Carl Hooker
Educational Speaker & ConsultantCarl has been a part of a strong educational shift with thoughtful technology integration ever since he first day stepping into the classroom. From his start as a teacher all the way through becoming a district leader, he’s always held one common belief – the kids need to drive their own learning.
Bio
Carl has been an educator for the past 21 years. He has held a variety of positions in both multiple districts, from 1st grade teacher to Virtualization Coordinator. He’s a father of three girls, Sophia, Lauren, and Caroline and a wonderful, understanding wife Renee, all of which play a large role in any presentations he gives or blogs & books he writes.
As Director of Innovation & Digital Learning for the Eanes Independent School District he utilized his background in both education and technology to bring a unique vision to the district and its programs. During his time in the position, the district jumped into social media, adopted the Google Apps for Education and started to build a paperless environment with Google Docs. He helped spearhead the LEAP (Learning and Engaging through Access and Personalization) which put 1:1 iPads into the hands of all K-12 students at Eanes.
He is also the “Godfather” of the learning festival called LearnFestATX. This festival (formerly known as iPadpalooza) features many unique approaches to engage attendees that a traditional conference doesn’t provide. His events have grown into a global phenomena over the years and has inspired spin-off events in other states as well Australia.
From his start as a teacher to district leadership, he’s always had one common belief – the kids need to drive their own learning. He realizes the challenges in our current educational institutions and meets them head on. His unique blend of educational background, technical expertise, and humor make him a successful driving force for this change. As a speaker and consultant, he brings this background as well as a wealth of practical tools and ideas that teachers can use in their classroom tomorrow.
He speaks on a multitude of topics from thoughtful technology integration with mobile devices to strategies on how to utilize flexible furniture in the classroom. He also enjoys talking to students and parents in the community around the topic of digital wellness.
Carl has a 6-part book series titled Mobile Learning Mindset. All of the books in the series are now available for purchase. These books focus on a different stake-holder and the role they play in a successful mobile learning initiative .
Aside from his speaking and consulting work, Carl also works as an influencer and advisor for multiple Ed Tech start-up companies. He’s also a national advisor for the Future Ready Schools Initiative. He blogs regularly at his blog HookEDonInnovation.com and guest authors a regular blog on Tech & Learning and has written guest blogs for the Huffington Post and Edutopia.
Featured Publications
Mobile Learning Mindset Book Series
- The District Leader’s Guide – How to create and communicate a vision for purposeful technology integration with mobile devices.
- The Parent’s Guide – A wide variety of scenarios and strategies for parents raising kids in the digital age.
- The Teacher’s Guide – Tools for teachers to thoughtfully use technology in the classroom.
- The Principal’s Guide – A variety of ways to engage, empower, and evaluate your staff on the usage of mobile devices in your school.
- The Coach’s Guide – Strategies for how to support staff with a range of practical tools for professional learning when it comes to mobile devices.
- The IT Staff’s Guide – Ideas for how IT can both empower and protect schools and students around mobile devices.