2009 TRLD Featured Presenters
Keynote and Featured Presenter
David Warlick, Director & Principal Consultant, The Landmark Project, Raleigh, NC
David Warlick, a 30 year educator, has been a classroom teacher, district administrator, and staff consultant with the North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction. For the past ten years, Mr. Warlick has been the director of The Landmark Project, a web development, consulting, and innovations firm in Raleigh, North Carolina. A prolific programmer, his attribution tool, Citation Machine receives more than a half million page views a day, and his classroom blogging site serves over 160,000 users. David is also the author of three books on instructional technology and 21st century literacy, numerous journal articles, and has spoken to audiences throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, and South America.
Featured Presenters
Sheryl Abshire, Administrative Coordinator of Technology, Calcasieu Parish Public Schools, Lake Charles, LA
Sheryl has worked as a school principal, K-5 teacher, library/media specialist, and university professor. She has been involved in diverse staff development programs throughout the nation and Great Britain involving restructuring and funding schools through the infusion of technology and curriculum enhancements. As the first teacher inducted into the National Teachers’ Hall of Fame and as the Board Chair for CoSN, Sheryl has served as a catalyst to initiate the integration of technology throughout the nation and internationally. She serves on numerous national, state and district committees focusing on the role of technology and curriculum in changing educational practice.
Dan Boudah - TAM - Associate Professor East Carolina University
Daniel J. Boudah previously taught general and special education, has been awarded research and training grants, published work in various professional sources, and spoken at numerous conferences. His work has been nationally recognized by CEC, CLD, and AERA. He is president of the Council for Learning Disabilities. Dr. Boudah's continuing interests include learning and instructional strategies, professional development, curriculum design, and systems change.
Lynne Anderson-Inman Ph.D., Director, Center for Advanced Technology in Education/Center for Electronic Studying. University of Oregon, College of Education, Eugene, OR
Dr. Lynne Anderson-Inman has a Ph.D. in Special Education, with an emphasis on content-area reading, writing and studying. She is Director of the Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE) in the College of Education at the University of Oregon and also Director of the National Center for Supported eText (NCSeT), a consortium of research sites at major institutions across the country (http://ncset.uoregon.edu). She is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on the use of technology to improve reading, writing and studying, with special emphasis on strategies for using technology to enhance the academic success of struggling learners. Dr. Anderson-Inman has pioneered the concept of "computer-supported studying," conducting research and developing materials on strategies designed to promote effective learning through the use of technology. She has directed numerous federally funded projects investigating (1) computer-based study strategies for diverse learners, (2) digital books with "supported text," (3) collaborative notetaking for ELL adolescents, and (4) online learning environments for sustained study and technology-supported historical inquiry. Dr. Anderson-Inman is a widely published author on effective uses of technology and a frequent speaker at national and international conferences.
Floyd Braid MFA, Chief Learning Officer, i3 Training Services Inc., Cartersville, GA
Floyd Braid has 12 successful years of experience as a middle school and college level educator. He has taught grades 5-8 and various technology integration courses for educators and pre-service teachers. Floyd currently serves as the Chief Learning Officer for i3 Training Services www.i3trainingservices.com a professional development company that focuses on the evolution of technology tools as they support the curriculum in the classroom.
Melissa Engleman - TAM - Professor of Special Education East Carolina University
Dr. Melissa Engleman is a Professor of Special Education at East Carolina University. Her research interests have varied, but accessibility and assistive technologies have continued as important topics. Currently she is working with Dr. Tara Jeffs on training materials for making online courses more accessible to students with varied needs.
John Fleischman M.A. Education Technology, Assistant Superintendent of Technology Services, Sacramento, CA
John Fleischman is a nationally recognized authority on the use of instructional technology and adult learning. He’s currently employed as Assistant Superintendent of Technology Services at the Sacramento County Office of Education.
Dr. Lori J. Flint - TAM - Assistant Professor East Carolina University
Kelly Fonner, MS
Kelly Fonner is a self-employed consultant and trainer in the areas of assistive and educational technology. She has been working with individuals with disabilities since the mid 1970s and with assistive technology since 1983. Kelly speaks internationally on a wide range of AT and related-topics and has consulted with various national companies and universities.
Mike Hall, Executive Director of Secondary Operations, Glynn County Schools
Dr. Mike Hall is one of America’s most sought-after speakers on the subjects of technology education integration and Freshman Transition initiatives. The former Deputy Superintendent of Information Technology for the Georgia Department of Education, Dr. Hall has been a technology visionary featured speaker twice at the National Intel Visionary Conference and has presented more than 250 sessions at local, state, and national technology conferences across the country. His efforts have given him the opportunity to work with schools in numerous states on the transformation of technology across the curriculum as well as Ninth Grade Academy/Freshman Transition initiatives. Dr. Hall was recognized in 2004 as one of the top 10 High School principals in the US and in 2005 as one of the Top 25 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers for innovative technology projects in the US by Government Technology Magazine. While serving as a high school principal, Dr. Hall’s school, Houston County High School, was recognized as the most advanced school in the nation for technology integration across the curriculum. The school was also named an Intel Model School (one of only three in the nation). Dr. Hall is the co-author of High School 101, an innovative project-based strategy designed to prepare students to succeed in the classroom as well as the workplace. This progressive ‘real world’ approach to freshman transition has been recognized as a model initiative that teaches students critical 21st Century skills. Still a practicing educator, Dr. Hall currently serves as the Executive Director of Secondary Operations in the Glynn County School District
Kirsten Haugen M.A., Consultant for Educational and Assistive Technology
Kirsten Haugen is an experienced educator, author and trainer on educational and assistive technology, a web designer, and the parent of a child with emotional and learning difficulties. She lives in Eugene, Oregon. She has presented at TRLD since 1995. Learn more at www.kirstenhaugen.org
Brenda L Heiman - TAM - Professor, Speech Pathology Louisiana Tech University
Dr. Heiman’s career spans 30 years of work in public schools as teacher of the hearing impaired, speech pathologist, assistive technology coordinator, regional resource center director and special education director. She is currently a Professor of Speech Pathology at Louisiana Tech University, and serves as Past President of TAM.
