Facilitators

Marco Torres

Teaching at a gritty urban school in Los Angeles, Marco Torres knows the
deck is stacked against his students. “We’re giving them a third world education,” he says. Acknowledging the situation, Torres knew his choices were simple. “I could quit. I could complain. Or I could innovate.”

Torres, who teaches social studies at San Fernando High School, decided to innovate. His method is simple: reach students through the media they’re most familiar with. That means video, music, movies. Torres introduces his students to the techniques of media creation and then turns them loose on projects that are actually relevant to their lives. For most of them, that equals their community, their heritage, their family, and their own experiences. His secret weapons: Macs, iLife software, and Final Cut Studio.

“In my work,” Torres says, “I’m continually confronted by people who say, ‘Yes, but...’ or ‘no way!’ Apple says, ‘Yes, and....’” “We can innovate our way out of our problems.” Student media projects have focused on gangs, violence, and migration issues. At the end of each semester, Torres showcases the projects in what he calls the iCan film festival. The first one filled his classroom with a standing-room-only audience. “The fire marshal freaked out,” Torres remembers. “Everyone came. The abuelitos, the uncles, the aunties — because they were in the movies!” Today, the iCan film festival attracts over 1,000 people.

Torres sets high standards for his students. “I want to blur the line between students and professionals, in a lesson, in a week, in a monthThe results are phenomenal. “I have students who can’t read or write English that have made movies that were shown to politicians in
Sacramento and have influenced public policy,” Torres says.

The videos made by Torres’s students are powerful, direct, and speak with the boldness of youth. “We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us.” one student raps in a video about immigration. The video landed him a gig with OzoMatli, L.A.’s hippest new band.

Some student productions are more celebratory. Torres encouraged one student who played in a Mariachi band to compose something using Garage Band. Goofy, affectionate, and laugh-out-loud funny, the result combined the high-schooler’s passion for Mariachi music with his love of the “Star Wars” movies.

The problems facing educators are huge but not insurmountable, says Torres. “We can innovate our way out of our problems.” By reaching his students with lessons that are meaningful and relevant, by providing tools they can use to communicate, Torres inspires his students to achieve.

“When I opened the media lab at San Fernando High, I had policemen bringing students to class,” Torres remembers. “That’s not exceptional. My students are often in trouble with the law. But this is the first time a policeman had ever caught a student hopping the fence to get into school!”

Dr. Tim Tyson

Called the “Pied Piper of Educational Technology” by The School Library Journal, Tim has worked in the field of education for nearly 30 years as a teacher (on the middle school, high school, and college levels) and an administrator. He served the students in the Cobb County School District for about 20 years, where, before his retirement, he was the principal of Mabry Middle School. He was named one of Georgia’s High Performance Principals by Governor Sonny Purdue.

Tim has a passion for meaningful, authentic student engagement, and technology is seen as a centerpiece for irresistible academic achievement through creative, global, project-based learning activities. He has now turned his attention to supporting the profession on a national and international level by sharing his passion and practical expertise for integrating technology into the school setting.

Carol Greig

Carol Greig. Eugene. More to come. She has done way cool things with ipods and reading integration. Way to go Carol!

Darren Hudgins

Darren joins OETC most recently from Hillsboro School District, where he has been a teacher, staff developer, and coach. He holds a master's degree in education along with dual bachelor's degrees in human development and social sciences. He will be working with Jennifer Arns on a range of projects, including the Oregon Virtual School District contract, EdTech Cadres.

Dottie Coven

Dottie Coven currently works for CIM Audio Visual. She has spent 13 years teaching elementary grades, has been an Intel Master Teacher, a Smart Exemplary Educator, and a consultant for eInstruction. Dottie has presented at a variety of different conferences nationally and throughout the Northwest. She has used a wide variety of technology tools extensively in the classroom and in lab settings and is excited to share a variety of ways that it can positively impact the classroom environment.

