Join UNESCO and Education Fast Forward on September 17th @ 3pm as they debate “Mobile learning for the Masses”

With mobile learning experts from across the world. Live, online and free to join. No need to register, just click to watch. Watch the live stream at http://bit.ly/EFF11Debate and tweet questions and comments to #EFF11

Mobile learning has triggered again the discussions about the unfulfilled potential of technology in education. With quite different meanings according to contexts, mlearning has recently emerged as a major opportunity to transform school education, bring more learning opportunities at home or even to reach marginalized populations, be that from a geographical or social perspective. In short, one would think that mobile learning is here to stay. However, there is a need to take stock of where we are, particularly drawing on impact evaluation studies and research, throwing light on how to generate realistic expectations and what could be the criteria for successful implementation of mlearning initiatives.

BACKGROUND ON EDUCATION FAST FORWARD
What is Education Fast Forward?
Education Fast Forward (EFF) brings together leading global experts and change agents from the world of education to debate the topics that matter most. The forum addresses the key challenges facing governments, educators and employers both now and in the future, and aims to find practical resolutions.

WHO ARE THE SPEAKERS?

Professor Miguel Nussbaum

Miguel Nussbaum is a professor at the Computer Science Department of the School of Engineering of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. In 2011 he was honoured with the Chilean award for innovation in the Education category, and he has been a member of Chile’s Agency for Quality in Education since 2012. His work in instructional design, which integrates the use of technology, is focused on how to change teaching practices in the classroom to make children the protagonists of their learning experience. His scientific developments have been implemented in schools in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the United States, Great Britain, Guatemala, India, Sweden and UK, and have received the support of UNESCO. He also studies the use of educational games in the classroom, and school effectiveness.

David Atchoarena

David Atchoarena is the Director of the Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems at UNESCO. His Division covers, among other areas, ICT in Education and hosts a dedicated programme on mobile learning.

To date UNESCO has published over 15 papers on mobile learning, including global and regional reviews of mobile learning initiatives as well as scans of projects that leverage mobile technology for teacher development.  The UNESCO Policy Guidelines for Mobile Learning is a flagship publication that was produced with input from a diverse set of stakeholders, including over 15 UNESCO Member States.  First released in 2013, the Guidelines describe the unique educational advantages of mobile technology and articulate strategies to build enabling policy environments in which these advantages can take root and grow.

Recently, Mr. Atchoarena’s division has been investigating how mobile services can advance literacy.  Findings from a year-long study on the habits, beliefs and demographic profiles of mobile readers in developing countries were published earlier this year in a book called Reading in the Mobile Era. The book points to strategies to expand mobile reading and, by extension, the socio-economic benefits associated with increased reading.

In parallel with its research, policy and knowledge-sharing work, Mr. Atchoarena’s Division oversees mobile learning field projects in Nigeria, Mexico, Pakistan and Senegal.  Each country project employs a different approach to support the work of teachers. The projects have expanded the knowledge base of how mobile technology can be leveraged to make teachers more effective. The UNESCO service in Nigeria which seeks to build the capacity of English language teachers has reached over 70,000 users after just one year of operation.

Mr. Atchoarena’s Division also hosts an annual conference called Mobile Learning Week. The event attracts education leaders and practitioners from around the world. Mobile Learning Week 2015 will be hosted in partnership with UN Women to explore how mobile technology can empower women and girls.

Before joining UNESCO Headquarters, Mr. Atchoarena worked at the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning.  At the Institute, he contributed to develop the capacities of officials from Ministries of Education as the head of the Training and Education Programmes Unit.

Prior to working for UNESCO, Mr. Atchoarena served as Chargé de Mission at the National Agency for Lifelong Education in the French Ministry of Education and as a project coordinator in the Ministry of Finance and Planning in Saint Lucia.

Mr. Atchoarena is a Special Professor at the University of Nottingham (UK) and holds a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Debate Chair
Gavin Dykes (@gavindk)

Gavin Dykes is co-Founder and Director of EFF. Gavin is a Civil Engineer who went into further and higher education before being invited to work with government in the development of innovation and the use of technology to support teaching, learning and education. He is now an independent education and technology advisor who works with governments, agencies, major corporations and institutions across the world on education policy and strategy.

Gavin’s current roles include that of Programme Director for the Education World Forum, an annual meeting of Education Ministers, Programme Director for the Asian Summit on Education and Skills, Visiting Scholar for the Quaglia Institute of Student Aspirations and Senior Director of International Relations for the New Media Consortium.

