Past Conferences

2017

Delzer is a globally awarded 3rd grade teacher and technology champion in North Dakota. In fact, The New York Times named her "one of the tech-savviest teachers in the United States."  She has ten years of teaching experience in second and third grade. Kayla frequently travels around the United States and other countries as a featured and keynote speaker. She has delivered well over 100 keynotes, one of note being at Twitter Headquarters. On July 23, 2015 she delivered her first TEDx Talk, Reimagining Classrooms: Student as Leaders and Teachers as Learners.

Zehr is a high school English teacher at Washington Community High School in central Illinois. He is internationally recognized for his creativity engaging students in canonical literature and literary devices by integrating themes and characters from the Star Wars franchise. He is also an author for StarWars.com, contributor to StarWarsInTheClassroom.com, host of the award-winning Coffee with Kenobi podcast, and appeared in a Target commercial sharing his love for teaching and Star Wars.  

2016

A life-threatening condition and the inspiring words of the open-heart surgeon who saved his life jolted Musallam out of what he tabs “psuedo-teaching” following 10 years in the field. Today, the dynamic educator’s mission is “to meaningfully integrate multimedia into a hands-on, inquiry-based learning cycle” and to empower fellow educators to employ strategies that similarly foster student learning. His TED Talk “3 Rules to Spark Learning” puts teeth to the importance of sparking curiosity in the classroom.

2015

Kevin Honeycutt , keynote speaker
Launch Me

How can a person connect to the world and grow? How can we learn to market our talents while we cultivate them? How can we teach kids to do the same? With today's tools and adequate passion we can teach kids to build the life they don't know they want...yet. Join me for this fast-paced journey into launching into the life you want and teaching kids to do it too.

2014

Lauren (Wichmann) Hoeft '07, keynote speaker
The Technology-Infused Educator

Hoeft is an Illinois State alumna, 2014 Illinois Teacher of the Year finalist, and technology coach for Prairie Elementary School in Buffalo Grove. She got her M.S. in educational technology and works with teachers to seamlessly integrate technology and differentiate with technology in the classroom.

2013

David Jakes, keynote speaker
Learning at the Speed of Technology

Jakes is a digital learning strategist for the Third Teacher + by Cannon Design in Chicago. Students have access to remarkable technology. From smartphones to Google Glass, how technology is leveraged to support student learning is a question every teacher must address.  Join David Jakes as he explores the dynamic nature of technology and helps you understand the tools and trends that are reshaping what it means to be a learner.