Jennifer Gingerich

Jennifer Gingerich is an educational technology trainer with a steadfast goal: “To increase the appropriate use of technology in the classroom by training teachers to use the latest technology tools to engage all students, increase learning, enhance curriculum, and improve academic achievement.”

A former elementary classroom teacher and district technology coach, Jennifer provides educators with training to make practical and creative use of technology tools and products. She has a passionate interest in quality education and an infectious enthusiasm for engaging educators and students in using technology to enhance teaching and learning. Jennifer has worked closely with Discovery Education and Inspiration Software to present at many conferences including ITSC, NCCE, and NECC.

Joe Buglione

Joe Buglione is an Instructional Technology staff development specialist at Umatilla Morrow ESD in Pendleton, OR. He has been employed at the ESD for the past six years offering professional development in the area of best practices integrating technology into core content curriculum. Currently Joe is project director for Ed Tech Grants in the Umatilla Morrow Counties, and is coordinates a Regional Ed Tech Cadre which is in it's 4th year. Joe has taught high school math, computer science, and coached boy's basketball in North Bend OR, Shelley ID, and Lebanon OR. He has collegiate level teaching experience at Eastern Washington University, North Idaho College, Linn Benton Community College, Blue Mountain Community College, and Eastern Oregon University.

Kathy Schrock

Kathy Schrock is the Administrator for Technology for the Nauset Public Schools on Cape Cod, MA. Much of her job deals with infusing technology throughout the curriculum. Previously a library media specialist, she is very interested in search strategies, evaluation of Internet information, copyright issues, emerging technologies and gadgets, and the use of technology as a tool to support instruction.

An avid user of the Internet since 1993, Kathy created her site, Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators, in 1995, to help teachers access the many great resources on the Internet. She continues to add links to new items daily. Kathy has written hundreds of articles and four books dealing with technology and education.

Krista Parent

Krista Parent is in her 7th year as superintendent for South Lane School District. She has been an educator in South Lane for the past 23 years serving as a teacher, school administrator, athletic director, district curriculum director, assistant superintendent and superintendent. Krista’s work as a superintendent has focused on developing a professional learning community in South Lane using the content area of Literacy. Krista’s style includes “rolling up her sleeves” and engaging in the work along side staff members throughout the district. Krista is an avid reader about anything related to teaching and learning and is always pushing her colleagues to read something new.

Krista is a graduate of the University of Oregon – many times. She received her Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate at the University of Oregon and was a student-athlete during her undergraduate studies. Krista’s dissertation study was about Women in the Superintendency.

Krista is an active member of her community and serves on the local Rotary Board, Chamber of Commerce, Community College Advisory Board, Community Foundation and Lane Workforce Partnership Board.

In addition to her Superintendent hat, Krista is also a mother of two kids, 11 and 8 and coaches a variety of youth sports depending on the season.

Krista is also the 2007 National Superintendent of the year, the first Oregon Superintendent to have received the award. She was also recently named the 2007 Outstanding Young Alumnus for the University of Oregon which was presented to her by U of O President Dave Frohnmeyer.

Leslie Fisher

Leslie Fishers interest in technology began while studying music at the University of Southern California. She quickly realized the value of utilizing computers for music mixing and thus began a personal discovery process where technology replaced the flute and brought her nationally celebrated talents to us today.

After graduating from USC with a Business and Marketing degree in 1989, she went to an Apple Computer Inc. subsidiary where she was in charge of the education marketing and training program. Wanting more technical experience, Leslie left this company in 1992 and joined Apple Computer Inc. as a Senior Systems Engineer in K-12 education, providing technology solutions to school districts across Southern California.

When the Internet took off in 1994 and Leslie was one of the first Apple employees assigned to study Internet growth and implementation. Due to her knowledge of web design, server implementation and Internet Resources, she became the Internet resource in the Educational Western Region.

