30 K–12 IT Influencers to Follow in 2024

Alison Schlotfeldt is a curriculum integration specialist at School City of Mishawaka in Indiana. She’s a Certified Educational Technology Leader through the Consortium for School Networking and is involved with the Indiana CTO Council. She keeps up with the latest educational technology trends, bringing these insights to her network and her followers’ timelines.

As the director of instructional technology and library services at McAllen (Texas) Independent School District, Ann Vega shares insights on educational technology and K–12 media.

Benjamin Lloyd, a technology and career and technical education teacher at Beaverton (Ore.) School District, can frequently be found sharing his middle-school students’ STEM and virtual reality projects. From software such as Microsoft MakeCode to hardware including laser cutters and robotic arms, his feed is a one-stop-shop for project-based inspiration.

Last year, Berol Dewdney celebrated her Maryland Teacher of the Year win with her prekindergarten class at Baltimore City (Md.) Public Schools. She shares a lot more than that on her social channels, where followers will find educational insights, tips and other stories of success.

Brad Currie is the director of planning, research and evaluation for Chester (N.J.) School District. He is also a co-founder of Evolving Educators, which provides ed tech training to teachers and other school staff, particularly around Google for Education solutions.

Brian Krause is an instructional technology coach at Illinois’s Learning Technology Center. He creates a weekly newsletter called Tech Tip Tuesday for the center, and he frequently posts about K–12 ed tech and digital literacy on his platforms.

Charles Williams is an assistant principal at Chicago Public Schools as well as the host of The Counter Narrative podcast. There, he shares his wealth of experience as a K–12 administrator.

A self-proclaimed “tech-obsessed” teacher at Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in Texas, Christine Morgan works with students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Frequently found hyping up the next viral Adobe Express template or celebrating a win within her network, her timeline brings positive energy to all her followers.

Christopher Turner’s work bridges the worlds of K–12 and higher education. Not only is he the director of the Mixed Reality Virtual Innovation Gaming and Esports Institute at Southern University Law Center in Louisiana, he’s also the founder of and club adviser for the Southern University and A&M College esports program. He encourages the pipeline to higher education through esports, especially for marginalized and under-resourced students.

Danae Acker is a digital integration specialist at Anderson (S.C.) School District Five. She asks thoughtful educational technology questions on her platforms, where she also engages frequently with evolving ed tech conversations, brands and other influencers.

The national esports manager at CDW, Danielle Rourke brings her love of the game to a community of educational leaders and experts. Her mindset and knowledge base allow her to share the best side of video games with followers, from K–12 stakeholders to parents and the greater community. She can frequently be found running esports competitions and webinars at ed tech conferences.

Diana Smith is the director of digital learning for the Indiana Department of Education and the author of Copyrighteous, a book encouraging K–12 administrators, teachers and students to balance copyright and creativity. Her followers can explore posts about digital learning, AI and other trends in ed tech.

Known to students and followers as “Mrs. Smoke,” Dyane Smokorowski is a digital literacy coordinator for Wichita (Kans.) Public Schools. She’s actively involved in the ed tech community and has been honored as a 2024 National STEM Fellow by the National Network of State Teachers of the Year.

Eric Hansen is the director of technology and communications for Illinois’s Diamond Lake School District 76. He also runs Hansen’s Link to Tech, a blog and video series breaking down tech tools and providing tips on getting the most out of solutions.

For a combination of all things ed tech and food, turn to Gabriel Carrillo. When he’s not hosting his podcast, EdTech Bites, where he shares his expertise in educational technology and good eats, Carrillo works as an instructional technology specialist for North East Independent School District in Texas.

Geri Gillespy is the Superintendent of Teaching and Learning and Headmaster of Schools for Innovate Academy and Preparatory School in Idaho. She’s also a founder and Chief Academic Officer of GuardRailz, an education-focused generative AI platform, and she’s a founding member of the Human Intelligence Movement.

Holly Clark is well versed in the nuances of AI in education. As a conference speaker and author, Clark loves sharing her knowledge of AI with her network of ed tech leaders, teachers and IT professionals. Her book The AI Infused Classroom dives deeper into her work and offers teaching and learning ideas.

Hue-An Wren is a teacher on special assignment in the K–12 Office of Instructional Technology at Garden Grove (Calif.) Unified School District. She highlights ed tech tools and goings on in her district with an enthusiasm for digital well-being and social-emotional learning.

Joshua Ryles King uses his experiences as an elementary school teacher in Rosedale (Calif.) Union School District to create content for his social media followers, often engaging them with educational, entertaining videos. He was featured on Good Morning America after going viral with his back-to-school raps, and he’s working on publishing a children’s book.

Kim Neibauer teachers K–5 gifted students at Duval County (Fla.) Public Schools. As a Microsoft Certified Coach, she’s frequently sharing best practices and news concerning Microsoft tools for the classroom. Neibauer also works as a professional learning specialist for insight2execution.

Manuel Herrera adds artistic flavor to his followers’ timelines with an array of educational doodles and animations. Now working as an education coach on the Education Solutions Team at Samsung, he has had extensive experience in school districts, working as a learning and development specialist for Washington University in St. Louis and for top ed tech brands including Adobe and Canva.

Not only is Michael Drezek a K–12 technology integration specialist at Lake Shore Central School District in New York, he’s also the district’s esports coach. He shares the technologies students are using, the real-world applications of school projects and the accomplishments of the school’s esports athletes with followers.

Michael Wesely works with a robust network of ed tech leaders and innovators to create and share experiences using tools such as Adobe, WeVideo and more. He speaks about these tools at conferences and works as an instructional technology specialist for Virginia Beach City (Va.) Public Schools.

Michelle Bourgeois serves as the CTO for St. Vrain Valley Schools in Colorado. She is very engaged in all things K–12 educational technology, and followers will often see her presenting at conferences and taking to social media to highlight the work of her district and its students.

Natasha Rachell’s skills are apparent in her role as director of instructional technology for Atlanta Public Schools. She empowers educators through the use of technology tools and thanks to her part in projects such as MinecraftEDU’s Good Trouble and Juneteenth lessons, which she co-created. She’s also an expert on Google and Microsoft tools for K–12 classrooms.

Driving discussions on AI in education through presentations, podcasts and research, Nneka McGee shares research and emerging technology insights with her audience. She brings a K–12 lens to conversations thanks to her time as chief academic officer at San Benito (Texas) Consolidated Independent School District and as the executive director of learning and innovation at South San Antonio (Texas) Independent School District.

The coordinator of equity and access at Colton (Calif.) Joint Unified School District, Nyree Clark is an ed tech advocate. She speaks at conferences and via webinars to share her expertise and promote the use of technology solutions in K–12 learning environments.

Stephanie Rothstein is vice principal in the Santa Clara (Calif.) Unified School District. Formerly an innovation and ed tech teacher on special assignment in the district, she is an innovation leader who has given a TEDx Talk and contributed to numerous books on leadership and education.

Tania Gonzalez, a bilingual educator at McAllen (Texas) Independent School District, aims to infuse a love of cultural connections into her lessons, which are often aimed at empowering students through language. She shares her favorite classroom tools and applications on her social feeds.

A project specialist for digital learning and computer science at the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, Tonya Coats can be found sharing wins and best practices with her network of followers. She formerly worked as a technology curriculum coordinator for Jurupa Unified School District in Southern California.