Ten Powerful Ideas Shaping the
Present and Future of IT in Education

Dr. David Moursund (moursund@iste.org) has been teaching and writing about information technology in education since 1963. In 1979, he founded the International Council for Computers in Education (ICCE). In 1989, ICCE merged with the International Association for Computing in Education to form ISTE. He currently serves as ISTE’s executive officer for research and development.

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If I Teach This Way, Am I Doing My Job:
Constructivism in the Classroom

Dr. Debra Sprague (dspragu1@gmu.edu) is an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Education at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She is assigned to the instructional technology program and is responsible for coursework, research, and outreach in the school-based instructional technology track. Dr. Sprague’s research interests focus on the use of technology to support teaching and learning.

Dr. Chris Dede (cdede@gmu.edu) is a professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, with a joint appointment in the Schools of Information Technology & Engineering and Education. His research interests span technology forecasting and assessment, emerging technologies for learning, and leadership in educational innovation. He is the editor of the 1998 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Yearbook, Learning with Technology. He currently has a major grant from the National Science Foundation to develop educational environments based on virtual reality technology.

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Getting Everybody Involved: Cooperative
PowerPoint Creations Benefit Inclusion Students

Rebecca Kelly (rkelly@den.k12.de.us), is a special education teacher at Delmar Junior–Senior High School in Delmar, Delaware. A 1993 graduate of the University of Maryland– Eastern Shore, she is the mother of four boys and helps her oldest son maintain the school’s Web site (www.k12.de.us/
delmar). “PowerPoint in the Classroom” was recognized in 1998 by the Delaware Department of Education and the Exceptional Children and Early Childhood Group as part of Project IDEA (Identifying and Disseminating Educational Alternatives). Contact her at Delmar Junior–Senior High School, 200 N. 8th St., Delmar, DE 19940; 302.846.9544.

Dr. Joan Thormann (thormann@mail.lesley.edu) is L&L’s special needs editor and a professor in and codirector of Lesley College’s innovative technology in education program. She taught students with special needs in public and private schools. She wrote Literacy in a Science Context (ASCD, 1998), a technology-based curriculum for inclusive classrooms. Phone her at 617.349.8387 or fax her at 617.349.8169.

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Electronic Books:
Presentation Software Makes Writing More Fun

Bob Hodges (hodgesb@msn.com) has been an elementary school teacher for 11 years. He currently teaches SAGE, a Grades 3–5 gifted pullout program, and physical education at Maple Hills Elementary and Sunset Elementary School in the Issaquah School District near Seattle, Washington. Bob also teaches educational technology seminars to teachers and provides inservice training on Task Computing (see L&L vol. 25 no. 2) and Electronic Books. He graduated from the University of Washington and was a political consultant and lobbyist for 10 years before becoming a teacher. He lives on Tiger Mountain with two golden retrievers.

Dr. Rose Reissman (sjm887@yahoo.com),  L&L’s language arts editor, is president of the Association of Computer Educators, New York; R&D consultant for FutureKids Technology Literacy Training Center; and president of the NYCATE. She also teaches a graduate-level course at Manhattanville College. Contact her at 110 Seaman Ave., 5C, New York, NY 10034.

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Do Vampires Exist?
Using Spreadsheets to Investigate a Common Folktale

Hollylynne Stohl Drier (hollyd@virginia.edu) is a graduate student in mathematics education at the University of Virginia and a graduate fellow for the Curry Center for Technology and Teacher Education. Her research interests include the use of technology in K–12 mathematics. She has done extensive work on how spreadsheets can be used to teach mathematics concepts and has also developed two software applications for elementary and middle school students to explore probability and rational number concepts. Contact her at University of Virginia, Ruffner Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22903.

Margaret L. Niess (niessm@ucs.orst.edu), L&L’s mathematics editor, is a professor at Oregon State University. In 1993, she received OSU’s Burlington Resources Foundation Faculty Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research. Contact her at the Dept. of Science and Mathematics Education, OSU, Corvallis, OR 97331; 541.737.1817; fax 541.737.1818.

