Speakers
Speakers, panelists and moderators at Technology & Learning's Tech Forum are innovators in the field of educational technology. With years of experience as conference presenters, educators, school leaders and Technology & Learning authors, they offer a unique perspective on technology challenges and solutions.
As information is frequently updated, we encourage you to check back often.
Steven M. Baule, Ph.d., Ed.d.
Assistant Superintendent
New Trier High School District
Steven M. Baule is the assistant superintendent for information technology at New Trier High School District in Winnetka and Northfield, Illinois. He is also the executive director of the New Trier Township Technology Cooperative, which provides wide-area-networking, e-mail and Internet services to New Trier and its six elementary sender districts. Dr. Baule was previously a high school administrator, a middle school library media specialist and a classroom teacher. He has presented on technology-related topics to a wide range of educators and librarians in the United States, England and Australia and has published texts on Technology Planning for Teaching and Learning and Facilities Planning for School Library Media and Technology Centers.
Baule has also served as an adjunct faculty member in educational administration, instructional technology and library and information science programs at a number of universities including Loyola University of Chicago and Northern Illinois University. He holds doctorates in educational leadership and supervision from Loyola University of Chicago and in instructional technology from Northern Illinois University. He also holds a masters in library science from the University of Iowa and a bachelors in history from Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa.
Monica M. Beglau, Ed.D.
Instructional Program Leader
eMINTS
Monica Beglau is the eMINTS (enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies) Instructional Program Leader for MOREnetý which provides Internet connectivity, training and technical support to Missouri schools. She has administrative responsibility for the entire eMINTS program, overseeing a staff of 16 instructional specialists who deliver professional development sessions and provide in-classroom mentoring and support to hundreds of eMINTS teachers around the state. Beglau and her staff have created more than 30 instructional modules to assist eMINTS teachers as they learn to integrate multimedia technology into student-centered classroom instruction.
Beglau's roots lie in public education and the elementary school setting. She was a special educator for 11 years and an elementary principal for seven years in the Cheyenne, Wyoming school district. She has taught graduate courses and co-instructed an online course for teachers who mentor colleagues new to inquiry-based teaching in technology-rich classrooms. She served as the Executive Director of the Wyoming School - University Partnership and of the MU Partnership for Educational Renewal prior to joining MOREnet. She holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis in the University of Missouri - Columbia's College of Education.
Kim Carter
Director
Monadnock Community Connection School
Kim Carter is the Director of Monadnock Community Connection School, an alternative public school choice for high school students in southwestern New Hampshire. She was the 1991 New Hampshire Teacher of the Year and the 1996 New Hampshire Media Educator of the Year. A contributing editor for Technology & Learning, Kim has been a co-conspirator in the SchoolTech Expos and Leadership Institutes since their inception. Her greatest love is her three sons, followed closely by a fascination with how people learn and how technology empowers learning and teaching for all.
Hall Davidson
Director of Education Services
KOCE-TV
Hall Davidson is currently Director of Educational Services at KOCE-TV, PBS in Orange County, California. He serves as Executive Director of Telecommunications of Orange County, a media consortium serving 200,000 students, and as Director of the California Student Media and Multimedia Festival, now in its 37th year. He taught language arts, mathematics, and foreign language before leaving the classroom to teach secondary mathematics on television on a program that earned an Emmy. He has served as a technology advisor for software manufacturers, commercial and PBS broadcasters, for organizations including the California School Library Association and Technology for Results in Elementary Education; and been part in numerous technology education task forces and committees. He serves as adjunct faculty on two California colleges. He is past president of Video-Using Educators, and serves on the board for Computer-Using Educators (CUE), the largest technology user group in the western United States. He has produced educational series on information literacy, the Internet, and an upcoming series for children ages 0-5. He is the father of two children currently in the public school system in Los Angeles.
Bruce Friend
Chief Academic Officer
Florida Virtual High School
Bruce is the Chief Academic Officer (CAO) of Florida Virtual School. In his role as CAO, Bruce is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the school, student and parent services, teacher recruitment, training, and support. The CAO also oversees matters relating to curriculum and instruction, directs the development of new course offerings, assesses the effectiveness of existing courses, and researches the most appropriate student populations to be served. As a member of the Executive Director's Leadership Team, Bruce participates in the school's overall planning, development and evaluation. Prior to being selected as CAO, Bruce was the course designer and instructor of the online American Government and Economics courses currently being offered by FLVS. Among his honors are 1998-99 FLVS Teacher of the Year and a finalist for the 1997 Walt Disney Teacherrific Award. He holds a bachelor's degree in Social Science from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master's of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Central Florida. Bruce has become a regular speaker about online teaching and learning issues at many national and state conferences and forums as well as giving presentations to various school and government officials throughout North America.
