KEYNOTE: Education's Possibilities and What If's

Friday January 29, 2016
3:45 - 5:00 PM
Grand Ballroom

Global changes, together with research informing how children learn, are creating new possibilities for education. Today, we can imagine a new learning landscape of opportunity for all children. What if education could be more project-based instead of textbook-based? What if children could think like scientists through experiences in nature? What if students became excited about learning history through stories of their own communities and peoples? Milton Chen will lead us through an exploration of these possibilities through his experiences at The George Lucas Educational Foundation (edutopia.org) and with the National Park System Advisory Board. 

Presenters
Milton Chen

Dr. Milton Chen is senior fellow and executive director, emeritus at The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), a non-profit operating foundation in the San Francisco Bay Area that utilizes its multimedia website, Edutopia.org, and documentary films to communicate a new vision for 21st Century education. He served as executive director of GLEF for 12 years from 1998 to 2010. Edutopia.org is known as a destination Web site for educators and others interested in educational innovation and has won numerous honors, including the 2009 Webby People’s Voice Award for best education website. 

 

Prior to joining GLEF, he served for 10 years as the founding director of the KQED Center for Education (PBS) in San Francisco. In the 1970s, he was a director of research at Sesame Workshop in New York, helping develop Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and 3-2-1 Contact. Dr. Chen has been an assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and, during 2007-08, was one of 35 Fulbright New Century Scholars.

 

Dr. Chen serves as chairman of the Panasonic Foundation in New Jersey, which supports superintendent leadership and district improvement, and is a member of the board of directors for Sesame Workshop and the California Emerging Technology Fund. He is also a member of the National Park System Advisory Board, appointed by Interior Secretary Jewell to advance the agency’s work in STEM and history/multicultural education. 

 

Dr. Chen’s career has been honored by the Elmo Award from Sesame Workshop, Fred Rogers Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Congressional Black Caucus, Association of Educational Service Agencies, National Parks Conservation Association, and two science centers in the Bay Area, The Exploratorium and the Lawrence Hall of Science. His 2010 book, Education Nation: Six Leading Edges of Innovation in our Schools, was named as one of the year’s 10 best education books by the American School Board Journal. 

 

Perhaps most importantly, on his 50th birthday, Dr. Chen was named a Jedi Master by George Lucas!

 
theme:
leadership
audience:
217
topics:
effective leaders, technology, professional development