Overview

Live Events: Keynotes, Talks, Seminars, and Workshops

Children of the Code events are multidisciplinary, multimedia, learning journeys into ‘what is at stake’ and ‘what is involved’ in learning to read. Our events are thought provoking tours through the insights of over one hundred and fifty field leading scientists, scholars, educators, government leaders, children, and parents.

Note: Remember to click on any word on this page to experience the next evolutionary step in technology supported reading.

Professional Development Workshops for Teachers

“This was truly an awakening for me! I will never look at the reading process in the same way.”  – Julie Colley Lowery, Education Specialist, Alabama State Department of Education, Special Education Services

“I am a 30-year teacher and I felt like for once what was being said to me made absolute sense.”  – K. HusVall, Cheektawaga, New York

We don’t sell products (we do offer some free ones) or advocate for a political or ideological agenda – we don’t play the blame game either. The decades long persistence of reading improficiency is not the fault of parents or teachers!  Our events proceed from the premise that independent of all the arguments about how to teach reading, the better educators and parents understand the challenges involved in learning to read, the better they can help children learn through those challenges. 

“The Code and the Challenge of Learning to Read It” is a powerful professional learning experience. It communicates multiple messages that challenge the diverse personal and professional interests of educators on a variety of engaging levels.” – Elizabeth D. Holmes, Director, Center for Quality Teaching and Learning, Columbus State University

Conference Keynotes

“Insightful and informative. This is not a quick fix or remedy for reading problems, but a thorough scientific explanation of the entire reading process from leading experts in a variety of fields. Attending this event will provide a deeper understanding of why children struggle with reading and what needs to be done to address this crisis in our schools.” – Karen Kemp, Seminar Organizer for Council of New York Special Education Administrators, Director of Special Programs, Cohoes City Schools

COTC events weave Children of the Code video sequences and multimedia content into exciting and perspective-shifting learning experiences that re-orient how our audiences think about ‘the code’ and the ‘challenges in involved in learning to read it’.

Wow! Eureka! Now I get it. I wish I had heard this 25 years ago.” – M. Plail, Sutton Elementary Even Start, Houston, TX

University Lectures

What is reading? How does learning to read affect our intelligence, emotional development, and the overall health of our learning? How does learning to read as children shape how we grow into adults?

“Extremely thought provoking! I really never thought about reading in the way I now am.” – G. Willis, Gerald Adams Elementary School, Key West, Fl

What is the relationship between the alphabet, spelling, spoken language, reading, and writing? Why is it so confusing? How is it confusing? How does the brain work out this confusion and what happens when it can’t do it fast enough?

“Wow, that’s interesting. I think that’s a lovely description of it (the challenge of learning to read). I’m impressed with the cast that you’ve assembled; it’s certainly a very impressive group.” – Dr. Tim Shanahan, Chair National Early Literacy Panel, President (2006), International Reading Association

District Leadership Seminars

What is the difference between dyslexia and reading improficiency? What is the difference between inherited weaknesses and growing up in environments that insufficiently exercise the neuro-developmental prerequisites of reading? How does learning to read affect self-esteem and how does self-esteem affect learning to read? How do the feelings evoked by learning to read difficulties exacerbate learning to read difficulties?

“Like most scholars, until awakened by the “Children of the Code” project, I took reading as much for granted as eating and drinking. Very few of us have paid sufficient attention to the specific emotions triggered in children as they begin to read. “Children of the Code” merits the serious attention of anyone interested in emotional health of children or the future of America.” – Dr. Donald L. Nathanson, M.D. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Jefferson Medical College, Author: ‘Shame and Pride’ and ‘Knowing and Feeling’

Thought Leader Dialogues

The central purpose of the Children of the Code Project is to help educators, parents, and all who care about children, develop a deeper first-person understanding of ‘what is at stake’ and ‘what is involved’ in learning to read.

We offer keynote addresses, presentations, talks, seminars, and workshops. We customize and orchestrate each event to maximize relevance, connection, insight, and impact. Because we are a non profit project our events are comparatively inexpensive – in many cases, only a fraction of the cost of engaging just one of our interviewees.

