Closing STEM keynote address Friday, January 26, 2018
Dr. Ayanna Howard, founder of Zyrobotics and one of the world’s most powerful and promising engineers, will discuss robots and their role in our future.
October 10, 2017
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.―The National Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC) announced today that Dr. Ayanna Howard, an educator, researcher, and innovator noted for her ability to make STEM fun and accessible for children with disabilities, will deliver the closing keynote address on Friday, January 26, 2018, at the 38th annual event. The conference will take place January 23 – 26, 2018 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. Howard, who is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Zyrobotics and a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), has been recognized as one of Business Insider’s 23 most powerful women engineers and was named a top young innovator by MIT Technology Review. She has made significant contributions in the technology areas of artificial intelligence, computer vision, and robotics, and specializes in intelligent technologies that must adapt to and function within a human-centered world.
Howard’s FETC keynote, “The Value of Inclusive STEM Education: Robots and their Role in our Future,” will take a look at the recent upsurge in attention given to robots and artificial intelligence (AI) and their future role in our society. How do schools make robots―which, with intelligence, are advancing into beneficial, life-saving machines for assisting us in our everyday lives―accessible for the next generation of diverse students? Through lessons learned building robots that assist children with special needs, Howard will discuss the elements of intelligence, trust, and emotional empathy robots are emulating. The keynote will conclude with advice outlining how educators can best prepare students to embrace the inevitable future.
Zyrobotics, which Howard founded in 2013 as a Georgia Tech spin-off, provides inclusive mobile technologies that make learning accessible to all students. The company is currently licensing technology derived from her research and has released their first suite of mobile therapy and educational products for children with differing needs.
In addition to her position as CTO for Zyrobotics, Dr. Howard is Professor and Linda J. and Mark C. Smith Endowed Chair in Bioengineering in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the Georgia Institute of Technology and holds the position of Associate Chair for Faculty Development in ECE and Director of the Human-Automation Systems Lab (HumAnS). In 2015, she founded and now directs the $3 million traineeship initiative in healthcare robotics and functions as the lead investigator on the National Science Foundation undergraduate summer research program in robotics. Prior to joining the faculty at Georgia Tech, Dr. Howard was a Senior Robotics Researcher and Deputy Manager in the Office of the Chief Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Registration is now open for the 2018 Future of Education Technology Conference. For additional information and to register, visit fetc.org/register or call toll-free 1-800-727-1227. The Super Saver rate is available until November 17, 2017.
About the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC)
The Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC) annually attracts thousands of education and technology leaders from around the world. Delivering strategies and best practices for student success and schoolwide advancement, FETC is known as one of the nation’s premier education technology events. Recognized for its outstanding program year after year, FETC provides CTOs, CIOs, Innovation Directors, Special Ed/Pupil Services Directors, Early Childhood Directors, Media Specialists, Technologists, Administrators and other Educators, the opportunity to explore the most effective integration of technology across the curriculum — from PK-12 — through premium sessions, intensive workshops, various concurrent sessions, live demonstrations of several hundred hardware and software products, plus much more.
About LRP Conferences
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About LRP Publications
LRP Publications, founded in 1977 by Kenneth Kahn, is a broad-based media company serving business and education professionals. Specializing in the fields of education administration, education law, education technology, federal employment, human resources, workers’ compensation and disability, the company publishes hundreds of books, pamphlets, newsletters, videos and online resources on various topics including Title 1 and Special Education. Additionally, LRP publishes two industry-leading magazines: Human Resources Executive® and Risk & Insurance®, plus delivers top-quality training and professional development with eLearning, conferences and tradeshows including: HR Technology Conference & Exposition®, National Institute on Legal Issues of Educating Individuals with Disabilities®, National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference® & Expo and dozens more. For a complete list of LRP products, eCourses and conferences, please visit www.lrp.com.
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Further Reading
- edCircuit – Sir Ken Robinson to Keynote 2018 Future of Education Technology Conference
- EdTech Magazine – FETC 2017: Q&A with Mike Meechin on Integrating Tech into the Classroom
- EdTech Magazine – FETC 2017: New Technology for 21st Century Learners Takes Center Stage