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Adam Watson has been a Kentucky educator since 2005. Adam believes strongly in education technology, but in that order. He loves to share his tips, tools and thoughts through his blog “Edtech Elixirs” and his YouTube channel (which combined currently have over a quarter million views), and is a frequent presenter at both international and regional conferences.
Adam began as an English classroom teacher, eventually earning Teacher of the Year at South Oldham High School in 2009 and becoming National Board Certified in 2013. His belief in the impact of educational technology started with literature circle student podcasts. Not only did the students receive responses from authors of the books, but young adults as far away as China let them know their podcasts were a part of their own classroom experiences. The project led Adam and his students to the cover of Kentucky Teacher in April 2009 and coverage by NCTE. In 2014, a Core Content-aligned unit on “Shakespeare and Star Wars” culminated in a Skype Q & A with a New York Times best-selling author, Adam’s unit materials hosted on multiple sites, and a mention in Star Wars Insider in April 2015.
In 2014, Adam became Shelby County Public School’s first Technology Integration Coach; he is currently Shelby’s Digital Learning Coordinator. He was hired to help lead the staff professional development on blended learning as Shelby began its K-12 1:1 initiative. This led to the creation of a “Share Fair” conference model (presented by Shelby staff, but open for all to attend) that has been a popular annual event since 2015. Among other achievements while at Shelby, Adam was the writer and adapter of a digital citizenship district curriculum that annually spirals through five focus strands and consists of 65 non-repeating K-12 lessons. In 2019, Adam was awarded the KySTE Outstanding Leader of the Year award as recognition of his outreach and service.
In addition to his educational work, Adam is also a writer of poetry and short stories who has also written, produced and directed stageplays and radio dramas. His wife and two daughters inspire him to continue learning and writing, and they are always willing to watch a Star Wars or Marvel movie with him if he asks nicely.
For more information on Adam check out his blog or follow him on Twitter!
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