Dr. Tara Jeffs - TAM - Associate Professor East Carolina University
Dr. Tara Jeffs is currently the President of the Technology and Media Division of the Council for Exceptional Children. She is the director of the Irene Howell Assistive Technology Center at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. As both director and teacher educator, she has the opportunity to talk and provide assistive technology technical assistance to hundreds of parents and teachers a year through the center’s community outreach and the College of Education’s Clinical Schools Network partnership. With 12 years of high school teaching experience in the area of Special Education, the integration of technology into the teaching and learning process is core to her research agenda. Tara has been privileged to work and write with teaching practitioners and educational researchers who bring a wealth of experiences to thinking and writing on the infusion of assistive and emerging technologies. She has written over twenty five articles and book chapters and has disseminated knowledge and expertise in the area of assistive and emerging technologies through more than 75 presentations at state and national conferences over the past 10 years.
Sara Kajder Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English Ed, Virginia Tech
Sara B. Kajder is an assistant professor of English Education at Virginia Tech. A former middle and high school English teacher, she received the first National Technology Leadership Fellowship in English/Language Arts. A nationally-known presenter and consultant, she is the author of the Tech Savvy English Classroom (Stenhouse, 2003), and Bringing the Outside In (Stenhouse, 2006).
Scott Marfilius, Education/Assistive Technology Consultant
Scott has been working with individuals with disabilities for the past 23 years. The past 17 years has involved implementing assistive technology at various levels. First within an integrated classroom as a classroom teacher, then implementing a district wide system change within a Public School System by assisting their District Wide Team. He continues to assist teams and individuals in assessing students assistive technology needs. His teaching certifications are in Early Childhood Handicap, Cognitive Disabilities, Emotional Disability, and Learning Disability. He also consults with individuals and businesses to determine adaptations that are needed in work place settings. Scott's focus areas in assistive technology include computer access, and technologies that assist those with cognitive and learning disabilities.
Joel Mittler - TAM - Professor, Special Education Long Island University
Joel Mittler is Professor of Special Education at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. A founder of the Technology and Media (TAM) Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), he has remained active on their Executive Board in many positions, including President. He is currently the CEC Children’s Action Network (CAN) Coordinator for TAM.
Betty Nelson - TAM - Associate Professor University of Alabama at Birmingham
Deborah Newton - TAM - Associate Professor Southern Connecticut State University
Deborah, an associate professor at Southern Connecticut State University, teaches graduate courses in assistive technology. She is co-author of a textbook,” Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities.” Deborah has extensive teaching experience and continues to work with schools as an assistive technology consultant.
Elissa Poel - TAM - Professor New Mexico State University
Elissa Wolfe Poel is the Director of the Special Education Student Teaching and Field Experience Programs at New Mexico State University. Her areas of interest are inclusive practices, specific learning disabilities, and assistive technology. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Learning Disabilities Association of America.
Kathleen Puckett - TAM - Arizona State University College of Teacher Education and Leadership
Kathleen Puckett is an associate professor of special education in the College of Teacher Education and Leadership at Arizona State University. Her research interests center around working with teachers to use technology to access the general education curriculum. Dr. Puckett is the 2009 president of the Council for Exceptional Children.
Skip Stahl, Project Director, NIMAS Development Center, Co-Director, AIM Consortium, Director, Technical Assistance, CAST, Wakefield, MA
A nationally recognized expert in accessible digital materials and Universal Design for Learning, Mr. Stahl has extensive experience in providing professional development and assistance to educators in K–12 and postsecondary settings. As project director for the NIMAS Development Center, and Co-Director of the AIM (Accessible Instructional Materials) Consortium, he leads a national initiative implementing the transformation of K–12 textbooks into specialized accessible formats for students with print disabilities. He has consulted with software and curriculum publishers in accessible product design and is a nationally recognized conference presenter. Mr. Stahl is the author of over thirty articles published in peer-reviewed, popular, and trade publications. He received a B.A. in English Literature from Bard College and an M.S. from Bank Street College of Education.
Joy Smiley Zabala, Project Manager, AIM Consortium, CAST, Wakefield, MA
Joy Smiley Zabala, Ed. D., ATP, is the project manager of the AIM Consortium, a fifteen-state project headed by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) and funded by a grant from the Office of Special Education Programs of the U. S. Department of Education. The goal of the AIM Consortium is to improve the quality, availability, and timely delivery of accessible instructional materials to K-12 students with print disabilities. Dr. Zabala is the developer of the SETT Framework (http://www.joyzabala.com/), a founding member of the QIAT Community and facilitator of the QIAT List (http://www.qiat.org), a past-president and current newsletter editor of the Technology and Media Division (TAM) of the Council for Exceptional Children (http://www.tamcec.org/), and a strong supporter of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and AT as complementary supports for student achievement.