TeckTalk PD Course Instructors
All of TechTalk PD's Course Instructors have real classroom experience.
Laura Donovan
Bio: Laura Donovan is a retired Kindergarten teacher. She worked for the Hingham Public Schools for 36 years – ALL in Kindergarten! She was an iPad pioneer for her district. Through grants and other funding each Hingham kindergarten classroom currently has 10 iPads to use with students. Laura was also a consultant for Hingham’s transition to full-day kindergarten. Part of her responsibilities included training teachers on the iPads. She also did small group iPad instruction with the kindergarten students. Laura holds a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. She also has a Master's Degree in General Education from Fitchburg State (MA) University.
Courses taught: KidPads, KidPads 2.0
Courses taught: KidPads, KidPads 2.0
Matt England
Bio: Matt England has been working with technology in and out of the classroom for the past four years. As a computer technology teacher at Rocky River Middle School near Cleveland, Ohio, he has relevant experience teaching what works in the classroom. After earning his Google Certified Trainer certification, Matt has offered many professional development sessions from one-on-one to district-wide implementation. Matt graduated with a Technology Education degree from Kent State University, has a Masters degree in Education Media Design & Technology from Full Sail University, and is also an Adjunct Professor at Ashland University.
Courses taught: Collaboration in the Classroom: An Introduction to Google Apps, @yourclassroom: Social Media for Education
Courses taught: Collaboration in the Classroom: An Introduction to Google Apps, @yourclassroom: Social Media for Education
Kurt Kohls
Bio: A Technology Support Specialist in Fairfax County, Virginia, Kurt works with educators to engage their students through innovative ideas, including the use of QR Codes in elementary education. Kurt successfully presented sessions at NECC 2008, 2009, and ISTE from 2010 to 2014 with his colleagues. Participants of these sessions left excited and energized by new Web 2.0 multimedia tools and their potential to help teachers reach higher levels of the NETS*T. He continues to explore ways to best impact learning and help educators as they strive to be Transformative Technology Teachers. He holds a Bachelor's degree in History, and a Master’s degree in Elementary Education from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
Courses taught: QR Codes in the Classroom
Courses taught: QR Codes in the Classroom
Kathy Korty
Bio: Kathy Korty has 30+ years of experience in education. She began her career as a second-grade teacher. She entered the technology field 8 years ago and serves as Technology Integration Specialist for Edgewood City Schools in Trenton, Ohio. Each summer Kathy has coordinated and taught at the district’s Summer Tech Academy. In 2012, she co-coordinated the move to make the Academy an online experience for the district's staff. Through this program she has been able to help move teachers in her district toward the goal of becoming 21st century educators. She has also written numerous grants to bring new technology resources to district classrooms. Kathy has presented at the Ohio E-Tech, NCTM and TCEA Conferences. She holds a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Eastern Kentucky University, and a master’s degree in Curriculum and Administration from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Courses taught: Rigorous Assessments with Online Resources, The iPad Revolution, The Blended Learning Classroom, Teaching in the Interactive Classroom, Communicating with a Classroom Blog, The 21st Century Research Project
Courses taught: Rigorous Assessments with Online Resources, The iPad Revolution, The Blended Learning Classroom, Teaching in the Interactive Classroom, Communicating with a Classroom Blog, The 21st Century Research Project
Mary Ann Linville
Bio: Mary Ann Linville first became excited about technology when a brand new projector was rolled into her Pre-Kindergarten classroom on a cart way back in 2004. Since that day, she enjoyed working with her colleagues to implement new and exciting tech tools into her instruction. With 8 years of experience teaching in a Pre-K classroom and 5 years in First Grade, Mary Ann’s passion for ed tech continues to grow in her new career as a Technology Integration Specialist who works with elementary teachers and students. Mary Ann has earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration, and a 4th/5th Grade Teaching Endorsement, all through Xavier University. She is also finishing up her Educational Technology Endorsement through Miami University.
