This year’s AECT International Convention features three distinguished speakers who represent diverse perspectives regarding the role of technology and our future professional world. Their contributions represent the focus of the conference emphasis on vigorous discussion, in our world of design, learning, and community. An additional feature of this year’s convention is a panel discussion between these two keynote speakers regarding their views on how AECT will play a future role in the integration of technology into learning environments
 

Yong Zhao, University of Oregon Yong Zhao is currently Presidential Chair and Associate Dean for Global Education, College of Education at the University of Oregon, where he also serves as the director of the Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE). He is a fellow of the International Academy for Education. Until December, 2010, Yong Zhao was University Distinguished Professor at the College of Education, Michigan State University, where he also served as the founding director of the Center for Teaching and Technology, executive director of the Confucius Institute, as well as the US-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence. His research interests include educational policy, computer gaming and education, diffusion of innovations, teacher adoption of technology, computer-assisted language learning, and globalization and education. http://zhaolearning.com/

Malcolm Brown, Director, EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative Malcolm Brown has been Director of the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative since 2009 and has initiated major ELI undertakings such as its Seeking Evidence of Impact program. Prior to assuming the ELI directorship, he was the Director of Academic Computing at Dartmouth College, overseeing a team active in instructional technology, research computing, classroom technology, and pedagogical innovation. During his tenure at Dartmouth, he worked actively with the ELI, contributing chapters to the EDUCAUSE eBooks, helping to plan focus sessions, and serving on the ELI Advisory Board. He has been a member of the EDUCAUSE Evolving Technologies committee and is currently on the faculty of the EDUCAUSE Learning Technology Leadership program. He has been on the board for the Horizon Report since its inception in 2004 and served as Chair of Board of the New Media Consortium. He served as the editor of the New Horizons column for the EDUCAUSE Review. Malcolm holds a pair of BA degrees from UC Santa Cruz; studied in Freiburg, Germany, on a pair of Fulbright scholarships; and has a PhD in German Studies from Stanford University. He has taught several academic courses on Nietzsche and maintains the Nietzsche Chronicle web site. He is a member of the Frye Institute class of 2002. He has given presentations recently at the University of Nebraska; Iowa State University; Deakin University (Australia); Kyoto University (Japan); Duke University; and at the CCUMC, DET/CHE and SUNY Instructional Technology conferences. He hosts the ELI webinar series and has presented on the EDUCAUSE Live! webcast. http://www.educause.edu/Community/MemDir/Profiles/MalcolmBrown/40383

Daniel Willingham, Professor of Psychology,University of Virginia (Pending) Daniel Willingham earned his B.A. from Duke University in 1983 and his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Harvard University in 1990. He is currently Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, where he has taught since 1992. Until about 2000, his research focused solely on the brain basis of learning and memory. Today, all of his research concerns the application of cognitive psychology to K-12 education. He writes the “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” column for American Educator magazine, and is an Associate Editor of Mind, Brain, and Education. He is also the author of Why Don't Students Like School? (Jossey-Bass). His writing on education has been (or is being) translated into ten languages.. http://www.danielwillingham.com/