Tommy Whitten was a delegate at the Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL) Summit in Atlanta. Whitten works as district technology coordinator for Madison County Schools. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Tommy Whitten of Madison was invited to participate in the inaugural Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL) Summit in Atlanta. Delegates studied the quickly evolving use of technology in 21st-century schools.

Whitten works as District Technology Coordinator for Madison County Schools.

The summit convened after the 2015 Consortium of School Networking (CoSN) Conference on March 18-19. Summit delegates were required to hold CETL designation and used the meeting for professional development and networking opportunities.

“It was a great honor to be invited to the first annual CETL Summit conducted by the Consortium of School Networking,” Whitten said. “I was able to meet with other Certified Educational Technology Leaders from around the nation and share our vision of the future for technology in education.”

Whitten said he and delegates discussed “challenges we face in an ever-changing educational environment, where there are a lot of pieces to get it all to work. Getting it all together at the same time is challenging.”

Whitten obtained CETL distinction after completing extensive training and demonstrating mastery of the knowledge and skills needed to foster modern learning environments. In addition, he received the Marbury Technology Innovation Award from the Alabama State Department of Education and the “Making IT Happen” Award from the International Society for Technology in Education.

At the University of North Alabama, Whitten earned a master’s degree in business administration. He serves on the executive board of the Alabama Education Technology Association (AETA).

“We’re honored to have dedicated leaders such as Tommy Whitten participate in the first CETL Summit as they work to develop the expertise needed to build transformative learning environments,” CoSN Chief Strategy Officer Irene Spero said.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt sponsored the summit with facilitation by communications firm C. Blohm & Associates and Pierce Publishing.

For more information, visit cosn.org/certification/cetl-summit.