Short Biography

I currently reside in the metro-Richmond area of Virginia and am employed as an public school education leader. Above all else, I value creativity and look for creative solutions to problems. I am author of the well-received 2008 book published by the ISTE press: RSS for Educators: Blogs, Newsfeeds, Podcasts and Wikis in the Classroom. I am a pioneer in the use of blogs and podcasts in K-12 education.

I attended Avon Lake High School—Ohio (1992), the University of Rochester—New York (1996), Case Western Reserve University—Cleveland, Ohio (1999), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University—Blacksburg, Virginia (2005), and Virgina Commonwealth University—Richmond, Virginia (2014). In addition to my experience in the field of education, I have experience in photography, graphic design, music composition and performance, and web design.

Accomplishments

• Apple Distinguished Educator
  • Recognized for the worldwide ADE program, class of 2019. The best educators are true innovators. Read more about this program.
• Apple Distinguished Schools/Program
  • Four of our schools in Goochland County were recognized as an Apple Distinguished Program for our 1:1 efforts with iPads. Was pleased to work with our technology team, instructional leadership team, and our teachers and parents to be able to increase the quality of learning with technology in our schools and be recognized for visionary leadership. Our schools renewed with this program in 2017 individually and will re-apply in 2019.
• VSBA Showcase of Success Recognition
  • Goochland County Public Schools was recognized in March, 2015, as having a significant program in place worthy of notice and replication by other Virginia school districts, namely, our 1:1 Computing Initiative with iPads.
• CPED Dissertation in Practice of the Year Award
  • Along with my colleagues Angie Kim, Shawnya Tolliver, and Derrick Deloatch, we won the one of the best Ed.D. dissertations from the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate program in 2014
• Top Ten Digital School Districts 2014, 2017
  • Our district was recognized by the Center for Digital Education and National School Board Association as the 7th best district in the U.S. with fullest implementation of technology benchmarks in the category of small districts (3,000 students or less)
• ISTE Making IT Happen Award
  • December, 2012 - Recognized at the annual conference of the Virginia Society for Technology in Education
• Converge Magazine 50 Most Innovative Educators
  • December, 2012 - Recognized by The Center for Digital Education as one of the most 50 innovative educators due to my accomplishments in the field of education technology
  • Senator Mark Warner (VA) congratulated me on this distinction
• RichTech Education Finalist
  • December, 2012 - Finalist for RichTech's education award in the field of technology
  • RichTech is a professional organization that recognizes excellence in the field of information technology across businesses in the Richmond, Virginia area

• VSTE Board of Directors
  • I served as a director on the VSTE Board from July, 2008-June, 2013.
  • From July, 2012-June, 2013 I served as vice-chairman of the board.

• Virginia Tech School of Education Excellence in Education Award
  • 2007 recipient for the Goochland Blogging Initiative

• Virginia Department of Education State Technology Leadership Award
  • December, 2006 I received the Virginia DOE's highest recognition for leadership in technology both in Region 1 and statewide

Experience

My experience in the field of education has included teaching high school, the professional development and training of teachers (prek-12), strategic planning (including creating technology plans, and project development on the formation of two strategic plans), video editing and video streaming, web design, use of online content management systems (WordPress, Expression Engine, Plone), graphic design, grant writing, curriculum development, and instructional leadership.

As a researcher, I have evaluated educational programs and am currently leading an action research project focused on looking at the relationship between a technology coach and the teacher toward co-designing deeper learning experiences for students. My research during my doctoral journey involved over 40-interviews as part of a four-person research team examining best practices with 1:1 computing programs in schools.

Almost everything I do involves one of my core values, which my colleagues recently (2019) identified as one of my strengths: creativity. In my role as an educator, trainer, and leader, I have used my skills and creativity to design marketing campaigns, create professional-quality video, deliver engaging, and to create and deliver inspirational presentations.

Outside of my work life, I write music reviews and produce a podcast focused on music.

