Introduce+yourself!

Greetings. I'm Dale McManis, Research Director for Hatch Early Childhood. I'm interested in how child development and educational psychology can contribute to the development and implementation of technology for early childhood, and research on how educational technology contributes to school success for early learners. I've worked in the field of education for 25 years and am excited about the learning opportunities new technologies offer the field.

Hi! This is ElizaBeth Parker Phillips and I am a Program Development Director for a statewide child development and care organization in California. I am currently working with our school age programs on promoting technology as a program enrichment. Most of our programs also include preschool programs so I am very interested in both the use of technology with 3-5 and 5 -8 year. I am always looking for more resources as examples of quality tech integration and resources for teachers.

Hello to all. My name is Katie Paciga. I am a new Assistant Professor in Elementary Literacy Education at Purdue University Calumet. I look forward to participating in this community and helping forward efforts to integrate technology in early childhood. I previously worked on UIC's Early Reading First Projects and spearheaded some of our efforts for tech integration (see  @http://www.uic.edu/educ/erf/ for a glimpse of what we've been up to ).

Salutations everyone. This is [|Mark Bailey] finally signing in. Currently I am a professor in the Pacific University College of Education and a cofounder of the [|Oregon Technology in Education Network]. I have been an educator for 30+ years including being the head learner in preschools and a kindergarten for almost a decade. Using innovative and pedagogically powerful tools that support learning has long been a fascination of mine. Currently I am exploring the ways in which digital tools can support early literacy, as well as the variety of ways early childhood educators can use all forms of new learning tools to support playful learning. I look forward to learning with others in this community.

Hello! My name is Judy Van Scoter. I have worked with children and teachers for 20 years, incorporating technology into teaching and learning during most of those years. This showcase is a wonderful opportunity to explore tools I've wanted to learn about. I'm looking forward to experiencing the tools and their potential with others.

Hi! My name is Jocelynn Smrekar and I teach early childhood classes at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. I love taking risks and trying new things so I began using Wikis in my classes last semester. So far, some of my students have really gone wild with the Wikis and others are hesitant to use them. I look forward to hearing about what others have done--both the "flops" and the successes.

Greetings! My name is Chris Hunewell and I'm an ICT Specialist at two elementary schools in central New Hampshire. I also teach an undergraduate course, Technology and Problem Solving in the Primary Classroom, at Plymouth State University. I have taught in grades K-2. While I am fascinated with all things technological, especially the web, my real interest lies in the social and moral aspects of technology use and its impact on children's development. Looking forward to seeing how this wiki works out!

Hi Everyone! I am Tammy Conwell. I teach in the ECE program at the Muncie campus of Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana. We are proudly a NAEYC accredited associate degree program. I am also working on my doctorate in educational leadership and technology. I spent time teaching in the public schools, home visiting with Head Start, and in child care. It seems like there is always more to learn in the realm of technology and I am excited to learn with you.

Hi Everyone! I am Gail Lovely and I am a former kindergarten (and other grades) classroom teacher. I now call the world my classroom. I "dabble" a bit in early learning and technology, and have for a long time! I look forward to learning with everyone here!

Warren Buckleitner. Hi all. I'm Warren Buckleitner and is am a former preschool teacher as well. I teach a course called "Computers and Instructional Strategies" at Rutgers, and am struck by the potential of this medium for sharing ideas and "building discourse" in educational groups. I'm hopeful that we might be able to use this Wiki to try out some ideas.

Olav Ostvold - The Norwegian alibi. I have been an ece teacher since 74 - and still I am thrilled with everything new - like this place. I have been working on Wikipedia articles for years - so I should get the hang of it. Today am teach computer skills to sixgraders. Recently my life has been revolving around net-safety issues - and we have made teenagers make films that illustrates the problems in a way no adult could .([|http://dubestemmer.no/film/Cyber.wmv)]

Hello to all! My name is Tonya Witherspoon. I am passionate about using technology to create and learn. I have always loved early childhood education and find myself most comfortable in PreK and Kindergarten classrooms. I look forward to seeing this project grow.

Bonnie Blagojevic. Hi Gail, Warren, Olav, Tonya and others we have yet to "meet"...I also worked directly with young children for more than 20 years, and now work at the University of Maine. I am providing technology integration support for an "Early Reading First" grant part time, working with teachers in 9 early childhood classrooms. I really look forward to learning with others in this group about their interests and experiences using technology with/to benefit young children.

Cheers! My name is Connie Jo Smith and I work at Western Kentucky University teaching child studies classes, directing a child care resource and referral agency, and providing training to Head Start programs. I no longer work directly with young children, except for targeted projects. I am looking forward to learning with you all.

Hi! I am Linda Robinson and I work at the Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood at Western Illinois University. I have worked with young children, educators and families using technology for over 20 years. I currently direct an online training project for teachers and families and have a special interest in universal design. Thank you, Bonnie, for providing this wonderful opportunity for social networking. I am anxious to explore these new applications with all of you.