In 1997, Leslie was roadkill on Apple's road to recovery and as part of their massive lay off. Leslie planned to spend most of her huge severance package golfing and waiting a few months to look for a job. The day after her layoff, her phone began to ring with Apple customers requesting consulting. Before she could say fore, Fisher Technologies Inc. was created to help educators with their technology implementation and decisions.

Fisher Technologies Inc. is now a nationwide Corporation providing web design, consulting, training and presentation services to school districts and companies.

Lynn Lary

Lynn Lary has just started a new job with Springfield Public Schools as the district's instructional technology specialist. Prior to that she worked as the instructional technology specialist at the Lane Education Service District, Lynn provides technology staff development opportunities for the teachers working in Lane County's 120+ public schools. In addition to providing staff development at the ESD, Lynn has written and received multiple grants, and has been instrumental in several statewide projects. Currently she is working with teachers to implement the use of handheld/laptop technologies to support student learning in core content areas. A former award winning high school mathematics instructor, Lynn holds a BS in Applied Mathematics, an MA in Computer Education from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Management from the University of Oregon. Lynn served as the OETC past-president and was on the board 1996~2005.

Nick Viani

Nick Viani is a former instructional technology specialist with Southern Oregon ESD. He has taught in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan where, in 1982, Nick entered the digital world as a Language Arts teacher with daily access to a lab of Apple computers. After returning to southern Oregon, he taught in local schools for several years that led to his involvement with the ESD. That position found him helping students and teachers make technology an integral component of their learning. Nick is board member of the Oregon Council of Teachers of English (OCTE) and continues to visit classrooms, conduct staff and professional development workshops, and present at regional and national conferences.

Tammy Worcester

Tammy Worcester has over twenty years of educational experience. She began her career in the classroom, teaching various grades from kindergarten to middle school. While teaching, Tammy also served as the technology coordinator for her K-8 school.

For the past ten years, Tammy has worked for ESSDACK, an educational service center, as an Instructional Technology Specialist, providing staff development and training in the area of technology integration.

Her website, “Tammy’s Technology Tips for Teachers” (www.tammyworcester.com) is a popular online resource for teachers around the world. Tammy has developed several software applications for teachers and is the author of several best-selling technology resource books that are published and marketed nationally.

Tammy is extremely innovative and resourceful and specializes in finding unique and creative ways to use traditional computer tools in the classroom. She enjoys sharing her ideas with teachers throughout the nation and has a presentation style that can be described as inspiring.

Tammy’s experiences as a parent, a teacher, a technology director, and a training specialist have allowed her to develop a strong sense of best educational practices. Those skills, coupled with her technology expertise, enable her to collaborate with other educators to build models of effective technology implementation that will have the potential to truly transform schools.

Tim Chase

Tim Chase is a full-time, in-the-trenches classroom teacher. He taught the first three of his ten years of teaching at a teacher's institute in central China, and the last seven have been in beautiful central Oregon where he lives with his wife, Janet, and three children. Tim serves on the leadership team of Oregon’s EdTech Professional Development Cadre and is also a leader for the Central Oregon Educational Technology Team.

Passionate about infusing technology into his own teaching and providing opportunity for his students to learn with technology, Tim is an enthusiastic promoter of EdTech in his school, in his district, and throughout Oregon.

Todd Hamilton

Todd Hamilton is a staff development and curriculum specialist for Eugene School District 4J. He has 11 years experience integrating technology into K-12 teaching and learning and continuously seeks new ways to increase student achievement through the use of technology. Todd is also project director for the 4J Handheld Integration Project (HIP). 4J HIP utilizes handheld computers to integrate accessible technology into teaching and learning. Well into its third year of implementation, this project has expanded to become the NW Handheld Integration Project - providing staff development and resources to over 300 teachers in nine Oregon school districts. When not immersed in his ubergeek technology passions, Todd enjoys spending time with his family. He and his wife have a four-year-old daughter.