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.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
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. Warlick is the author of Raw Materials for the Mind: 4th Edition, Redefining Literacy for the 21st Century, and Classroom Blogging: A Teacher's Guide to the Blogoshpere.
OTHER SPEAKERS
Cindy Agnew
Director of Instructional Technology
Fife School District, WA
As director for instructional technology for the Fife School District in Tacoma, Washington, Cindy Agnew works with the Fife teachers to design professional development opportunities on the new Sharepoint Portal. In 2002, she was the program developer for technical education at OSPI (Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction). She helped design the national IT Career Cluster for the US Department of Education and designed curriculum with Macromedia and DigiTools author, Karl Barksdale. From 1981-1999, she taught business education courses to students in grades 9-12.
Dr. Sara Armstrong
Editor, author, consultant
Sara Armstrong Consulting, CA
Sara Armstrong is editor of OnCUE, the journal of the California Computer-Using Educators. She has been an educator for over 33 years, with 17 years of classroom experience that included integrating technology and telecommunications into the curriculum in the early '80s. More recently, she worked as the director of content at the George Lucas Educational Foundation, and is currently an independent consultant engaged in a variety of projects, including professional development, curriculum design, issues of information literacy, and storytelling and technology. She is the author and co-author of several books, including A Pocket Tour of Kidstuff on the Internet, and NetSavvy: Information Literacy in the Communications Age. She has contributed chapters to and served as editor for several other books focused on learning in the digital age. Her 2004 Teacher Created Materials publication, Information Literacy, has been used for numerous workshops with teachers and media specialists on the topic. Armstrong serves on the boards of East Bay Computer-Using Educators, the Center for Accessible Technology, the Global SchoolNet Foundation, is a member of the River School Charter Council and Berkeley High School Community Partnerships Academy Advisory Board, and has been awarded a Gold Disk by California CUE. She is an associate of the Thornburg Center for Professional Development, and a frequent national and international speaker.
Barbara Bray
President and CEO
My eCoach and Computer Strategies, LLC
Barbara Bray is the founder of My eCoach, an online learning community to build sustainable coaching and mentoring programs that allow anyone to learn, share, and connect at anytime from anywhere. An experienced education technology consultant and project manager, she writes a regular column on professional development for the California Computer Users' journal, OnCUE, coordinates the Professional Development Quick Tips (PDQs) for Techlearning.com, and moderates an active listserv (techstaffdevelop@yahoogroups.com). Bray has taught at St. Mary's College and Cal State Hayward, both in California, been a guest speaker at UC Berkeley and other universities, presented at local, national, and international conferences, and written numerous articles and columns on coaching programs and online learning communities.
Susan Brooks-Young
Author and consultant
S.J. Brooks-Young Consulting, WA
Susan Brooks-Young has more than 23 years experience as a teacher (PreK-8th grades) and administrator at the elementary and middle school levels, as well as in a county office of education. She currently works with school administrators and teachers across the country on successful implementation of instructional technology programs. She is a contributing editor and columnist for Technology & Learning magazine and has authored a number of books over the years, including Self-Assessment Activities for School Administrators: A Companion to Making Technology Standards Work for You (ISTE), published in May 2004, and 101 Best Web Sites for Principals (ISTE), whose second edition was released in January 2005.
Bob Choquette
Director, Professional Development Services
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
As director of Professional Development Services at ISTE, Bob Choquette works closely with educators to improve teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in education. Prior to joining ISTE, he was the acting director of the University of Oregon Survey Research Laboratory. For the past 15 years Choquette has also taught at the University of Oregon in the Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management, in the areas of grant writing, project management, and strategic planning. He has a Master's degree in urban planning, and is a doctoral candidate in educational leadership.
Dr. Linda L. Clark
Superintendent of Schools
Meridian Joint School District No. 2, ID
Dr. Linda Clark is a career educator who has spent the past 35 years as an elementary teacher, principal and district administrator. She is currently the superintendent of Meridian Joint School District No. 2, the largest and most rapidly growing district in Idaho. Prior to assuming the superintendency, Clark was Meridian's director of student achievement, a position that she held in various forms for ten years. In this position, she supervised projects to redesign the district's curriculum, develop and implement a comprehensive assessment program, and institute continuous improvement as the decision-making model in the district. Clark has traveled extensively, and has led eleven Citizen Ambassador delegations that have examined the role of women in society in China, the U.S.S.R., South Africa, Egypt, Cuba, and Brazil. She is active in numerous educational, civic, and fraternal organizations; serves as chairman of the board of directors for the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA); is on the advisory panel for the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce; and is a member of the board of directors for the Discovery Center of Idaho and the Capital Educators Federal Credit Union. She previously served for ten years as Idaho Commissioner on the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE).