Gavin key interests include development of learner voice and building learning around student aspirations, and building practice, strategies and policies that encourages progress in these areas. Critically for Education Fast Forward, he believes that collaboration among all education’s interested stakeholders can help tune and improve teaching and learning, and provide greater opportunities for success for its students.

WHICH COUNTRIES WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN THE DEBATE?

So far we have people joining us by Cisco TelePresence or WebEx from the following countries:
Australia
Canada
Chile
Denmark
Egypt
France
Hong Kong
India
Lebanon 
South Africa
United Kingdom
United States of America

We expect that as more people confirm their attendance more countries will be added to the list.

WHO ELSE WILL BE ATTENDING?

Below is a list of confirmed attendees. As and when we receive biographies and pictures we will be posting them on the event web pages on www.effdebatre.org and also on Facebook

Guest  About
Steven Anderson
@web20classroom
Joining from the USA

  Steven W. Anderson is the Content and Relationship Evangelist for Promethean. As a former teacher and Director of Instructional Technology he is highly sought after for his expertise in educational technology integration and using social media for learning. As @web20classroom he regularly travels the country talking to schools and districts about the use of Social Media in the classroom and how they can better serve students through technology. Steven been recognized with the 2009 and 2011 Edublogs, Twitterer of The Year Award, a Microsoft Heroes of Education Award, along with a 2013 Bammy Award, recognized worldwide as the Educational Emmy, for his work with #edchat.
Marie Bjerede
@mbjerede
Joining from the USA

Marie Bjerede is a nationally recognized authority on mobile learning, a CoSN project director for the Leadership for Mobile Learning and Smart Education Networks by Design initiatives, founder of e-Mergents, and a 25-year veteran executive leader in high-tech and wireless communication development. Bjerede currently advises schools, startups, and technology leaders on the products, practices, and platforms that enable and scale authentic learning and teaching with technology.

Jim Buchan
@jimbuchanruach
Joining from Scotland

Jim has a long experience of deploying ICT to support the Education process. He has worked at all levels of education including work as a teacher (Secondary education – 10 years) and Senior Lecturer (HE – teacher education – 16 years). During a period of 28 years Jim fulfilled a range of job roles from classroom teacher to senior lecturer with a growing emphasis as an Educational ICT adviser and strategist.

In the mid 1990’s Jim undertook his first secondment when he was the lead National Development Officer as part of Scotland’s Education Superhighways Task Force. This resulted in the publication of the handbook for developing the use of ICT and the Information Superhighway for education purposes in Scottish schools. This work laid a foundation for subsequent work that lead to the establishment of the Scottish Schools Digital Network (SSDN) Program which included the implementation of the SSDN Interconnect and Glow.
Abel Caine
@abelcaine
Joining from France

Mr Abel Caine is a Programme Specialist with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the Knowledge Societies Division based at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. He is responsible at global level for the Programme for Open Educational Resources (OERs), and the YouthMobile Initiative.

Open Educational Resources are any type of learning materials released with an open license or into the public domain allowing users to freely and legally copy, use, revise, and distribute adaptations. Mr Caine manages a comprehensive Programme assisting Governments and key stakeholders with expert advice on policy development, capacity-building, online communities of practice, research and publications, and convening large events for sharing of best practices to achieve the Education for All Goals.
Pete Cevenini
@pcevenini
Joining from the USA

Pete Cevenini is the Chief Information Officer in the Division of Information Technology at the Maryland State Department of Education. Prior to this Pete wad rge education and workforce development lead for the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) in North America. IBSG consults with many of the world’s leading companies and governments to help them become more effective through changed business processes and intelligent technology deployment.

Before joining Cisco, Peter spent 17 years as a public educator, serving in various roles including curriculum specialist, local director and high school principal (a position he held for nine years). Peter designed, built and opened North Point High School, one of Cisco’s premier 21st century schools, which has received state, national and international recognition. Peter also teaches graduate-level statistics part-time at The George Washington University in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development.
David Coltart
@DavidColtart
Joining from South Africa