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Chatting It Up Online: Students Talk to a Favorite Author

Pamela Livingston is Director of Technology for Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, helping teachers evaluate and integrate technology into the K–12 curriculum. Ms. Livingston’s first career was in the computer industry. She now has spent seven years in K–12 educational technology. She may be contacted at livingsp@netreach.net; through the Webmaster at www.cha.k12.pa.us; by phone at 215.247.4700, ext. 169; or by fax 215.247.7610.

Richard Dillon is editor of L&L’s One-Computer Classroom column. Contact him at 826 NE 128 St., Seattle, WA 98125; 206.366.8420; rwdillon@seanet.com.

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Mars Mania: Internet Resources for the New Millennium

Bob Albrecht (dragonfun@aol.com) is a writer and developer of science, math, and technology curricula. George Firedrake is his alter ego and takes the form of a dragon. Laran Stardrake, whose quotes sometimes lead off the column, is another of Bob’s “accomplices.” She’s half-dragon and half-human. As Laran is fond of saying, “Reality expands to fill the available fantasies.” Bob’s graphic representation is from an original painting by Marcy Kier-Hawthorne.

Paul Davis (ctec1@mchs.srcs.k12.ca.us) is a mathematics teacher at Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa, California. He was a happy, normal math teacher until he met Bob Albrecht and George Firedrake in 1992 and became another of their accomplices. Since then, Paul has been intertwingling math, science, and technology in his classroom with the help of Bob and George.

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Tornadoes and Lightning and Floods, Oh My!
Weather-Related Web Sites for K–12 Science Lessons

Juanita Jo Matkins, EdD, is an Assistant Professor of Science Education at the University of Virginia. An elementary teacher trained by the American Meteorological Society as an Atmospheric Education Resource Agent, she now teaches other soon-to-be elementary teachers. She can be reached at University of Virginia, Ruffner Hall, Room 216, 405 Emmet St., Charlottesville, VA 22903-2495; 804.924.0730; jjm7k@virginia.edu.

Denise Murphy recently completed her Master’s of Teaching, specializing in K–8 education at the University of Virginia. She plans to teach middle- or upper-elementary school science in the fall. Using her passion for science, she wants to create a hands-on, student-centered, technologically innovative science classroom. She can be contacted at 10 University Circle, Apt. 6, Charlottesville, VA 22903; 804.963.7760; dmm4v@virginia.edu.

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Software Reviews

Judi Mathis Johnson (73517.2107@compuserve.com) has evaluated educational software since 1979. She has published with ISTE since 1986 and continues to edit their Educational Software Preview Guide. She recently worked at Longwood College, first helping the education faculty learn more about using technology and later as a professor redesigning courses to integrate technology. Contact her at 2749 Birdsong Lane, Powhatan, VA 23139; 804.598.6138.

Lisa Edmonds has returned to Longwood College to complete her Bachelor’s of Science in Elementary Education after earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration. In addition to school, Lisa spends time with her family and volunteers at the Children’s Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, and Prince Edward Elementary School, where she teaches reading.

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Electronic Fences or Free-Range Students?
Should Schools Use Internet Filtering Software?

David Pownell can be reached at 016D Bluemont Hall, 1100 Mid-Campus Dr., College of Education, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506-5318; 785.532.5886; fax 785.532.7304; dwp4231@ksu.edu; www-personal.ksu.edu/~dwp4231/.

Gerald D. Bailey can be reached at 303 Bluemont Hall, 1100 Mid-Campus Dr., College of Education, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506-5318; 785.532.5847; fax 785.532.7304; jbailey@ksu.edu; www.educ.ksu.edu/go/bailey.

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Smooth Skating for Multimedia Mania Winners

Kate Vanderhorst is an elementary teacher with the Waterloo Region District School Board in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. She works extensively with Rod Rychliski, a teacher in the same district. Kate and Rod are 1997 Educational Computing Organization of Ontario (ECOO) Award Winners for successful integration of computer technology into the classroom and 1998 TVOntario Award of Merit Winners for the creative use of innovative teaching methods in the classroom. They recently received the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence—Award of Achievement. Kate and Rod have presented at Roger Wagner’s HyperFest in San Diego and have highlighted multimedia classroom work. They can be reached at www.hyperpeople.com or kandr@hyperpeople.com.

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