Rushton Hurley is an educator who believes this is a great time to teach. In his work, he has taught Japanese language, been principal of an online school, directed a professional development program, and succeeded as a social benefit entrepreneur. He loves creativity, collaborative innovation, sharing stories, and laughing at himself. Rushton founded and is executive director of the educational nonprofit Next Vista for Learning, which houses a free library of hundreds of short videos by and for teachers and students. His graduate research at Stanford University included using speech recognition technology with beginning students of Japanese in computer-based role-playing scenarios for developing language skills. In the 1990’s his work with teenagers at a high school in California led him to begin using internet and video technologies to make learning more active, helping him reach students who had struggled under more traditional approaches.

Rushton has trained teachers around the world, and regularly presents at national and international conferences. His fun and thoughtful talks center on the connection between engaging learning and useful, affordable technology, and the professional perspectives of teachers at all levels.