Dr. Barbara Grohe
Superintendent of Schools
Kent School District, WA
Dr. Barbara Grohe is presently superintendent in Kent, Washington. As superintendent of the fourth largest school district in the state, she provides leadership for over 26,000 students and 3,100 staff. Prior to coming to Kent, she served as superintendent in Shorewood, Wisconsin and Iowa City, Iowa. Herrevious educational experience includes positions as assistant superintendent, Right to Read director, reading consultant, and elementary teacher. She was honored as the 1998 National Superintendent of the Year. Grohe Grohe holds certifications in district administration, supervision, elementary school principalship, K-12 Spanish certification and classroom teaching.
Don Hall
Executive Director, Information Technology
Kent School District, WA
Don Hall is the executive director (CIO) for information technology with the 27,000+ student Kent School District in the Seattle metropolitan area, which is known nationally for its use of technology to improve instruction. In 2003, the district, under his leadership, was recognized as a Microsoft Center of Excellence for achievements in this area. As a career educator with over 15 years experience in teaching and administration at the K-12 and college level, he has also previously held senior leadership roles within the General Electric Corporation and the Kentucky Department of Education. He is a veteran conference presenter at the national and international level, a published author, a columnist for ISTE's monthly journal, Learning and Leading with Technology, and an experienced consultant who serves on several educational advisory boards. In recognition of his contributions to public education, he was one of three finalists for the 2006 National Public School CIO of the Year Award.
Eva LaMar
One-to-One Laptop Initiative Program Development Specialist
Springfield Public Schools, OR
Eva LaMar has an extensive background in educational technology. She has won numerous national awards for classroom projects as well as being featured by the George Lucas Educational Foundation and Edutopia Magazine. She is an Intel Teach to the Future senior trainer, Macromedia Educational Leader, Apple Distinguished Educator and director of The Geo-Literacy Project. LaMar has presented at NECC, California CUE, NCCE, and CAG conferences. She is currently the one-to-one program development specialist for Springfield Public Schools, where she directs Oregon's first one-to-one laptop program. She is also co-directing the "Day in the Life of a one-to-one learning enviroment" along with Dr. Kyle Peck.
Tim Lauer
Principal
Meriwether Lewis Elementary School, Portland, OR
A former classroom teacher, Tim Lauer now serves as principal of Meriwether Lewis Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, where he routinely works with school administrators and teachers to plan practical, supportable uses of technology in teaching and learning. Besides his work as an elementary school principal, he is also an adjunct professor at Pacific University and a presenter at a number of conferences. He writes about education and technology on his weblog: http://tim.lauer.name
Scott Le Duc
Technology Coordinator and CTE Instructor
Capital High School, Olympia, WA
Scott Le Duc has been teaching visual arts and technology classes as a Career and Technical Education (CTE) instructor for 10 years at Capital High School in Olympia, Washington. He has also been the building technology coordinator for most of this time. He is currently working with the Washington State Office Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), to help build the multimedia, commercial photography and web design frameworks. He has developed student technology support curriculum using the GenerationTECH.net tools from Generation YES. Within this system, students help train staff, support the technology in the school and self-author projects to further their own skills development.
Howard Levin
Director of Technology
The Urban School, San Francisco, CA
Howard Levin is director of technology at the Urban School, an independent high school in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. He oversees the award-winning web site, Telling Their Stories: Oral History Archives Project which houses over 50 hours of student-conducted interviews with local Holocaust survivors, concentration camp liberators, and Japanese American internment camp internees. Urban received the 2004 National Association of Independent Schools Leading Edge award in technology for work on Telling Their Stories. Levin began integrating technology in the classroom 18 years ago when teaching history at the Overlake School in Redmond, Washington. He is former assistant head of the Jewish Day School of Metropolitan Seattle. He has published articles in ISTE's Learning and Leading with Technology and is a frequent speaker at education and technology conferences throughout the nation.
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 13 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. DUE TO A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, SUSAN MCLESTER WAS NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT TO TECH FORUM. JEFF ALLEN, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY FOR OLYMPIC ESD 114, MODERATED IN HER PLACE.