Since returning to Zimbabwe in 1983 David Coltart has been one of Zimbabwe’s preeminent human rights lawyers. In the 1980s and 1990s he represented or advised many leading opposition politicians from Joshua Nkomo’s ZAPU party and Zimbabwe’s first back Chief Justice Enock Dumbutshena’s Forum party. In 1999 Morgan Tsvangirai asked him to become the founding legal secretary of the MDC. Since then he has been an MP and then Senator until July 2013 when he narrowly lost his seat in the highly controversial Zimbabwean general election held on the 31st July 2013. Since 2009 he has been Zimbabwe’s Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture.
John Connell
@I_Am_Learner
Joining from Scotland
  John Connell is an independent consultant. Prior to this John was Education Specialist working for Cisco across the world. He worked for 25 years in the public sector in Scotland, at all levels of education from teacher and head teacher to national policy adviser and national project director.
John initiated and then led for six years the world-class Scottish Schools Digital Network project, now known as Glow.

John has spoken at many events and conferences across the world about the conjunction of education and technology. Most recently, he spoke in Namibia, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Costa Rica, Azerbaijan, Slovakia and the UK. He is also a well-known voice in the world of educational blogging.
Jennifer Corriero
@jenergy
Joining from Canada

Jennifer Corriero is co-founder and Executive Director of TakingITGlobal, a non-profit organization with the aim of fostering cross-cultural dialogue, strengthening the capacity of youth as leaders and increasing awareness and involvement in global issues through the use of technology.

In 2005, Jennifer was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and, in 2007, as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network and as a York University Bryden Alumni Award winner. In 2007, TakingITGlobal was recognized by the Tech Museum Awards as the Education award winner.
Michael Flood
@michaelmflood
Joining us from the USA

Michael Flood focuses on technology’s transformative role in education with a particular emphasis on Mobile Learning. At Kajeet, Michael leads Education industry initiatives including strategy and product. Kajeet’s focus is to work with schools and school districts to provide education broadband access off-campus in an equitable and scalable model.

Michael is a frequent speaker and guest-lecturer on topics such as Education Technology, Digital Equity, Mobile Learning and non-profit development.

Michael Furdyk
@mfurdyk
Joining us from Canada

Michael Furdyk is the co-founder of TakingITGlobal which provides innovative global education programs that empower youth to understand and act on the world’s greatest challenges.

In the past, he turned his interest in technology into several successful online companies, including MyDesktop.com, which sold to Internet.com in 1999. In 2008, he was named by Contribute magazine as one of 10 Tech Revolutionaries Redefining the Power and Face of Philanthropy.

Michael has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, presented at TED, and was named one of Teen People’s “Twenty Teens that will Change the World”. Over the last decade, he has keynoted over 100 events across sectors, sharing his social media expertise and insights on youth engagement and educational reform to audiences in over 30 countries. He sits on several non-profit boards, including the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition, and on the International Advisory Council for Microsoft’s Partners in Learning program.
Adrian Godfrey
Joining us from the UK  Adrian Godfrey joined GSMA in June 2013 to head the mEducation team, part of GSMA’s connected living programme. His team focuses on mobile’s role in education, skills development and employment and on creating a shared value proposition for Mobile Network Operators, education systems, consumers and ecosystem partners.

Adrian’s previous role at Cisco Systems was as a Director of Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), consulting on public sector reform at the intersection of technology and processes, with a personal focus on Education and Skills development.

He represented Cisco at the UN Global Alliance for ICT for Development (UN-GAID) sits on several advisory boards, including the Digital Opportunity Trust www.dotrust.org and served on a UK Government Independent inquiry into the use of web 2.0 technologies in higher Education.
Lucy Gray
@elemenous
Joining us from the USA

Lucy is an educational consultant, working with a variety of institutions and companies on 21st century learning initiatives. She often speaks at conferences and leads professional development efforts in public and independent schools. Groups she has worked with include Apple, Google, Cisco, Edmodo, CoSN, Chicago Public Schools and an assortment of schools and districts piloting mobile learning deployments.

Lucy’s current areas of interest are related to educational innovation and include mobile learning, project-based learning, search literacy, and global education. In 2007, Lucy founded the Global Education Collaborative, a network of 18,000+ educators interested in collaboration which has been expanded into the Global Education Conference. Lucy has also been awarded the Google Certified Teacher and Apple Distinguished Educator distinctions and in 2014, she received the Making IT Happen award from the Illinois Chapter of the International Society for Technology in Education.
For more information, please visit her web site at http://lucygrayconsuting.com.
Bob Harrison
@bobharrisonset
Joining us from the UK

Bob Harrison has had extensive experience in schools and colleges as a teacher, senior manager, Principal and Governor. He has worked with Head teachers and senior leaders in developing leadership skills for the National College of Teaching and Leadership College Principals Qualification and the Building Schools for the Future Leadership programme. Bob is also Vice Chair of Governors at Northern College and a governor of a Trafford school.

