Evyan Wagner Smith

Background

About Evyan Wagner Smith

Trainer, coach, innovator and master of thinking on thinking on my feet. I am rebel WITH a cause (or 12). Top causes: teaching adult learners as though they are-in fact-adults and professionals, authenticity in all things (professional and personal), and making my rescue dog happy. Much of my career to date has been focused on Google Apps for Education and expanding the use of this stupendous set of tools to push classrooms to be more global, collaborative, and student-driven. I consider myself fully certified in: figuring things out that seem to make no sense, modeling inevitable technical disasters and making it look cool, using technology to make one's life easier, and making jokes to make my participants feel comfortable. I rely heavily on my sense of humor and relaxed attitude to create an atmosphere where learners are comfortable, empowered, and allowed to be their best selves. I take topics that make people want to throw a tantrum and make them approachable and exciting. I've worked in vastly disparate school districts-from small and "high achieving" to giant districts with a majority underprivileged students. As a classroom teacher, I took a ragtag group of Title I students and made them actors and thinkers. As a Literacy Coach, I used heart (along with data) to raise test scores and send kids down the aisle to graduation. As an EdTech Coordinator, I inspired teams of reluctant teachers to adopt and thrive on Google Apps.