Courses taught: Elementary EdTech Explorers
Courses taught: Elementary EdTech Explorers
Allison Lombardi
Bio: Allison Lombardi has been dedicated to the field of special education and instructional technology for the last past five years. Early in her career, she worked as a behavior specialist in an autism clinic with preschoolers. It is there that she realized how instructional technology could be used in new ways in order to support students with all different types of learning disabilities. Since then, Allison has been successfully integrating technology across the curriculum in order to support her students’ individualized learning goals within a general education setting. Throughout the years, Allison has worked with every level of learner and just about every type of disability. One constant has been her use of technology within the classroom to provide the most engaging, beneficial, and student centered lessons for her students. Currently, Allison teaches 8th grade self-contained and inclusion classes near Cleveland, OH. She holds a bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Toledo.
Courses taught: Special Education and Technology
Courses taught: Special Education and Technology
Cameron Nichols
Bio: Cameron Nichols has been in the field of Education for the
last 14 years. Her classroom experience
began with a sixth grade Math and Science teaching position in North Carolina. Throughout the years, Cameron also taught second and third grade. While always taking a deep
interest in integrating technology within the classroom, Cameron began using
Mimio (a portable interactive whiteboard) in 2006.
She was among the first teachers at her school to use and master this
new innovative technology. Within a short time, she began training her fellow educators on
how to implement Mimio in their own classrooms.
In 2007, Cameron became an online instructor for Mimio, helping teachers
around the country become proficient with using the full classroom suite of Mimio
products. She has also been a moderator
for the Mimio Masters Courses, as well as assisting with website management of
answering user questions. Cameron
graduated from Boston College in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in
Elementary Education with Moderate Special Needs and Human Development.
Courses taught: Connecting Beyond the Traditional Classroom
Courses taught: Connecting Beyond the Traditional Classroom
Robin Phares
Bio: Robin Phares entered the field of Educational Technology fifteen years ago with the purchase of her first Apple computer. Teaching in the music classroom, she instantly became intrigued with Garage Band. This attraction led to the completion of a Master of Arts In Education/Curriculum and Instruction-Computer Education from the University of Phoenix and a Master of Science Education, Integrating Technology into the Classroom from the Walden University. After teaching chorus, band and general music for 19 years, she moved into the role of Technology Integration Specialist in the Edgewood City Schools. Robin is a regular speaker at the Ohio Etech Conference and maintains the website Talking Tech with Robin.
Courses taught: Integrating Technology into the Common Core, The Blended Learning Classroom, The 21st Century Secondary Educator, Chromebooks in Your Classroom, Pencils are in the Past! Using Video for our 21st Century Learners, Flipping Your Classroom
Courses taught: Integrating Technology into the Common Core, The Blended Learning Classroom, The 21st Century Secondary Educator, Chromebooks in Your Classroom, Pencils are in the Past! Using Video for our 21st Century Learners, Flipping Your Classroom
Lynn Erickson
Bio: Lynn Erickson has over 20 years of experience in Education. She began her career as a language arts and math teacher. During the past twelve years, she has been working as an Educational Technology Specialist, assisting various schools both in Connecticut and Mississippi with technology integration in all subject areas. In 2006, Lynn was awarded the Mississippi Technology Educator of the Year from the Mississippi Technology Educators Association. Over the past 8 years, Lynn has presented about Educational Technology at national conferences such as CECA, FETC, Discovery Education Days, Celebration of Teaching and Learning, and ISTE. She is currently a Mimio Certified Trainer and moderates webinars for Mimio, instructing teachers how to effectively utilize Mimio products in the classroom. Lynn has also written numerous grants for districts and has been awarded over $500,000 in grant funding for Educational Technology. Lynn holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Mississippi and a Master’s degree in Educational Technology from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. She is currently working on completing the Certified Google Educator program.
Courses taught: Project Based Learning in the 21st Century Classroom, Full STEAM Ahead with Coding in the Elementary Classroom
Courses taught: Project Based Learning in the 21st Century Classroom, Full STEAM Ahead with Coding in the Elementary Classroom