Julee Davies

Hi all! Well I have met a lot of you and these past two weeks have been awesome. A little about me.
I graduated from St. Francis and attended Calpoly San Luis Obispo where I graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education. I received my teacher credential at College of Notre Dame in Belmont. Before teaching, I worked at Virgin Atlantic Airways and traveled all over the world until I met my husband Greg who is also a teacher who works in Los Altos.
We have three amazing children Noah, Michael, and Samantha that keep our lives VERY BUSY!
I teach full time physical education at Miller Middle School in San Jose California.
When I am not teaching, being on "mom" duty, or sleeping I love to go to the beach and I love to run at Rancho San Antonio. I am looking forward to learning more technology and networking with colleagues.

Kristin Traudt

Hello! After a thirteen day trip to Europe (I took eleven students and two adults on an EF Tour of Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and France,) I am excited to participate in the KCI Merit Program. Each video and picture I took this trip had so much value because I knew I would be able to do something meaningful with this class. I have taken many useful pictures over my past three trips, and yet, I haven’t used them with my curriculum - partly because of time and partly because of tools.

I have been an English teacher at Wilcox High School for the past eight years and coaching cross country for the past seven years. My colleagues, students and I are excited about the new skills I will be developing over the summer and sharing at my school.

When I am not teaching, coaching, and/or reading, I love to travel. When I was seventeen I received a scholarship to study in Munich, Germany for one year. It was a powerful experience for me to leave Wisconsin and become part of a cosmopolitan European city and culture. I spent many years visiting Munich, and now I have the privilege of sharing the European experience with students during summer trips.

I am looking forward to meeting you all tomorrow.

Ethan Cheever

Hello everyone! My name is Ethan Cheever, I am the 7th grade science and social science teacher at Edison McNair Academy in East Palo Alto. This was my second year of full time teaching, and prior to that, I was a sub for about two and a half years in the Millbrae San Mateo area where I live.

Following high school, I went to San Jose State University for my BA in psychology, and I went back after a year's break to pursue my MA in Experimental Psychology. However, after nearly completing the degree, I decided that psychology was not the career path for me, and I switched to teaching, which I had done on the weekends for a very long time. I love teaching, and I love the interactions with the kids! The vacations are a nice perk too. :)

I am really excited about this program! I am looking forward to learning about how to use the internet, and especially media programs and technology that I can apply in a classroom. If there's one thing my time in East Palo Alto has taught me, it's that I need to be able to present information through more visual and hands on mediums. I look forward to meeting everyone soon! Take care!!

Angela Sveda

There is no Frigate like a Book / To take us Lands away, / Nor any Coursers like a Page / Of prancing Poetry- / This Traverse may the poorest take / Without oppress of Toll – / How frugal is the Chariot / That bears a Human soul. -Emily Dickinson

Hello! I am an English teacher at Ralston Middle School in Belmont, CA. My favorite aspect of teaching is introducing students to books that whisk them to lands away. Prior to Ralston, I taught high school literature during my Peace Corps service in Romania. I learned that Mihai Eminescu is Romania’s Shakespeare and that Vlad Tepes (a.k.a. Dracula) is a national hero and not a horror novel character.

Afterwards, I moved to Scotland to get my master’s degree in transatlantic studies (comparative literature). Attending a Robert Burns Supper was a true highlight - where else can you recite great poetry and chow down on delicious haggis? Luckily, England, Wales, and France were also within reach: you can imagine the thrill of walking through Shakespeare’s wooden house, Dylan Thomas’s old stomping grounds, and the awe-inspiring Versailles of Marie Antoinette lore.

I look forward to meeting everyone and learning the latest applications for classroom technology. I plan on using these skills to further my students' interest in the "globality" of literature. See you soon!

Katie Kelly

Hi,
I'm Katie and I am very excited to be attending the Merit Program this year. I have been a little out of touch the last couple of years as my time to tinker on the computer has been lost to happily raising our one year old daughter Violet and two year old son Conor. I am very much looking forward to having the time to devote to learning the new advances in technology and being able to apply them to my 7th grade science curriculum. See all of you on Monday!