My name is Raquel Diaz. I just wrote up a nice introduction and noticed I placed it in the tag page. Needless to say, I am in need of this page and look forward to learning more. I work at the Center for Interactive Learning at the Miami Science Museum. We are currently working on developing an early childhood science curriculum. This is the second year of the IES grant. The curriculum is being field tested in Head Start centers around Miami. It is exciting!!!!! I am also a doctoral candidate at Florida International University. I am defending my dissertation in the next few weeks (actually on April Fool's day... what irony) and hope to be Dr. Diaz by the end of the spring semester. I am interested in this project because I would like to be a professor in the near future and I am curious about how to best use wiki's in learning and teaching. Thank you for including me in this group. (I hope this introduction goes through).

Hello, my name is Chip Donohue and I am the Director of the Center for Early Childhood Professional Development & Leadership at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. We offer a 6 course, 18 credit credential for child care administrators online and face-to-face. We currently have funding from Sloan to develop and deliver the blended model as part of the UWM Blended Life and Learning initiative. We also have a three year grant from UW Extension to build an online Bachelor's degree completion program for early childhood teachers as part of the UW System adult and returning student and workforce development initiatives. I' am also working with the McCormick Tribune Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National-Louis University and Erikson Institute, both in Chicago, and New Zealand Tertiary College in Auckland, on other online teaching and learning projects. I have written articles in Young Children and Exchange about technology as a tool for teacher education and professional development, and recently completed a national scan of distance learning options for the Center for the Child Care Workforce. I'm very interested in thinking about and trying out ways to use Web 2.0 tools and technologies to enrich online teaching and to deliver effective and engaging online learning for early childhood professionals. Thanks to Bonnie for the invitation. I look forward to learning with and from all of you.

Hi, I am Sue Griebling, currently an Assistant Professor, Annual at the University of Cincinnati, Early Childhood Education. I am also a doctoral student in Special Education. At UC we have an online associate and bachelor degree in Early Childhood, and I mostly work with that program. I always look forward to finding out about new technologies, and having a safe venue for that is important. Thanks for the initiative Bonnie.

I wanted to add my name to this group. I am Mary Mindess. I teach at Lesley University. The courses I teach include Language Arts, Social Studies and Technology in Early Childhood and an online course,Children with Behavior Problems: Responding to the Challenge.: I am eager to get to know each of you on this list and share ideas about what we are doing in our classes and with young children.

Hi Everyone! My name is Sarah Stewart. I am currently acting as the Director for a Head Start center in the Chicago suburbs. I became interested in using technology with young children last summer when I was challenged to teach a technology-rich preschool summer school class in our school district. It was so exciting! I am also working on my M.A. in Educational Leadership at DePaul University. My thesis- if it ever gets off the ground- will focus on how the use of technology and teacher attitudes towards technology impacts child outcomes. Wish me luck on this! I'm also working on developing a comprehensive technology plan for our program. Does anyone have experience in this area or any suggestions on articles, authors, studies, or ANYTHING that can help me on this? Any help would be appreciated!

Hi All, I am Ann Wolff. I teach child development at a high school in CT and also direct and teach the accompanying preschool lab class so that the students get hands on experience. Like Jocelynn, I too like taking risks. After having students doing journals each week and staying late on Friday to complete 90 journals, I learned about wikis last year and decided to give that a try for those willing to do them. It was a success. Not only was it more convenient for me, but all of my students from other classes were now able to interact with each other, particularly those sharing the same child so that I was no longer the one having to convey information from one class to another about a particular child, they were. This year it is mandatory and it is still a success. Like last year, I'm now finding students doing the wiki more than Facebook and at times one would not expect it such as midnight on Saturday (Sunday morning). How cool to promote 24/7 learning. We also, thanks to Bonnie's Young Children article on photography with kids, have each child having their own digital camera which is amazing in and of itself on all developmental levels. What I have learned most of all from this technology is that it is more process oriented than product oriented and isn't that what good teaching is all about!!!!! And just when I thought I had a handle on everything, I attended the workshop at NAEYC AC 09 of the 4 B's and now have to go learn more--about Diigo and Prezi--and I can't wait!!!! (Thanks guys...I am so excited again!!!) Anyone familiar with how to use the Google wave in education?

Kia ora koutou. My name is Naketa Ikihele. I am an Early Years facilitator for a non-for-profit organisation CORE Education. in New Zealand. For the past 4 years I have worked with teachers in early childhood education centres exploring the use of ICT in their contexts. I am particularly interested in Digital Storytelling with young children and communities. Looking forward to cruising through the wiki pages and adding to my repertoire of skills and knowledge as well as offering info where I can.

Hi everyone, I'm Lisa Guernsey, director of the Early Education Initiative at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C. I'm a journalist by training, formerly writing for the New York Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education about the use of technology in education. In 2007 I wrote a book, //Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children From Birth to Age 5//, and I continue to write often about good learning environments for children, whether they are at home, at school, or within the world of media. I've learned a lot from many of you on this wiki and am excited to be (finally) jumping into the discussions after a few years of getting my bearings in the policy world of Washington DC.