William (Bill) Bass attended Culver-Stockton from 1991-1995 graduating with a degree in English education and spent the first portion of his teaching career in middle and high school and as a soccer coach. He received his master’s degree in instructional technology with an emphasis in instructional design and has a post-master’s certificate in online learning. He currently serves as the Innovation Coordinator for Instructional Technology, Information, Library Media, and Federal Programs in the Parkway School District in St. Louis, Missouri where he leads the district library and instructional technology programs, oversees all grants and federal programs, and creates conditions to foster district-wide classroom innovation. During his 20+ career in education, he has also held positions as a middle and high school English teacher, Technology Integration Specialist, Instructional Coach, adjunct professor and graduate course designer for an edtech master's program, and an educational consultant. As a speaker, writer and professional developer, he focuses on systemic and sustainable integration of technology into classrooms at all grade levels and seeks to empower students and teachers with authentic learning experiences. Bill has been honored with a number of awards such as the ISTE Making IT Happen Award, the Divergent Award for Excellence in Literacy in a Digital Age Research, as an NSBA 20 to Watch EdTech Leaders, and as Teacher of the Year for Hazelwood East High School. He has been fortunate to serve as Past-President of ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Board of Directors, is a past member of the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Executive Committee, and consults with a variety of edtech startups and many professional organizations as a strategic advisor in an effort to support students in their learning. Bill is often called upon to share his thinking as an international speaker and presenter and has been fortunate to learn with educators from around the world. He has also written numerous articles, book chapters and has authored four books, From Inspiration to Red Carpet (ISTE 2012), Digital Reading: What’s essential in grades 3-8 (NCTE 2015), and 2 editions of Leading from the Library (ISTE 2019).