Bob Kelly

Hello everyone! I am an instructor at KCI Merit. I have just completed instructing at a Merit institute in Mariposa, which is where I live. Mariposa is in the Sierra Foothills about three hours straight east of San Jose and 45 minutes down the hill from Yosemite.
I have lived and taught in Mariposa for the last two years after having lived in San Francisco and having taught social studies at Gunn High School in Palo Alto.
My wife, Katie, is a middle school science teacher and a participant in KCI Merit. We have two little kids, Conor, who is almost three and little Violet (pictured at left), who just turned one.
I grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains and attended San Lorenzo Valley High School. I studied modern Middle Eastern and modern European history at Occidental College in Los Angeles. I also played football there and I have coached football for the last 18 seasons. I just had the good fortune to be named head coach of the Mariposa County Grizzlies for the upcoming season.
I am very excited to be working at KCI this summer as I have had nothing but good experiences with Gay and Chris and all the staff. I believe the Merit program is the way professional development should be conducted for every teacher in the United States. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or concerns as I am here to help you.

Gayle Britt

Hello Everyone!
Tomorrow is the big day - the start of KCI MERIT 08-09. I am very much looking forward to working with all of you.
Here is a little about me:
I am currently on the leadership team at the Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College, and have developed curriculum for and taught in the MERIT (formerly EWYL) since the program’s beginning.
Also working as an educational consultant to Oracle Education Foundation, I have facilitated several 21st Century Learning Institutes this year including those in California, Singapore, Chicago, and South Africa (having just returned from there yesterday - see my picture).
I taught 7th grade social studies and language arts for many years. In 2003 I helped start a charter high school by developing the program, teaching 9th grade humanities and conducting staff development.
My passion is learning from the teachers I work with, so I look forward to these next three weeks.
See you tomorrow.
Gayle

Erin McDonald

Sorry for the late post... technical difficulties... I guess it's good that I'm going to get some tech training! :)

Well where to start... I'm terribly fond of using ellipsis (I guess because I tend to type as I talk in one constant run on thought)... but I'm not terribly fond of talking about myself.

I graduated from Baylor University in Texas in 2004 with a degree in Education/History. I returned to California (I grew up here in the East Bay), and taught HS for a year in Alameda. My first experience wasn't all that I hoped it would be so I took some time off from teaching and worked for a year as a nanny (an awesome opportunity for travel), and then worked for a year and a half as a Personal Assistant to Joe Morgan (HOF player and ESPN sportscaster)... it was a terribly cool year and a half but I missed teaching.

So back to teaching I went, and this time to Middle School... last year I taught 6th grade history and 7th/8th grade Student Council in Belmont and LOVED every minute of it... I don't however love budget cuts. So now I'm going to be teaching 7th grade history in Pacifica. I'm really excited about the opportunity, but I'll miss my colleagues and above all else the kids!

I'm a huge history dork, love love love scrabble, dig movies and music and my tastes run the gamut, we (the fiance and I) are big concert goers (our living room is covered in Fillmore posters), and we are in the midst of planning our big shindig in November. We love our furbabies, Lola the yorkie-poo and our cats Shelby and Abby.

Oh yeah... and to top it off I'm in grad school... thought I'd dabble a bit in English.

I'm super excited about this program and can't wait to integrate everything I learn into my new classroom! Can't wait to meet y'all! :) Sorry for rambling a bit...

Steve McGriff

It is my privilege to be one of your instructors in the Merit program. You teachers are awesome for the work you do. I like working with teachers and being inspired by them to find new ways to communicate educational outcomes. Communication is the key. If you can't say it, write it, draw it, or otherwise express it clearly, "it" may not mean a thing.  "IT" is information, which really has no meaning until the hearer can hook it onto something they already know. The hearer becomes a learner when they transform the "its"  into meaningful learning. Meaningful learning is the process of changing information into knowledge. Knowledge fuels the imagination. "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." Albert Einstein said that. Maybe you and I working together can learn how to fire the imagination in our kids to encircle the world for the good of all people. OK, maybe on a more modest scale let's figure out how to have fun for the next three weeks and the following year!

Moving from the philosophical to the professional, I am the Teacher-in-Residence, Krause Center for Innovation and an assistant professor of instructional technology at San Jose State University. I have been TIR for about four weeks and a professor for six years. I have worked with a number of master's students in instructional technology who are K-12 teachers and they survived the experience. I trust you will, too (-; .

Tom Budd

My name is Tom Budd. I am a second year Biology and Integrated Science teacher at Los Altos High School. Last year I also taught Geometry. After having spent twenty-five years as a consultant in the biotech industry, I came back to teaching three years ago and love it! My strong interest in integrating real life with teaching motivates me to continue to learn about how to become a more effective teacher including all aspects of high- and low-technology. I am looking forward to this class to gather more ideas about how to better integrate technology teaching strategies and tools into my classroom.