Mike Hall
Principal
Houston County High School
Mike Hall is the principal of Houston County High School in Warner Robins, Georgia. The school, which has grown in enrollment from 650 to 1960 in just 11 years, has won recognition as a Blue Ribbon school. Hall has been in public education for 22 years. He taught science and computer literacy, coached for 15 years, served as an ISS coordinator, department head, vocational supervisor, assistant principal, and technology coordinator before accepting the principalship at Houston County High. Mr. Hall holds MEd., SEd. and Ed. S degrees in Education Administration and Supervision.
He has been recognized as an Outstanding Educator of the Year, Outstanding Coach of the Year several times, and was recently recognized by the Blue Ribbon Schools program as one of the top 10 high school principals in the country. In the last five years he has spoken at over 25 national and state conferences around the United States on the Implementation of Technology Across the Curriculum and Houston County Highýs very successful 9th Grade Academy.
David Jakes
Instructional Technology Coordinator
Community HS District 99, Downers Grove, IL
David Jakes currently serves as the Instructional Technology Coordinator for Community High School District 99 in Downers Grove, IL. David's interest in technology developed from his 15 years as a classroom science teacher. In addition to speaking at many technology conferences, David conducts technology staff development projects in his school district and throughout the United States, He currently manages two technology-related Web sites, Biopoint.com and myprojectpages.com that seek to help teachers use technology, and particularly the World Wide Web, to increase student achievement and performance.
Susan McLester
Editor in Chief
Technology & Learning Magazine
Susan is an experienced middle and high school teacher. She has written about and reviewed software for Newsweek, School PC, Parenting, Entertainment@Home and other publications, and has talked about software on Microsoft NBC's The Site, and other technology television programs. She coordinates, judges and reports on the annual T&L Software Awards Contest, and acts as a judge for various other contests, including the Software Publishers Association Codies, and the EdPress awards.
Robert Nelson
Director of Technology
Milwaukee Public Schools
Bob Nelson is Director of Technology for Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). Since 1995, when the districtýs technology department was first created, MPS uses of technology have expanded dramatically and realigned to support learning in over 4500 K-12 classrooms. This work has been guided by strategic planning and with the guidance of local, state and national partners. Nelson also serves on several advisory groups and boards, including the Milwaukee Partnership Academy, a group that guides the development of teaching and learning in Milwaukee. Prior to his current position, Nelson spent 27 years working in MPS high schools as a teacher, department chair, project director, assistant principal and principal. He has a BS in Applied Mathematics & Physics and MS in Curriculum & Instruction.
Wallace E. Reeves
Director of Technology Services
Houston County Schools
Wally Reeves has served as director of technology services at Houston County Schools in Central Georgia since February, 1998. During that time he has seen his school district grow to 23,000 students in PK through grade 12, with all campuses connected over broadband network services to one another and to the Internet. Over 8000 desktop, wireless laptop, and handheld computers have been installed in the past five years and each classroom is equipped with large-screen video display devices for both video and data. Teachers and parents have immediate Web access to student data on attendance, achievement, and performance.
Prior to joining Houston County Schools, Reeves served as educational information systems software developer for a Georgia-based software developer. He has been an educational business partner for IBM Corporation and Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting). As an information technology professional, most of his career has been spent in and around the education industry. He provides a depth of technical expertise and a broad knowledge of educational practices.
Judy Salpeter
Program Chair
Technology & Learning Events
Judy Salpeter, an experienced educator and education technology specialist, is program chair for Technology & Learning Events. On the editorial staff of Technology & Learning magazine since 1985, Salpeter served as editor-in-chief from 1994 to 2000. She is now consulting editor to the magazine and works as a freelance writer, consultant and conference planner.
Gwen Solomon
Director
TechLEARNING.com
Gwen Solomon is Director of techLEARNING.com, the web site of Technology & Learning magazine. Gwen has served as senior analyst in the U.S. Department of Education, coordinator of instructional technology planning for New York City Public Schools, and founding director of New York City's School of the Future. Her latest books are Connect Online: Web Learning Adventures and Toward Digital Equity: Bridging the Educational Digital Divide (edited book).
David Warlick
Director
Landmark Project
David Warlick is the Director of the Landmark Project based in Raleigh North Carolina. A former history teacher, district level administrator, and IT specialist with the North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction, he is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in innovative applications of technology, especially the Internet. He has spoken at conferences, seminars and workshops in most states and many other countries, and has developed numerous curriculum projects over the global network, including the second oldest continuing online project, the Global Grocery List. He is the author of Raw Materials for the Mind, a book that explores the implications of digital information for schools.