“It’s a wonderful thing that you’re doing. I appreciate the scope of what you’re doing. It’s called information improvement which is the prime issue in knowledge advancement. How do you put things together in ways that are easily understandable and communicable to other people. You’re talking about a big thing. People see pieces of it and you’re putting together a whole lot of things that no individual one of us has a grasp on.” Todd Risley, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Alaska, Co Author – “Meaningful Differences”

About the presenter:

David Boulton is the Director of the Children of the Code project and the producer and interviewer of the Children of the Code Documentary series. He appeared in the “The New Science of Learning” PBS documentary (watch a clip) and his work has been featured in numerous books and articles. His own articles on learning have been published internationally. Read an Interview with David Boulton

“For the past thirty-three years I have been a teacher and educator of all levels of schooling, colleges and universities and I was extremely impressed by David’s insights into the learning process.” – Roy Lundin, Ph.D, Director Queensland University of Technology, Australia

“Your presentation for our Schools of the Future Design Team was stunning! Your work is the key to revolutionizing schools of the future. I cannot remember when I have had such a great learning experience.” – Margaret Gayle, Author of Educational Renaissance

Attending a Children of the Code Event

Thank you for your interest in attending a Children of the Code event

We offer keynote addresses, presentations, talks, seminars, and workshops. If you are interested in attending a Children of the Code event please take a moment and let us know more about yourself and your location so we can let you know about events in your area. THE CHILDREN OF THE CODE PROJECT PROMISES THAT WE WILL NEVER SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH ANYONE ELSE.

Arranging Children of the Code Events

Thank you for your interest in arranging or helping to arrange a Children of the Code event.

We offer keynote addresses, presentations, talks, seminars, and workshops. From small group workshops to keynotes for thousands, we customize and orchestrate each event to maximize relevance, connection, insight, and impact.

Types of Events


Keynotes and Talks 
(30 to 90 minutes) themes include: We Are Who We Learn to Be“, “Stewarding the Health of our Children’s Learning“, “Children of the Code“, “The Code and the Challenge of Learning to Read It“, “Mind-Shame: The Dark Heart of Learning Difficulties“, “Understanding and Preventing Acquired Learning Disabilities” and others. We have presented keynote addresses at the annual conferences of the Georgia School Superintendents Association, Nebraska State School Psychologists AssociationSouth Carolina Education and Business Summit, Scientific Learning’s National Circle of Learning, the Florida State Literacy Coalition, The Learning Disabilities Symposium of the Winston San Antonio, C.J. Davidson Memorial Lecture Series for The Scottish Rite Learning Center of West Texas, Burnaby School District (Canada), and many others. We have been a featured presenter at conferences and events including the Science Network’s ‘Science of Educating’, the International Dyslexia Association (main international conference), United Way, Rotary International, the Center for Quality Leadership, the National School Mental Health Association, the National Center for Family Literacy, Lindamood-Bell, ACE of Florida, the Michigan Council for Exceptional Children, and many others.

Seminars (120 to 180 minutes) COTC seminars introduce or extend the themes of our keynotes and talks and go deeper to include:

  • The human, social, and economic dimensions of reading related difficulties.
  • How reading effects our overall learning abilities and the development of our minds.
  • How chronic reading difficulty affects self-esteem.
  • Why so many people experience difficulty learning to read.
  • The connections between family, language, self-esteem, and learning to read.
  • Phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
  • The relationship between the alphabet, spelling, oral language, reading, and writing.
  • The code of written English, how it developed and how it works.
  • How the brain uses the code to generate the simulated language experience we call reading.
  • How meaningless code-processing and meaningful language experiences connect.
  • How to ‘read’ where and why the brains of struggling readers are ‘stuttering’.
  • How to become better first-person learners in applying reading methodologies to individual learners.

Workshops (300 to 400 minutes) our workshops use the ‘big picture’ framework of our talks and seminars to travel deeper into the details while extending the opportunity for audience participation through thought experiments, demonstrations, dialogue and detailed Q&A sessions.

We have conducted over 60 seminars and workshops for colleges of education, state departments of education, school districts, schools, and literacy organizations.

Costs and Requirements:

Learning Stewards is a non-profit organization. Live events are a vital part of both expressing and supporting our work. As we don’t sell anything, we do charge fees for our participation at events. However, depending on your event, we may be able to secure donations that can significantly reduce our fees. If you have a limited budget but can make a good case for your proposed event, let us know and we will work with you.

1) Fees (2018) : Contact us with a description of your event and we will send you our fee schedule: 502-290-2526, email us at code(at)implicity.org or click here to go to our event inquiry form.

Fees do not include travel expenses, which vary according to how a proposed event fits with existing travel plans. We offer a 10% discount for additional same-day and/or next-day events.

2) Equipment: LCD projector, PA system (more detail)

Optional resources we offer in support of our events:

We can provide local organizers with a number of optional resources including customized web pages, on-line registration systems, printable flyers, email templates, and radio and television promotional spots. Fees for optional packages are at COTC cost and range from $250 to 500.00

Further Inquiry

If you are interested in finding out more about Children of the Code events and/or how to arrange one for your organization please call us at 502-290-2526, email us at code(at)implicity.org or click here to go to our event inquiry form.