The picture is of me taking a surfing lesson in Maui last week. I love the outdoors and travel or camp whenever I can.

Poonam Sharma

Hi,
My name is Poonam sharma and I've been teaching in US since two years. During my first year of teaching at Bancroft Middle School San Leandro, I taught Integrated Science to 8th grade. Since last year I'm teaching at Irvington High School Fremont, Integrated Science to Freshmen and Biology to Sophomores and Juniors.I love teaching.
In 2005,my whole family migrated to US from Nepal, a very small country in Asia. I was teaching in Nepal for 18 years.It was my dream to teach in a High School in US.My husband and sons helped me to get it realized. I have two very supportive sons.
I am looking forward to meet you all and learn new ways to incorporate technology in my class room.So, see you on 7th.
Happy 4th of July!

Meghan Engle

Hi,

My name is Meghan Engle, I've been teaching eight years. I love teaching all grades, 9-12, visual arts (drawing & photo) and yearbook at Mountain View High School. 

I'm looking forward to learning & exploring ways to incorporate technology in my classroom.  I love discovering new online resources, especially love the Getty resources!!

I love spending time with my family & friends; biking, hiking and making meals together.  I have the travel bug, and try to get out of the country @ least once a year; Africa, Australia, Thailand, Italy, and France are a few places I've loved.    Thank you all for contributing fun photos & messages on this blog, I'm excited & looking forward to meeting you all next week.

Until then...Happy 4th of July! 

Joe Chee

Hello! I'm Joe Chee and I am one of the MERIT 2008 instructors for KCI. In addition to being an instructional technologist, I have been working on developing science teacher professional development programs at KCI. I am also an instructor in the dept. of education at Santa Clara University where I teach a technology for school administrators course in the administrator credential program.

Kathleen Rooney

Hi Everybody!

I'm Kathleen! I graduated from STEP in 2005 and for the past three years, I have been teaching beginning Spanish at Aragon High School in San Mateo. Before starting my teaching career, I worked with the Peace Corps (in both Washington, D.C. and Paraguay, South America) and with a social services organization (in San Francisco).

I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone and gaining as much knowledge about technology as possible to take back to my students.

Here's a picture of me at the Great Wall! I just got back from a trip to Beijing, China with the Music Department at Aragon.

Osvaldo Rubio

Hi! My name is Osvaldo Rubio and I have been teaching at Sherman Oaks Community Charter School in San Jose California for 10 years. I have a master's degree in Education with an emphasis on Teacher Leadership. I have taught grades 3-6th. Our school is a Dual Immersion Spanish/English School. I will be teaching 4th grade in Spanish this fall. In addition to teaching I am also the technology Laison for my school in the Campbell Union School District. I have also been a Master teacher for the Bilingual Education Department at San Jose State University.
When I am not teaching I enjoy spending time with family and friends. I am a avid bay area sports fan (Giants, 49ers, Warriors!!). I enjoy going to the ballparks whenever possible. I also enjoy music and concerts.
I am looking forward to this summer for several reason. First, this will be the first summer I am not teaching summer school!! Second, I am looking forward to the program this summer and learning many cool and exciting things that I will be able to implement in my teaching. Also, I am looking forward to meeting all of you and working with all of you!! See you soon!

Jonathan Greathouse

Hello all.

I am the tall one in the hat.  The boy with the rocket is my five year old son Aidan.  I made bottle rockets that he and his friends decorated for his birthdaty party last weekend.  It was a blast:) Elias, my second son is 21 months and thinks he is 13.  My wife is a Social Science teacher in Fremont.  She just completed her masters program and is waiting to find out the status of her National Board Certification.  She has doubts...   I do not.  She is the most intelligent person I know and my personal hero.  Oh, and we have a crested gecko named Go-Go. 

I teach science at Azevada Elementary School in Fremont.  I serve 450 students in grades 1-6.  I also teach two classes of SDC science.  Just wrapped up my seventh year of teaching today! Oh Yeah! In addition to teaching this year, I acted as mentor teacher to two other science teachers through my districts induction program, BTSA.  Participating in the BTSA program has opened up many leadership opportunities for me.   I was asked to teach new science teachers in a staff development inservice last summer.  In  addition, I was hired by my district  as the science consultant for their Peer Assistance and Review program.  It has been an extremely busy, challenging and rewarding year for me.  