Bob was made an Honorary Life member of CGLI for services to Vocational Education following 12 years as Chief Examiner.
He has been Toshiba’s Education Adviser for 13 years and is a writer, presenter and researcher on mobile learning, digital technologies and next generation learning. Toshiba is the “lead employer” in the Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology.

He is currently the Chair of the Teaching Schools New Technology Advisory Board, a HE/Industry/Schools/DfE/NCTL group which aims to ensure that the next generation of teachers have the necessary skills to prepare children for their lives as workers and digital citizens in the 3rd Millennium.

Merlin John
@merlinjohn
Joining us from the UK

Merlin John is a London-based freelance journalist and consultant who runs his own website, Agent4change.net, which focuses on learning with technology, and works with a number of organisations and publications. He was given a BETT Outstanding Achievement for ICT in Education Award in 2012 for “exceptional journalism and recognition for the need for discussion”.

A journalist for 40 years, in his 18 years at The Times Educational Supplement he founded and edited TES Online magazine which became the leading UK publication covering learning and teaching with ICT. Along with its sister publication, TES Teacher, it tracked the enormous changes being brought about in and outside schools by adding technology to the learning mix, from the early days of the BBC computers until News International eventually sold The TES and the publication restructured in 2006.

He also helped set up the National College’s Future website to support school leaders facing the challenges of innovation and transformation as part of their roles in capital projects like Building Schools for the Future and the Primary Capital Programme.
Matthew Kam
@matthewkam
Joining us from the USA

Dr. Matthew Kam is a seasoned professional in user experience design, usability analysis and educational technology who seeks to change lives by inventing technology solutions that offer dramatic improvements over existing solutions. He has 10+ years of experience in recruiting, managing and mentoring more than 100 team members to execute high-quality technology projects in cross-cultural international contexts. Kam has played pivotal roles in technology projects that spanned personal computers, mobile phones, tablets, speech recognition, motion sensors, robots and interactive TVs.

He is best known as a pioneer in designing, producing and piloting mobile software applications on low-end mobile phones that have shown measurable outcomes in improving literacy among rural and urban slums communities. He was invited by UNESCO to author a case study on mobile phones for women and girls literacy, which is expected to appear in early 2014.
Lord Knight
@jimpknight
Joining from the UK

Jim Knight was the longest serving Schools minister in the UK government led by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown; he also served as Rural Affairs minister and Employment minister. He attended weekly Cabinet in the year running up to the 2010 General Election, and was made a Lord by the Queen after that election.

Jim’s main policy interests are education, employment, skills and digital technology. Having co-ordinated Ed Balls Leadership Campaign he is now Shadow Defra minister in the House of Lords. He works as a consultant specialising in advising on the use of technology in education and employment; currently working with TSL Education, Alderwood Recruitment and Step-A International Ltd. He is a co-owner of Vigasolar Ltd, developer of solar powered digital projectors for wireless use of iPads in Africa and Asia.

He is chair of the UK Online Foundation and HTI Education Trust, and is a trustee of the e-Learning Foundation, and Apps for Good.
Keith R. Krueger
@keithkrueger
Joining from the USA  Keith R. Krueger is CEO of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), a non-profit organization that serves as the voice for K-12 school system technology leaders in North America.

CoSN’s mission is to empower educational leaders to leverage technology to realize engaging learning environments. In 2008, Keith was selected by eSchool News as one of ten people who have had a profound impact on educational technology over the last decade. He serves on many Advisory Boards including eSchool News, the Education Committee of the National Park System, the American Productivity Quality Council, the Virtual High School Global Consortium, the Friday Institute at NC State University and the Wireless Reach Advisory Board.

He is a past Board Member/Treasurer of the National Coalition on Technology in Education & Training (NCTET). Keith has a global reputation as a key thought leader and has organized senior level U.S. delegations to visit Australia, Asia, Europe and South America to examine best practice in information and communication technologies in education.
As a Certified Association Executive (CAE), he has an extensive background in non-profit management and has a Masters from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
Sean McDougall
@seanmcdougalluk
Joining from the UK

Sean McDougall is internationally acknowledged as a pioneer in the field of co-design and stakeholder engagement and works as a consultant for governments, think-tanks and social service providers around the world.

