MONDAY MORNING KEYNOTE
​
George Seimens

​George Siemens researches, technology, networks, analytics, and openness in education. Dr. Siemens is Professor and Executive Director of the Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge Research Lab at University of Texas, Arlington and cross-appointed with the Centre for Distance Education at Athabasca University. He has delivered keynote addresses in more than 35 countries on the influence of technology and media on education, organizations, and society. His work has been profiled in provincial, national, and international newspapers (including NY Times), radio, and television. He has served as PI or Co-PI on grants totaling more than $11m, with funding from NSF, SSHRC (Canada), Intel, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Soros Foundation.  He has received numerous awards, including honorary doctorates from Universidad de San Martín de Porres and Fraser Valley University for his pioneering work in learning, technology, and networks. He holds an honorary professorship with University of Edinburgh and adjust status with University of South Australia.

​Dr. Siemens is a founding President of the Society for Learning Analytics Research (http://www.solaresearch.org/). He has advised government agencies Australia, European Union, Canada and United States, as well as numerous international universities, on digital learning and utilizing learning analytics for assessing and evaluating productivity gains in the education sector and improving learner results. In 2008, he pioneered massive open online courses (sometimes referred to as MOOCs). He blogs at http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/and on Twitter: gsiemens

---

CLOSING KEYNOTE

Shelley Wright

​Shelley Wright has been a teacher for fifteen years, as well as a K-8 administrator & Learning Consultant. She is also a National Faculty member for Buck Institute for Education and a PD Specialist for Discovery Education. Shelley’s passion in education is social justice, inquiry learning and helping her students make the world a better place.  As a result of a social media campaign they created, Shelley and her students won the MindShare Learn 21st Century Video Challenge as one of the most tech savvy classes in Canada.

---

blendED 2016 Symposium Schedule
​https://blended2016a.sched.org

blendED 2016 Pre-Conference Schedule Sunday, Oct 23
https://blended2016preconference.sched.org

Keynote and Panel Members include:

George Seimens - George Siemens is a writer, theorist, speaker, and researcher on learning, networks, technology, analytics and visualization, openness, and organizational effectiveness in digital environments. Dr. Siemens is the Executive Director of the Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge Research Lab at University of Texas, Arlington.His role as a social media strategist involves planning, researching, and implementing social networked technologies, with a focus on systemic impact and institutional change. Siemens is a prominent Canadian educator in the massive online open course (MOOC) format. In 2008, Siemens and Stephen Downes designed and taught a MOOC which was reported as a "landmark in the small but growing push toward 'open teaching,'" and has since offered various additional MOOCs which have gained popular worldwide attention. In 2008, he pioneered massive open online courses (MOOCs). He blogs at http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/ and on Twitter: gsiemens

---

Shelley Wright - Shelley Wright has been a teacher for fifteen years, as well as a K-8 administrator & Learning Consultant. She is also a National Faculty member for Buck Institute for Education and a PD Specialist for Discovery Education. Shelley’s passion in education is social justice, inquiry learning and helping her students make the world a better place.  As a result of a social media campaign they created, Shelley and her students won the MindShare Learn 21st Century Video Challenge as one of the most tech savvy classes in Canada.

---

​Monti Tanner - Monti Tanner is the Assistant Principal of the Career and Technology Centre CBe-learn school in Calgary where they offer diverse and unique programs to junior high and high school students. Monti has a Masters of Education in Educational Technology. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/montitanner and learn more about CBe-learn at http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/cbe-learn/e

---

Dr. Guy Tetrault - Dr. Guy Tétrault is the Director of Education/CEO of the Sun West School Division in Saskatchewan. He is recognized by MindShareLearning, eMagazine, as one of Top 10 Canadian Education Newsmakers, gaining national and international recognition for moving his Saskatchewan Sun West School Division on a “Personalized electronically Blended Learning” (PeBL) journey and won CEA, Canadian Education Association, recognition for “Innovation That Sticks” in moving his Saskatchewan school division towards Blended Learning.  Dr. Tétrault helped develop Canada’s first cyber school in 1995, St.Gabriel Cyber School, a partnership between Greater St. Albert and Red Deer Catholic school divisions in Alberta. Since 2014 he has been on the board of C21, Canadians for 21st Century Learning and Innovation, as well as a guest blogger for Canada’s C21 and USA’s P21, Partnership for 21st Century Learning,  – “Piecing Together a Blended Learning System” 2014. He won second place in the Readers’ Digest 2015 competition for Canadian School System Reform and is a recipient of a National Award from C21 on “System Innovation” in 2016.

---