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 over 25 years. He has held a variety of positions in both multiple districts, from 1st grade teacher to Director of Innovation & Digital Learning. 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, 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.
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.
Carl has written 8 books including a 6-part book series titled Mobile Learning Mindset. His book Ready, Set, FAIL! focuses on how we should embed risk-taking and failure as part of the creative process in the classroom. His latest book Learning Evolution is all about the new era of AI in the classroom.
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 is also a podcast host for multiple podcasts including the ISTE Learning Unleashed podcast and is co-host with good friend Dr. Adam Phyall on the Future Ready Podcast called Undisrupted.
Aside from his speaking and consulting work, Carl also works as an advisor for multiple Ed Tech companies. He’s also a national faculty member 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.
Carl’s Books
XFactorEDU Books
- Learning Evolution: The New Era of AI in the Classroom – This book highlights strategies around responsibile AI use when it comes to bias, ethics and assessment. It’s the culumination of over 50 expert interviews and has 50 AI tools embedded throughout.
- Ready, Set, FAIL! – Failure makes a great teacher. Students need the opportunity to fail and take risks so they can continue to grow and learn. This book features strategies on how to do this in a classroom.
ISTE 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.