Bio and conference information

Bio copy for conference and event announcements

Samples of bio information

Presented here are excerpts from promotion material used by other clients. It should provide what you need for your brochures, web announcements and other media promoting your conference or event. If you need something different, feel free to contact jasonOhler.com

Medium-length bio (approx. 275 words), for educator/general audience conference, created July 2011

Dr. Jason Ohler is a professor emeritus, speaker, writer, teacher, and cyber researcher. He is also a lifelong digital humanist who is well known for the passion, insight, and humor he brings to his presentations, projects and publications.

He has worked both online and in classrooms at home and internationally for over a quarter century helping students develop the new literacies they need to be successful in the digital age. He is a passionate promoter of “Art the Next R” and of combining innovation, creativity and digital know-how to help reinvent teaching and learning.

He is also an enthusiastic champion of the need for students to learn how to use technology wisely and safely, with awareness and compassion, so they can become informed and productive citizens in a global digital society. He has won numerous awards for his work and is author of many books, articles, and online resources.

Many call him a futurist, he calls himself a nowist, believing we have what we need now to create the kinds of communities we need to meet the challenges of the digital age with creativity and humanity. His current book, Digital Community, Digital Citizen, explores the issues of helping our students blend their digital and non-digital lives into one integrated approach to living. His previous book, Digital Storytelling in the Classroom, reminds us that he is first and foremost a storyteller, telling tales of the future that are grounded in the past.

“The goal is the effective, creative, and wise use of technology . . . to bring together technology, community, and learning in ways that work. And while we are at it, to have fun.”

Short bio, educator/general audience conference

Dr. Jason Ohler is a professor emeritus, speaker, writer, teacher, and cyber researcher. He is also a lifelong digital humanist who is well known for the passion, insight, and humor he brings to his presentations, projects and publications. He has spent over two decades leading educators, students and community members in the effective, creative and wise use of technology. He is first and foremost a storyteller, telling tales of the future that are grounded in the past. For more information visit his web site at: www.jasonohler.com.

Short bio, educator/general audience conference

Jason is well known for the passion, humor and intelligence he brings to his presentations. Combining twenty-five years of experience in the educational technology field with an eye for the future, he connects with the audience where they are, and helps them see their importance in the future development of living, learning and working in the Digital Age. He clearly loves what he does, and loves sharing what he knows with others.

Short bio, from description of Then What? keynote

After gobs of glizty digital gear, endless excruciating software upgrades, computers that teach math and robots that clean house, Then What?

Listen to the story of William Tell, hero of Jason's novel about living and learning in the Digital Age. Then What? is a fun, serious, rollercoaster of a story about the personal transformation of a computer savant who goes from geeker, to seeker, to teacher, to innovative designer of new schools for new times. It is a story about why art is now the 4th R, education is now a buyer's market, the attitude is the aptitude, and storytelling is our primary pedagogy. Above all it is a story about how we absolutely must re-think our schools if we are going to prepare our kids for the lives they will live, rather than the lives we are used to.

From Then What? keynote; medium length bio, aimed at media, storytelling audiences

Then What? Then What? is the story of Living in Today’s Digital Overdone World

Should we go digital? Or go ditch it all?

After gobs of glizty digital gear, endless excruciating software upgrades, computers that dance and robots that clean house, then what?

Stories, that’s what.

The digital age is all about our oldest and most compelling of human needs: telling stories, listening to stories, being part of stories. It is about leveraging digital technology to empower teachers, companies, and everyone to become storytellers on a global stage. It is about tapping into what is ancient in all of us with tools that are new, exciting and transformational. How well you tell your story determines whether or not your message is heard, your audience is inspired and your organization thrives. As the saying goes, “What happens when you give a bad guitar player a bigger amplifier?” In an age of information overload, your story is your life. You need to tell it well.

Listen to the story of William Tell, hero of Jason's novel about living and learning in the Digital Age. Then What? is a fun, serious, rollercoaster of a story about a computer savant who tries to find a path with a heart in a plastic and silicon world gone crazy with innovation. It is the story of personal transformation as William goes from geeker, to seeker, to teacher, to education and business innovator. This presentation incorporates lessons Jason has learned during 25 years of connecting people and technology in the worlds of learning, living and business.

Dr. Jason Ohler is a storyteller. He is also a prolific author, columnist, keynote speaker and educator from the University of Alaska where he serves as the President's Professor of Educational Technology and Distance Learning. Find out more about him at www.jasonohler.com.

See Portfolio for more information about specific activities, research, publications and interests.