Aside from teaching I enjoy digital photography, fly fishing, producing electronic music, painting and being a dad.  I tend to spend most of my free time with my boys. Therefore, I also enjoy reading books, playing Thomas the Train, Hotwheels, Legos, reading more books,  soccer, fort building, kite flying, bike riding and pretty much anything that five year old boys love to do. There is nothing like reliving your youth and I find it is just as much fun the second time around.

I am very excited about the program this summer. I hope to learn about creating a computer network in my lab so I can do more "paperless" activities as well as view lab reports real time using an LCD projector.  I have seen this modeled in other science labs but lack the knowledge to get it going. I look forward to meeting you all.  

Jonathan

Bill Liberatore

Hello everyone. I'm Bill Liberatore. I have been teaching music at Gunn High School in Palo Alto for 19 years. I am the choir director and teach AP Music Theory there as well. I really love my job and am having a great time at Gunn. My wife Holly and I have two kids, Ryan 12 and Emily 9. When I am not at Gunn I work as a musical director for TheatreWorks and American Musical Theatre of San Jose. I am very excited to have this opportunity to learn and to bring more technology into my program. After just one Saturday in a LINC class I created a blog for my choir's recent trip to NYC and posted all kinds of googledocs and performance recordings there (gunnchoirnyc2008.blogspot.com). I can't wait to see what I'll be able to do after three weeks.

I look forward to meeting you all!

Bill

Lisa Hall

Greetings! My name is Lisa and I am an English teacher and the Student Activities Director at Gunn High School. I am just finishing my third year at Gunn and although my job is crazy sometimes, I love what I do! Prior to teaching, I worked for fifteen years with the YMCA running summer camps, teen clubs and family programs, and it's great to have a job where I can utilize skills learned from my previous career in my current one.

When I'm not at school I do a bit of traveling with my husband, who is also a teacher (We will be taking several of his students on an annual trip to Japan in just a few days). Later this summer we will be heading to Germany for the first time to attend the European Juggling Convention. Yes...my other hobby is that I juggle. Go figure. =) Besides that I hope to catch up on my reading and movie going, spend some time with our three cats, and generally enjoy the break. I'm also looking forward to this program and expanding my skills in technology as well as collaborating with all of you!

Nicole -- Music Teacher

I spent one year teaching elementary general music but my heart belongs to the middle school kids! Right now I have 2 bands, an orchestra and 2 general music classes. I’ve been teaching music for 5 years, and played solo and in bands for about 20 years before that. I spend most of my free time playing music with friends just for fun, camping, hiking, reading and entertaining my adorable cat. I’m thrilled about this EWYL program and can’t wait to share all I learn with my students next year!

Emily

hello there!

i'm emily - a fairly new bay area resident. originally from new york, however started my teaching in baltimore, maryland (where i attended college and some grad. school) i drove across the great US of A from the east coast last august and i now reside in san francisco, a city that i absolutely love love LOVE! i just completed my 4th year teaching. i began in the elementary levels ---teaching 4th grade for my first year before moving to 8th grade when i realized that i actually really enjoy teaching middle school! (crazy, i know!) since moving out to cali i became a teacher within the san carlos school district teaching 6th grade science --- and one section of P.E. so far, i have adjusted quite well to the west coast lifestyle (and weather!) and am pleased with my decision to move.

i enjoy smiling, traveling, eating, laughing, parks, shopping, beaches, eating, and spending some good ol' time on my couch with a nice glass of wine. i'm looking forward to this summer's merit program as a colleague of mine participated last year and only has good things to say about it!

see you all soon! :)

James Larsen

Hello fellow Merit Program Participants!

My name is James Larsen. I just finished my first year of teaching at Thomas Russell Middle School in Milpitas, California. At Russell, I teach five periods of seventh grade English Language Arts. Some people cringe after hearing the grade level I teach, but for me, adolescence parallels with my own personality. I have had a great year and appreciate the value and implications of a solid education.

I am very excited about the Merit program, mainly because I would like to become more familiar with paperless teaching and utilize the Internet more for assessing students.

I moved to Milpitas a year ago from Sacramento with my partner. I needed an escape from the college scene that I had become too familiar with. My move to become more of a professional has been challenging, but I believe it has taken me into the direction I wanted to go.

I look forward to working with all of you and seeing you soon!

James

Vicky To

Hi Everyone,

I'm Vickie To and this is actually my very first time blogging. Before marriage, 1.5 years ago, I was a social butterfly but now my husband and I have become more private. He's a techy but yet doesn't blog either.