He first came to prominence while running a campaign on the design of secondary level learning for the Design Council. His work on user-led design of primary learning then won Futurelab’s 2006 innovation competition.
More recently, he worked as lead designer on Project Faraday (a UK initiative to conceive and prototype a new approach to science teaching and learning). He presently holds a visiting lectureship at Trinity College Dublin in user-led design of public services.
Osama Manzar
@OsamaManzar
Joining from India

Osama Manzar is a convert social entrepreneur spearheading the mission to overcome the information barrier between India’s rural sector and the so-called developed society, through Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) –– the not-for-profit organization founded to accomplish the mission; http://www.defindia.net.

Osama has been British Chevening Fellow in 2002 and recently in 2011 he was invited by US State Department for the “International Visitors Leadership Program”.

He just released his 4th Book called “NetCh@kra: 15 Years of Internet in India” http://netchakra.net. His other titles are: “e-Content: Voices from the Ground” (http://www.econtentworldwide.org); “Internet Economy of India”; “India’s Best e-Contents”, and “Development & Digital Inclusion”.

He is a Member, Working Group, Internet Proliferation & Governance for Ministry of Communication & IT and was a Member, Task Force on Growth of IT, ITES & Electronics HW Manufacturing Industry, Ministry of Comm & IT, India. 
Eliane Metni
@emetni
Joining from the Lebanon  Eliane is currently researching education at the Institute of Education, University of London. She has recently led the development of Ennoveo’s holistic practice-based School Professional Development programme, which is accredited by The College of Teachers, UK.

An early adopter of ICT in learning, she has pioneered global projects since 1999 and created the award winning iEARN-USA online teacher professional development courses, which have reached over 2,500 educators in over a 100 countries. She co-designed and led the Douroub ICT-based professional development programme and platform for Yemen as part of the national “Quality of Education” programme with the Social Fund for Development. In partnership with Cisco Systems and in collaboration with the Ministry of Education in Lebanon, she developed the I-DO programme to have teachers and students create re-usable digital educational content (videos, wikis and blogs) that supports the existing curriculum.

She is a co-founder of two non-profits, the International Education Association IEA (Lebanon, 2003) and the Global Teenager Foundation (Netherlands, 2011) and of Ennoveo (Lebanon, 2011).
Riel Miller
@RielM
Joining from France

Riel Miller is Head of Foresight at UNESCO. For 30 years Riel Miller’s work has concentrated on how to use the future to assess and direct the potential for socio-economic transformation in the private and public sectors. He started his career at the OECD Economics Department in 1982 and has worked as a Senior Manager in the Ontario Civil Service (Ministries of Finance; Universities; Industry) and for the International Futures Programme at the OECD for a decade. In 2005 Riel founded a specialized global consultancy, xperidox futures consulting, that helps clients to use the future strategically. His clients range from the Governments of Ireland, UK, Norway, Scotland, Finland, Canada, Korea, Singapore, Romania, France, etc. to international organizations like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Commission and the United Nations Development Program to private companies like Cisco Systems, Philips, Alstom, Gemalto, Poyry, Promethean, etc. to regional governments like the state of Catalonia, province of Ontario, etc.

Riel is widely published on topics ranging from the future of: the global economy, the financial sector, the internet, education systems, social equity, etc.
Sugata Mitra
@Sugatam
Joining from Edinburgh

Prof. Sugata Mitra is Professor of Educational Technology at the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences at Newcastle University, UK. He is the instigator of the Hole in the Wall (HIW) experiment, where in the year 1999 a computer was embedded within a wall in an Indian slum at Kalkaji, Delhi and children were allowed to freely use it. The experiment aimed at proving that kids could be taught computers very easily without any formal training. Sugata termed this as Minimally Invasive Education (MIE). The experiment has since been repeated at many places.

His interests include Children’s Education, Remote Presence, Self-organising systems, Cognitive Systems, Physics and Consciousness. The Hole in the Wall experiment has left a mark on popular culture.

Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup read about Mitra's experiment and was inspired to write his debut novel that went on to become the Oscar winning movie of 2009 - Slumdog Millionaire. He is a PHD in Physics credited with more than 25 inventions in the area of cognitive science and educational technology. He was conferred the prestigious Dewang Mehta Award for Innovation in Information Technology in the year 2005. Amongst many other awards, he was awarded the 1 million dollar TED Prize in 2013
Kirsten Panton
@kpanton
Joining is from Denmark   Kirsten works as the Partners in Learning Director for Western Europe in Microsoft. Partners in Learning (PiL) is Microsoft’s global program for partnering with governments, educators and institutions in order to meet the demands for 21st Century Skills.

Before joining Microsoft in 2003 as then the Partners in Learning Manager in Denmark, Kirsten spent 15 years working in the education sector. This includes 11 years at Niels Brock, the largest business college in Denmark in the roles of teacher, program manager and Head of Information. She also held the position of Head of Teacher Development, designing and implementing key pedagogical development for the 2,000 teachers at the college.

Previous to entering the world of education Kirsten spent 12 years in the modern industrial design industry where she was head of buying at Form & Farve – a retail store selling modern industrial design. Her responsibilities included working with international companies, like Crate and Barrel in the US, Marimekko in Finland and others on procuring goods for resale within Denmark.
Francesc Pedró
@FrancescPedroED
Joining us from France  Prof. Francesc Pedró joined UNESCO’s education sector in Paris (France) in 2010, where he leads the work on education policies. His multinational team carries out national policy reviews and comparative international research in areas such as the monitoring and assessment of education, policies to support school leadership and emerging issues in governance in developing countries. Prior to this he worked at the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI). In his capacity as senior policy analyst, he was responsible for a number of projects including the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) and the New Millennium Learners Project. He was also in charge of the reviews of educational R&D in OECD countries and of a project on Systemic Innovation in Education.

Between 1998 and 2005 he was professor of comparative education and public policies at the Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona) and academic director of its program for educational quality. He also chaired the university entrance examinations system in Catalonia. Prior to this, he was pro-vice chancellor of educational research and innovation, as well as of international relations, at the Open University of Catalonia (Barcelona), the first Internet-based European public university.
Katrina Reynen
@ReynenKatrina
Joining us from Australia  Katrina has experience at a senior level in all three sectors – government, not-for-profit and corporate. She is currently the Industry Lead, Education at Optus/SingTel where she is responsible for developing the vision for education in Optus Australia and bringing the online teaching and learning capability of the globally powerful SingTel Group to the Australian education market.

Katrina is also a Director on the Board of the Skyline Education Foundation Australia which provides scholarships and a wealth of personal and career support to disadvantaged, gifted VCE students. As an active Fellow of the Williamson Community Leadership Program, she works with Leadership Victoria on a variety of NFP activities.

Katrina’s career has largely focused on education management and ICT enabled improvement of teaching and learning. She spent 17 years in the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in strategic planning policy and program design, in areas as diverse as gifted education, women in leadership, executive development and coaching, innovation in classroom design and eLearning.
Ken Royal
@kenroyal
Joining us from the USA Presently Ken Royal works as Promethean education content specialist. Ken is also an educator with 34 years of classroom, school, and district level experience, which included instructional technology specialist. Work today includes blogging at Connect Learning Today, video reviews, education news reporting, interviews, and onsite school and education conference coverage.

Post teaching career stops have been senior technology editor with Scholastic, print and online, and District Administration print and online product/technology editor.

Ken’s teaching accomplishments include: 4-time district teacher of the year, at different grade levels, and Connecticut Middle School Teacher of the Year, as well as Bill and Melinda Gates award for Technology School of Excellence.
Cathy Rubin
@CMRubinWorld
Joining from the USA

C. M. Rubin (Cathy) is the founder of CMRubinWorld, an online publishing company focused on education, entertainment and lifestyle, and the co-founder of Henmead Enterprises, Inc., a publishing and strategic consulting company. Rubin’s 30 years of experience as an author, journalist, editor, executive, and entrepreneur in the fields of publishing, film, television, video and education have fostered her expertise in identifying and evaluating national and global trends in key economic sectors and industries, including the impact of innovation and technology.
Michelle Selinger
@michsel
Joining from the UK
Dr. Michelle Selinger is CEO of ConsultEdu, an independent think tank and consultancy offering bespoke solutions and strategic advice specialising in the effective use of educational technology and in the design of innovative online and face-to-face learning and teaching environments at all levels of education.

Michelle has a background as a teacher, a teacher educator and an education researcher, and worked as Education Director in Cisco’s Consulting Services until December 2013.

