We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ken Shelton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ken below.

Ken, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned in school and why that lesson is important to you?

The most important lesson I learned in school is also the lesson I continue to remind myself of now as a self-employed consultant, designer, and keynote speaker. The story begins with how my late father raised me. One of the things he would constantly remind my younger brother and me while growing up was self-advocacy and self-love. Little did I know that those two are also foundational to effective self-care. So fast forward to graduate school. The class was in my Master’s Degree program and focused on learning design and transformational learning. We were assigned readings by the Professor focusing on research and theoretical approaches to learning design and creating transformational learning opportunities. During the first few weeks of class, I had an overall troublesome feeling about the class. For weeks, I could not pinpoint the problem. Then it finally clicked. Most of the readings and theoretical approaches we were studying either didn’t apply to the context I was teaching in or were completely irrelevant. This was due to many factors, including the fact that the authors had no K-12 teaching experience in a large urban school district and/or no experience teaching a comparable student population I had. So with this context and carrying the lessons learned from my father I chose to advocate for myself and my potential learning opportunity. I began to question things in class, trouble the narrative, and follow up with more questions of relevance. This was met with predictable resistance, given that the content was likely not scrutinized to this degree in prior classes. The biggest lesson I learned from this class and have carried with me since then is power dynamics. The Professor, rather than engage in meaningful discourse, chose to assert dominance over the class by insisting the materials were relevant and that I was too inexperienced to judge them. So overall, the lesson learned and the basis for my journey since then has been the following: my questioning was my advocacy for my learning, despite not getting the most desirable or practical result does not diminish the importance of advocating for yourself, and finally, when things need additional analytical thought we always want to enter the conversation with questions to learn more rather than statements aligned with an assumption that we know it all.

Ken, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Here is my bio

Ken (He/Him/His) is a highly distinguished, multi-award-winning professional and best-selling author in the field of education. He holds a Master’s degree in Education with a specific focus on Educational Technology and New Media Design and Production. His academic background is complemented by over two decades of teaching experience, with a significant part of his career devoted to shaping young minds at the Middle School level. Ken is an esteemed and highly sought-after thought leader in education, particularly in the areas of educational technology, learning experience design, and leadership development. Ken’s expertise also extends to the sphere of policy-making/policy advisement, including being a notable figure on a California State Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Education Technology Task Force. A committed advocate for equitable learning opportunities, he regularly imparts knowledge, inspiration, and insights through keynote speeches, personalized consulting, organizational culture/change, school/district transformation, and hands-on workshops. His range of expertise covers an array of topics, including but not limited to, Organizational Leadership, Policy Analysis, Policy Development, School/District Transformation, Inclusive Learning Environments, Antibias/Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Media Literacy, Cultural Intelligence, Design, Career and Technical Education (CTE), and in the emerging technology field of Artificial Intelligence. His most recent impact in the area of AI includes supporting the development of school/district/system policy, advisement, professional development planning, and leading workshops for educators across all levels of responsibility. He is the co-author of a best-selling book on the topic of artificial intelligence titled, “The Promises and Perils of AI in Education: Ethics and Equity Have Entered the Chat.”
Ken has garnered many awards within education and educational technology. He has been recognized by the International Society for Technology in Education with two awards. Ken was the proud recipient of the Digital Equity Professional Learning Network Excellence Award in 2018 and the Making IT Happen Award in 2022 due to his extraordinary commitment, leadership, courage, and persistence in improving digital learning opportunities for students. His unyielding dedication to enhancing digital learning opportunities for students led him to be acknowledged as an influencer to follow by EdTech Magazine. In 2024, Ken was awarded the CUE (Computer Using Educators) Platinum Disc Award in recognition of his significant ongoing contributions to the advancement of technology in education and an outstanding career-long commitment to CUE, its affiliates, and its mission. His work has also been recognized with accolades from leading global tech companies such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator, a Google Certified Innovator, and a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, signifying his active and influential role in advancing educational technology and digital learning experiences.

Ken’s influence transcends borders. He has been invited to speak at numerous global conferences, international schools, NGOs, and education-related gatherings. His wealth of practical experience, knowledge, and perspectives provide invaluable support to various organizations, including State Departments of Education, Ministries of Education, and non-profits.

Currently, among many things, Ken provides insightful guidance and advisement as a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board and Advisory Board for several technological companies, start-ups, and non-profit organizations that focus on education. His responsibilities extend beyond advisory roles to include policy analysis, platform evaluation, and community outreach, alongside aiding in the creation of equitable and inclusive recruitment and retention programs. His endeavors aim to build a more equitable, inclusive future in the world of technology and education. He also serves in an advisory role for several technology companies as they look to develop their Artificial Intelligence platforms in an equitable, accessible, responsible, and impactful way.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

People often associate high visibility with celebrity. This is evident across many industries, and education is no exception. I believe the key things that helped me build my reputation within the education market are authenticity of message and purpose, sustainability of approach (not letting factors outside of my control deter or define me), continuous learning, and not looking at any work as beneath me or treating it as less than.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Due to the high visibility of what I do, the best source of new clients tends to be in two areas. First, I spend a lot of time on stages, which makes my message and delivery core to gaining new clients. To be clear, I do not design my talks for this purpose. But I know that as long as the message resonates and is relevant, the likelihood of gaining new clients increases. It’s also why the message(s) in my talks have to continuously evolve while remaining innovative. The second is word of mouth. When you approach the work with the right degree of intentionality and quality, the old adage “people talk” is 100% correct. Again, I do not approach the work with this being the primary goal. The primary goal is to operate as thought partners so that I ensure each and every client is affirmed in their choice to work with me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kennethshelton.net/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/kshelton
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenashelton/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/k_shelton

Image Credits

Credit for the Black and White image goes to Albert Thomas. The others I do not have their names.