Education

• Ed.D. in Educational Leadership (Virginia Commonwealth University, May, 2014)
  • Capstone Dissertation: Ubiquitous Computing in Schools: A Multi-Case Study of 1:1 Districts
  • Capstone Advisor: Dr. Charol Shakeshaft
• M.A. in Instructional Technology (Virginia Tech, December, 2005)
  • Study in instructional design, adult learners
• M.A. in Music Education (Case Western Reserve University, 1999)
  • Focus on instrumental conducting, wind ensemble; education certification
• B.A. cum laude in Music (University of Rochester, 1996)
  • Music composition, conducting

Recent Speaking Engagements

• VSTE 2016 — Virginia Beach, Virginia
  • Presented with colleague Krystle Demas on our efforts towards deeper learning in the Goochland schools.
  • December 4, 2016
• Virginia School Boards Association - Hot Topic Conference — Chesterfield, VA
  • Participated on a panel with other leaders in Virginia discussing the impact of technology in our schools. Available on YouTube courtesy of WHRO.
  • October, 2015
• VSTE 2015 — Roanoake, Virginia
  • Shared with participants our vision for 1:1 with deeper learning. Presentation notes available here.
  • December 5-7, 2015
• VaASCD 2015 — Williamsburg, Virginia
  • Shared with participants our vision for 1:1 with deeper learning: projects, personalization, and play. Presentation notes available here.
  • December 3, 2015
• Virginia School Boards Association Hot Topic Conference — Chesterfield, Virginia
  • Spoke on a panel with others across Virginia about issues relating to education technology. You can watch the panel discussion here.
  • November 13, 2015
• EdTech 2015 — Richmond, Virginia
  • I helped organize EdTech 2015, held at VCU in Richmond. My presentation topic was "Coding Like a DJ," co-presented with Bea Leiderman on the use of Scratch in schools to develop student coding skills.
  • March 12, 2015
• VSTE — Virginia Beach, Virginia
  • I spoke about the logic model developed by my colleagues and I for deploying 1:1 technology as a district initiative and also about Google Apps for Education (GAFE) to support twenty-first century learning.
  • December 7-9, 2014
• King George County Schools Technology Fair —
  • Keynote presentation to teachers and administrators around constructivist pedagogy.
  • Fall, 2014
• VASCD Conference — Williamsburg, Virginia
  • Presentation with Goochland Assistant Superintendent Stephen Geyer on our instructional focus with 1:1 technology. We reveal that the true rationale for going "1:1" is a constructivist-based pedagogy, where students are at the center of classroom activities, constructing knowledge.
  • November 28, 2014
• VSBA Annual Convention — Williamsburg, Virginia
  • Presentation with Goochland Superintendent James F. Lane on how we have used our strategic plan focused on twenty-first century learning to design innovative instruction and assessment with 1:1 iPads.
  • November 20, 2014
• VCU Leadership Sympoisum
  • Focus on Innovation in High Priority Schools - Increasing Student Outcomes. Speaking on the 1:1 initiative in Goochland County with elementary principal Tina McCay.
  • June 25, 2014
• Virginia School Board Association Region 1 Annual Meeting
  • Board members across the region attended a dinner where I delivered an address about twenty-first century learning with my colleague Dr. Stephen Geyer
  • April, 2014
• Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) — Richmond, Virginia
  • Co-presenter at plenary session with research colleagues D. Deloatch, A. Kim, and S. Tolliver on Ubiquitous Computing
  • Virginia Commonwealth University
  • March, 2014
• Virginia ASCD — Williamsburg, Virginia
  • Presentation on G21 Instructional Framework with my colleague Dr. Peter Gretz
  • December, 2013
• Virginia Society for Technology in Education — Roanoke, Virginia
  • Presentation on Google Apps for Education in Schools
  • December, 2013
• Collegiate School — Richmond, Virginia
  • Collegiate School Parents Group
  • Talk on Online Teen Habits
  • October, 2012
• Scratch Workshop Trainer
  • Manchester Middle School, Chesterfield, VA
  • Trainer for Longwood University project using Scratch softare from MIT
  • July 16-20, 2012
• EdTech Conference - Mary Washington University
  • Keynote Speaker - “Product-Centered Pedagogy”
  • Fredericksburg, VA
  • June, 2012
• EdTech Conference - Virginia State University — Petersburg, Virginia
  • 5 concurrent presentations
  • March 14-15, 2012
• Metropolitan Educational Reserach Consortium (MERC) — Richmond, Virginia
  • Keynote Speaker - “Project-Based Learning and G21”
  • Virginia Commonwealth University
  • March, 2012

Contact

• Twitter: @hendron
• Technology Times Weblog