Dr. Lawrence L. Smith is President, The Whale Hunters® and Professor Emeritus at Ball State University.  His expertise is learning, assessment, and research.  For twenty years, Larry has been researching how technology can be used effectively for learning and assessment in schools. He went Whale Hunting for many large grants and contracts, landing many big deals with big customers to support his research!

He conducted the first study that compared children’s progress in understanding literature when they read from books and when they read from interactive CDs. That study received national attention and was reported on the front page of USA Today. Consequently, Larry was one of three educators whose perspectives are reported in Larry King’s book, Future Talk.

Because of his experience in education and technology, Larry leads our practice for education institutions and the businesses that serve that industry. He trains our clients on the “scouting” research process to identify ideal clients and conducts research and writing projects for education industry businesses.

As Chair of a department of 2000 students for 15 years, Larry has honed his leadership and collaboration skills. During his tenure he led the biggest change management project in the college’s history, “sunsetting” the curriculum and starting from scratch with input from all departments that help to educate teachers. It was a highly successful project under tense political circumstances.

He was a board member of the Professor Garfield Foundation founded by Jim Davis of PAWS, Inc. and is former President and CEO of that Foundation.

He provided training for the Peace Corps in Jamaica, led a delegation of students and alumni for a one month trip to China, and arranged student teaching experiences in many European countries.

Larry received his Ph.D. in Education from the University of  Illinois and has published more than 75 articles and book chapters on reading, education, assessment, and technology.