Speakers
Speakers 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. Read below about the presenters who spoke at Tech Forum NY on October 19, 2004. Or click here learn about the high-powered Tech Forum advisors who served as moderators for roundtable discussions.
KEYNOTER
Jeff Harrow
Principal, The Harrow Group
Jeff Harrow, author of The Harrow Report and principal of The Harrow Group (www.TheHarrowGroup.com), has been the chief technologist for the Corporate Strategy Groups of both Compaq and Digital Equipment Corporation. Over the past twenty years he has authored and published several thousand articles and audio programs, and a book, all relating to innovative technology, its rate of change, and how this is (and will be ever-more) impacting how we work, live, and play. He has been a judge of the Discover Magazine "Innovation Awards," and has participated in many panels and technology-related TV shows. Mr. Harrow also has numerous patents issued and on-file, and is a commercial pilot.
Combining his multi-faceted technological insights, he has delivered hundreds of keynotes and presentations to organizations large and small, around the globe, to help them more effectively deal with multiple technologies' exponential rates of advancement, and their synergistic effects on each other.
OTHER PRESENTERS
Jane Bloomquist
Quality Assurance Manager
Chicago Public Schools
Jane Bloomquist, MCT, CNI, Master CIW, received her Doctorate in Philosophy from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. In addition to her experiences in the K-12 environment as a high school teacher, a regional technology coordinator and as an administrator, she has taught for Northwestern University and Northern Illinois University and worked in the Internet industry. In her current position as Quality Assurance Manager for the Office of Technology Services in the Chicago Public Schools, Dr. Bloomquist is working on policies, standards and procedures for WAN enterprise networking projects including security for wireless connectivity.
Jeffrey Branzburg
Educational Technology Consulting
Branzburg Associates, Inc.
Jeffrey Branzburg, a technology consultant and president of Branzburg Associates, Inc., is a former supervisor of instructional technology for school districts in New York State, as well as for the New York City school system. He is a contributing editor and regular columnist for Technology & Learning Magazine.
Corinne Carriero
Director of Instructional Computing
Half Hollow Hills School District, NY
As Director of Instructional Computing for the Half Hollow Hills School District, Corinne Carriero works daily to meet one of the most critical challenges in education today: training educators to integrate technology into the curriculum in a meaningful way. In addition to her school district responsibilities, she is an adjunct professor in the Educational Technology graduate program at Long Island University. She has twice been named a Smithsonian Laureate as part of the Computerworld/Smithsonian program "that recognizes individuals who have demonstrated vision and leadership as they strive to use information technology in innovative ways." As a result of this designation Ms. Carriero's work is now part of the Permanent Research Collection on Information Technology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.
Kim Carter
Director
Monadnock Community Connections School, NH
Kim Carter is the Director of Monadnock Community Connections 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, Ms. Carter 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.
Herman Gaither
Superintendent of Schools
Beaufort County School District, SC
For almost half a century, Herman K. Gaither has worked tirelessly to improve the teaching and learning in Beaufort County schools. He has served the Beaufort County School District in numerous capacities over the past 44 years and, since becoming superintendent nine years ago, has been largely responsible for the marked turnaround in the county's schools. Mr. Gaither and his schools have been recognized by CoSN and the Smithsonian Institute as a national leader in classroom technology and by Microsoft and Toshiba for finding new ways to use portable technology in the classroom. Mr. Gaither's school district just opened the new Bluffton High School, a $30 million technology school with virtual recording studios and wireless connectivity throughout the campus.
Joe Hofmeister
Technology Director
Cincinnati Country Day School, OH
As Technology Director of Cincinnati Country Day School, Joe Hofmeister's responsibilities include oversight of all technology budget issues, supervision of technology staff, and responsibility for vision, mission and future directions of the school's pK-12 technology program. A long-time advocate of the integration of modern technology in education, Mr. Hofmeister has been involved in a number of innovative generations of technology integration. In 1996 the school started a program that required all faculty members and every student in grades 5-12 to have a laptop computer. After seven years in that program the school has now begun the transition to TabletPC's. Hofmeister has been a frequent speaker at local, national and occasionally at international conferences, has done numerous workshops for faculties, and consults for schools and school districts.
Eric Klopfer
Director
MIT Teacher Education Program, MA
Eric Klopfer is the Scheller Career Development Professor of Science Education at MIT and the Director of the MIT Teacher Education Program. Klopfer's research focuses on the development and use of computer simulations and games for building understanding of science. His research projects include StarLogo, a desktop platform that enables students and teachers to create computer models of complex systems and participatory simulations on handheld and wearable computers. Klopfer's work combines the construction of new software tools with research and development of new pedagogical scaffolds that support the use of these tools in the classroom.
Susan McLester
Editor in Chief
Technology & Learning Magazine
Susan McLester is editor in chief of Technology & Learning magazine. She has been an editor at T&L for 11 years, concurrently writing a weekly column for the L.A. Times' Tech Times section, articles on technology for Newsweek, Parenting, Entertainment@Home, and other publications, and presenting at a range of education technology conferences, including T&L's Tech Forum. She has acted as a juror for the Bologna Book Fair's New Media division and has spoken about educational technology on Bloomberg Radio, Microsoft NBC and other television shows. She is also an experienced middle and high school teacher, book editor and writer.
