Marc Prensky

Marc has created over 50 software games for learning, including the world's first fast-action videogame-based training tools. He has spoken to teachers, administrators, school boards and departments and ministries of education throughout the United States and around the world. Marc holds a Master's in Teaching from Yale and an MBA from Harvard. He has taught at all levels, been featured in The NY Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist, and appeared on CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and the BBC. He was named as one of training's top 10 "visionaries" by Training magazine and cited as a "guiding star of the new parenting movement" by Parental Intelligence Newsletter. His latest projects are games for learning financial literacy, chemistry, physics and algebra. For Marc's writings, see www.marcprensky.com/writing. For Marc’s games, see www.games2train.com.

Opening Keynote Presentation

Thursday, February 28 • 9:45 am – 11:15 am
Engage Me or Enrage Me: Educating Today’s “Digital Native” Learners
All educators are struggling to find ways to engage and connect students with learning. Marc Prensky is the leading expert on how today’s students (whom he refers to as Digital Natives) learn even when it isn’t apparent to digital immigrants. Join Prensky as he explains and demonstrates not only how today’s students have changed, but how educators can deal with the changes and learn from them. The key, says Prensky, is not curriculum, certification, or testing, but rather engagement. Today’s students are in need of more engaging approaches, more understanding and 21st century skills. The learning that motivates them the most is where students are already involved the most – in their games.