Michelle has given her a detailed understanding of what makes for innovative and constructive learning environments.  She has advised governments and institutions on successful educational change programs; developed strategies that help to transform the ways in which technology can have a real impact on learning and teaching; facilitated strategic development workshops and program management; and implemented innovative solutions in a range of educational contexts.
Tarek Galal Shawki
@t_shawki
Joining us from Egypt

Tarek Galal Shawki is currently the Dean of the School of Sciences and Engineering at the American University in Cairo (AUC). This academic assignment started on September 1, 2012, following a four-and-a-half year tenure as the Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science in Arab States (2008–2012) located in Cairo, Egypt.

Prior to his UNESCO Cairo Office appointment in June 2008, Dr. Shawki was the Chief of the Section for ICTs in Education, Science and Culture within the Information Society Division in UNESCO headquarters (Paris, France). He has served as the Regional Advisor for Communications and Information at the UNESCO Cairo Office (UCO) between January 1999 and November 2005.
Mike Trucano
@trucano
Joining us from the USA

Mike Trucano is the World Bank's Senior ICT and Education Policy Specialist, serving as the World Bank's focal point on the topic within the education sector and leads the World Bank's related analytical work on under its flagship Systems Approach for Better Education Resultsinitiative as it relates to information and communication technologies (SABER-ICT).
In addition, Mike provides advice and support to World Bank country-level education projects seeking to utilize ICTs in various ways in multiple countries around the world; current areas of activity include ICT/education policy development, the use of mobile phones in education, ICT and education indicators, 'new economy skills for Africa', development of national ICT/education agencies, child Internet safety, and low-cost 'ICT devices'.
As part of his duties, he co-chairs the World Bank's internal cross-sectoral thematic group on ICT and education, which helps to maintain the organization's internal knowledgebase on related topics and sponsors numerous speakers and knowledge-sharing events each year.
Tim Unwin
@TimUnwin
Joining us from the UK

Tim Unwin is Secretary General of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (2011-2015) http://www.cto.int Chair of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (2009-2014), UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, and Emeritus Professor of Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London.
He has also served as Senior Advisor to the World Economic Forum’s Global Education Initiative and Academic Advisor to the Institute of Masters of Wine. Further to the above, he led the UK Prime Minister’s Imfundo initiative between 2001 and 2004.

Tim is interested in all areas of education and is passionately committed to the use of ICT to enable street children and people with disabilities to lead more fulfilled lives. His latest collaborative book, entitled simply ICT4D, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2009.
Sr Margaret Wong
Joining us from Hong Kong

  Sr Margaret Wong has been a principal with St Paul’s Secondary School from 1977–1990 and now with St Paul’s Convent School since 1992. She obtained her B.Ed. degree with Maria Assumpta College, a constituent college of the University of London, followed by her M.Ed. (Educational Guidance) in 1981 with the University of Hong Kong and another M.Ed. (Computer in Education) in 1992 with the University of Sydney.

Sr Margaret was a pioneer of computer education and was conferred an Honorary Fellow by the Hong Kong Association of Computer Education in 2001. She was awarded an MBE by the British Government in 1997 for her contribution to education and community.

Sr Margaret is interested in innovation and international exchanges. She believes that technology offers to diverse learners immense opportunities for lifelong, personalized, global learning, which is absolutely necessary for 21st century global citizenship.

Jim Wynn
@JIM_WYNN
Joining us from the UK

Jim Wynn is co-founder & Chief Executive Officer of EFF and Chief Executive Officer of Imagine Education.

Jim lead the Education Strategy team at Promethean and prior to this  Jim led the Public Sector team and Education in the Emerging Markets Public Sector Practice of the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), where he advised government and public sector organizations on the intelligent use of ICT to transform education.

Previously, Jim has been head teacher of two secondary schools in the UK, in which he pioneered the use of ICT. He was also Head of Research at RM Plc, as well as the Partners in Learning lead for EMEA at Microsoft.
Jim holds a first-class degree in mathematics from the University of Hertfordshire. He is a director of the 21st Century Learning Alliance Board in the UK.

HASHTAGS & HANDLES
Debate Hashtag and Short Link
You can follow EFF @effdebate
The debate hashtag is #EFF11. 
The debate will be streamed live to www.effdebate.org
Please include the full URL or short link in any of your comms.  http://bit.ly/EFF11Debate

Associated Hashtags
For EFF11 we are partnering with UNESCO.  Please always use the hashtag #EFF11 in your tweets.