Peter Reilly
Director
Lower Hudson Regional Information Center, NY
Pete Reilly is the Director of the Lower Hudson Regional Information Center, a non-profit technology consortium of 62 school districts located in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, just north of NYC. Pete is presently focused on shifting the technology discourse from "cables and chips" to the human issues involved in creating effective educational technology environments. His latest essay, "When the Classroom Door Swings Inward", is part of the anthology, "Being Human at Work"; edited by Dr. Richard Strozzi-Heckler and published by North Atlantic Press. He has presented to diverse audiences throughout the United States and Canada. Mr. Reilly has worked on a consulting basis with the Edison Project, numerous school districts around the country and has been featured in articles in Electronic Learning, Curriculum Product News, Media and Methods, and the Heller Report. In September 1995, he visited China on behalf of UNICEF and developed a report on the state of educational technology in China today.
Robert Richardson
Editorial Director
Computer Security Institute
As Editorial Director of CMP's Computer Security Institute, Robert Richardson has worked in the IT field for sixteen years. Prior to joining CSI in 2002, he served as Senior Editor of CMP's Communications Convergence magazine for two years, where his beats included telecom security, wireless, Internet messaging, and next-generation phone systems. Before that, he was a frequent contributor to magazines and web publications such as Ziff-Davis Internet Computing, BYTE, Network Magazine, and Small Business Computing. His start with computers was as a network systems programmer building PC-networked applications for the insurance industry in the late 1980s, when PC networks were new and quirky. He has authored two books: Web Guide and Building Your Own High-Tech Small Office. Mr. Richardson is based outside Philadelphia, where he also serves as an adjunct teacher of computer science at Swarthmore College .
Peter Robertson
Chief Information Officer
Cleveland Municipal School District, OH
Peter Robertson, CIO for the Cleveland Municipal School District, is on leave during the 2004-2005 school year so that he can complete his doctoral program. During his five years with the Cleveland schools, he has developed a data warehouse to support school improvement efforts, implemented an on-line standards-based report card system, shifted district focus on student assessment away from standardized tests towards classroom assessment, and led a 75% reduction in information technology support costs while maintaining service levels. Prior to his current job, Mr. Robertson was a consultant for the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company; an educational researcher at the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching; and a high school social studies teacher in Montgomery County, Maryland. He has a BA from Harvard College, an MBA from Columbia Business School, and is a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership and Management at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Shelley Rossitto
Director of Instructional Technology
Monticello Central School District, NY
Shelley Rossitto has been with the Monticello Central School District for the past year, during which time she has overseen the rebuilding of the infrastructure to provide a more stable environment to accommodate instructional and administrative technology uses including video conferencing, VOIP, increased computer access, security, and implementation of a more efficient system for maintenance and repair. Before coming to Monticello she was the coordinator of instructional technology at Orange-Ulster BOCES where she managed the Model Schools program, distance learning, and the Jason project for 16 school districts. Ms. Rossitto is currently involved in the development of a cooperative security program for school districts through BOCES and RICS.
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, Ms. Salpeter served as editor-in-chief from 1994 to 2000. In addition to overseeing content for Technology & Learning Events, she is now consulting editor to the magazine and works as a freelance writer, consultant and conference planner. Over the years, she has written for publications including Business Week and Newsweek, authored a software program (Mystery Sentences, Scholastic, 1984) and a book (Kids & Computers: A Parents' Handbook, SAMS, 1991), and edited a number of publications for the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN).
Monique (Mo) Shorr
Teacher, Hartland Farms Intermediate School
Hartland, MI
For the past five years, Mo Shorr has been successfully integrating handhelds -- using both the Palm OS and Pocket PC platforms -- into her sixth grade classroom. She works collaboratively with the University of Michiganýs Center for Highly Interactive Computing in Education (HICE) and GoKnow Inc., the premier provider of educational software, curriculum, and professional development for handheld computers. Her classroom is a research test-bed for the University of Michigan. In this capacity she has helped to improve and create a number of educational software titles such as the suite of programs that includes HLE (Handheld Learning Environment), PAAM ( Archive & Application Manager), FlingIt Pro, PiCo Map Pro, Sketchy Pro, EChem, Cooties, and more. Ms. Shorr also serves as a handheld specialist and certified trainer for GOKNOW and presents at many major technology conferences. She holds a degree in Elementary Education and a Masterýs degree in Educational Leadership.
Gwen Solomon
Director
TechLEARNING.com
Gwen Solomon is Director of techLEARNING.com, the web site of Technology & Learning magazine. Ms. Solomon 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).
Tom Stapleford
Superintendent of Schools
Tuscarora School District, PA
Dr. Thomas Stapleford is superintendent of the Tuscarora School District in Mercersburg, PA, a 2800-pupil district located 60 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD. He has served as a high school history teacher, assistant principal, high school principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent in school districts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York and was also Deputy Director of the School Administrators Association of New York State. While earning his masters degree at Brown University, Dr. Stapleford served as graduate assistant to Professor Theodore Sizer, founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools -- experience that he later utilized as the principal of two high schools that became members of the Coalition. He received his bachelors degree from Penn State and his doctorate from Columbia University.
Harry Tuttle
Consultant, Educator in Residence
Syracuse University
Dr. Harry Tuttle has been a director of technology and technology integration teacher in public schools for over 16 years. Presently he focuses on technology and learning at Syracuse University and Cornell University. His most recent book, "Learning and Technology Assessments for Administrators", focuses on 54 different areas of technology integration in schools through data driven decision making. His professional endeavors have included serving as President of the New York State Association for Computers and Technology in Education (NYSCATE) and President of the Technology Coordinators Special Interest Group of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).
David Warlick
Director
Landmark Project, NC
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; writes for a number of magazines and journals; 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 three books, the latest of which is Redefining Literacy for the 21st Century, available through Linworth Publishing.