Conn McQuinn
Director
Educational Technology Support Center, Puget Sound ESD
Conn McQuinn is the director of the Educational Technology Support Center at the Puget Sound ESD in Renton, where he has worked for 13 years. He has nearly three decades of eclectic experience in education, including teacher training, running the world's largest traveling science education program at the Pacific Science Center, authoring sixteen childrens' books and, of course, fiddling extensively with technology. McQuinn holds a Masters' degree in Education from the University of Washington, along with a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry, despite which he still regularly kills his houseplants.
Randy Orwin
Director of Technology
Bainbridge Island School District, WA
Randy Orwin has a broad background as both a teacher and a "techie." He has taught high school band, AP Music, biology, advanced ecology, and math and spent two years as a library media specialist. He was music director for more than twenty musicals. On the "techie" side, he holds numerous technology certifications and has taught a number of computer networking and hardware courses to high school students. During the last 15 years, he has taught a variety of technology-related courses for teachers. During his six years as director of technology for the Bainbridge Island School District, Orwin has expanded the use of the district web site as a communication tool, with the site receiving over 3 million page requests during the past year. He has given numerous presentations on Internet Safety. His current passion is e-learning using Moodle and open source software in schools. When he is not doing the "techie" thing, you might find him on a scout trip somewhere or playing French Horn in the Bremerton symphony.
Danielle Pfeiffer
Director
Kent School District Technology Academy, WA
Dani Pfeiffer is currently the director of the Kent School District Technology Academy and the assistant principal at Mill Creek Middle School in Kent, Washington . She was instrumental in planning and implementing Kent's first one-to-one computing program which has recently appeared in several publications and was featured on NBC Nightly News. Pfeiffer has presented at numerous conferences and has served as an advisor to districts, both nationally and internationally, that are also in the process of implementing one-to-one programs. She has also collaborated with the University of Minnesota regarding integration of technology as an enhancer of student achievement. The KSD Technology Academy is a small learning community housed on the Mill Creek campus. Its mission is to prepare every one of its students for lifelong personal and academic success in a technology rich world. In the Fall of 2005, the Tech Academy opened its doors to ninety seventh grade students from throughout the Kent School District. At the start of the 2006-2007 school year the academy expanded to include 160 seventh and eighth grade students.
Mary Jean Sandall
Principal
Secondary Alternative Programs, Salem, OR
Mary Jean Sandall is currently a high school principal in the Salem-Keizer School District in Salem, Oregon. She was employed first as a teacher, then as a program assistant in Curriculum and Instruction and most recently as the principal for Secondary Alternative Programs, supervising multiple secondary alternative programs. One of the original founders of the district online instructional program, SK Online, Sandall has supervised this program since its founding. In its short history, SK Online has earned numerous awards, including the "Technology Showcase" designation from the National School Boards association, and received national attention through articles in "The New York Times" and "US News and World Report". Through Sandall’s leadership, online instruction is now integrated as an option for all students in alternative programs as well as in the neighborhood schools, greatly expanding access and opportunities for students. She is active in community, service and church organizations including the YMCA, Rotary and IKE Media. She was awarded the "Crystal Apple" in 2001 for educational excellence. In 2006 she was given an ISTE/International Society for Technology in Education "Making it Happen" designation by NCCE/Northwest Council for Computer Education.
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. 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 an early 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).
Gwen Solomon
Director
TechLEARNING.com
Gwen Solomon is director of techLEARNING.com, the web site of Technology & Learning and a contributing editor to the 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 most recent books are Connect Online: Web Learning Adventures and Toward Digital Equity: Bridging the Educational Digital Divide (edited book). Her next book will be published in June 2007.
Jeff Waddington
AV/Technology Coordinator
Olympia High School, Olympia, WA
Jeff Waddington has been teaching for 23 years, and has been both the Audio Visual and Technology Coordinator at Olympia High School. Under Waddington's guidance, Olympia High School has been a pioneer in student video production, serving as the education beta test site for the product that became the Video Toaster — the first package that made video production available via a personal computer — and offering a video production class since 1986 that produces a school news program. This award-winning program plays to the school and to Thurston County Public Access TV, and for the last 8 years has been available via streaming media from a web server that is built and managed by Waddington's students. The Olympia High School students also produce a school-wide daily TV based morning show for announcements, sports, and other quick information as needed. Waddington has spoken at several national events about video production at the high school level. He and his students even provided the first live broadcasts from the 2002 NCCE and 2003 NECC conferences, and provided the ending keynote videos for NECC. Waddington strongly believes that giving students real roles and activities that help support the school and community allows students to learn a broad spectrum of needed skills while giving them a chance to start the merger with the "real" world by doing authentic and needed tasks along with the adults around them.
