Grayson McKinney

Grayson McKinney is an elementary educator from East Grand Rapids, Michigan. His mission as a teacher is to empower students to connect their learning to the world in order to improve their own lives, improve the lives of others, and improve the environment around them. Grayson is known for his innovative approaches to teaching and learning and is a true agent for change. He was named 2012 Elementary Teacher of the Year in the South Lake School District in Macomb County.

Grayson has shared his expertise and knowledge at various universities, conferences, and Edcamps around the Midwest, speaking on topics including increasing student voice, providing learners with authentic audiences, mindfulness in the classroom, technology integration, gamification of curriculum, harnessing the power of social media to be a digital leader, creating a digital culture of thinking and innovation, and innovating student assessment through Project Based Learning and portfolio building.

He attended Western Michigan University as an undergraduate and went on to earn his Master’s and Education Specialist Degrees in School Leadership from Oakland University. Grayson is both an Apple Teacher as well as a Microsoft Innovative Educator and an ambassador for several other educational technology companies. He and his students created The 5th-Grade Futurists Podcast with the aim to spread awareness of the United Nations' 17 Global Goals for a Sustainable Future around the world. Check out his students' voices here: anchor.fm/thefuturist5.

Grayson is an enthusiastic presenter who loves connecting with educators to grow his professional learning family. You can connect with him at his blog, innovation4education.wordpress.com, on Clubhouse: @GMcKinney2, on Twitter: @GMcKinney2, or on Instagram: @ExpertEffectEDU.