I've been a highly enthusiastic 8th grade science teacher for the past 5 years and can't imagine teaching anything else. 8th grade is really "something." It's wonderful and fits me rather well.

Aside from busy times conjuring up innovative lessons for my students, I enjoy gardening and being with my family, which consists of my husband and our two precious dogs. Cinnibon, the brown one, is almost 2 years old and was adopted from one of my past 8th grade student that had to get rid of her. We have no idea what her breed is, nor do the vets. She's a product of some sort of genetic inbreeding and have quite a bit of health issues. Cinni has escaped death at least 3 times this past year and have been a miracle in our lives. She has truly taught us the values of life, what love and sacrifice is all about. Noodles, the black and white cockapoo, is now 5 years of age and is the most sweetest, gentle, and loyal companion anyone can ever have.

When it's possible to find a dog-sitter, my husband and I try to escape for some time alone on travels. Since we've meet, we've been to New York, the Hamptons, Seattle, Orcas Island, Vancouver, Barbados, Saint Martin, Australia, Hawaii, Paris, Venice, and London. My husband is the best man any woman can ever have. He plans to have us see the world together. This summer, its to Alaska, on a cruise. When we are not too far from home, we enjoy short weekend getaways on our sailboat. He's the captain that navigates my path from this point forward. I love him dearly.

My two passions in life are my family and my students. This summer, I hope to tap into some tech skills to improve my craft even further. I am looking forward to meeting everyone and sharing our knowledge and skills.

Maricela Rubio

Hi all! My name is Maricela Rubio and I am currently completing my second year teaching at Laneview Elementary. For the past two years I have been an intern through San Jose State's SUP program and have been teaching first grade. This was a picture that was taken at my graduation just his May. This upcoming year, I will be leaving Laneview and moving to Cherrywood Elementary to teach fifth grade (which has been my dream position since I was a paraeducator at Laneview).

I enjoy many things, but one of my favorites (like most girls) is shopping! I have a BA and an MA in English literature, but unfortunately I am the English major that hates to read for fun...I have tried but I can't read without analyzing...slowly though I am getting into the habit of reading for fun. Hopefully this summer I will be able to read again and not worry about completing schoolwork. This summer I also plan to travel after the program is over, but I am not sure yet where I will be going...maybe New Orleans, or Yosemite, or Sunny So-Cal. Can't wait to meet you all soon.

Lisa Brizuela

Hello! I'm joining the other "x" number of folks from Milpitas High School. I'm completing my 2nd full year at MHS, and I love it! I teach science - Life Science/Health and Anatomy/Physiology. The students range from grades 9 through 12, and it can get pretty crazy in L-46.

When given nice scenery and free time, I enjoy running. Unfortunately, exercise is on the bottom of list of things to do. Eating comes first. When given lots of money and free time, however, I love to travel! My husband and I have been married for 1.5 years with 0 kids, so we're taking advantage of this "freedom" to travel. Our latest trip within the US was New York, NY. Our last trip over seas (and probably our last trip for a while considering the high gas prices) was our honeymoon to Spain.

I'm looking forward to meeting everyone in person and learning lots of new capabilities on my mac so I can incorporate them into my classroom.

P.S. I'm in the Milpitas/North SJ area if anyone is interested in carpooling! :) Those crazy gas prices.

Laura Veuve

Hello everyone,

I'm about to finish my third year teaching math at Leadership High School, a small charter school in San Francisco. This year I taught Algebra and AP Calculus AB, plus I'm an advisor to a lovely group of soon to be seniors that I've been with since they were freshmen. (The photo is from our ice skating trip last year.) Before this, I taught ESL and math through the Peace Corps in a tiny village in Namibia, just north of South Africa, which was quite low-tech. I've been slowly ramping up my technology use, including the new Geometer's Sketchpad programs I just got from DonorsChoose, so I'm excited to learn more. Also, we are in the process of redesigning our entire math curriculum (textbooks, structures, pedagogy, everything) to make our classes more project-based and outcomes-based, so I'm really hoping to get some good ideas and tools from the program and everyone this summer.

Outside of school, I'm a reader, an eater, a consumer of trashy television, an unskilled but enthusiastic dancer, a coffeeshop chiller, a movie and music fan, a park lay-abouter, and someone who's really excited for summer to begin. I'm from the Bay Area, but I went to Oberlin college in Ohio and I spent a couple summers working in upstate New York. I've also been lucky enough to travel and spend time in lots of places in Central America, Southern Africa and Europe.

I'm looking forward to meeting you all and working with you this summer!

Laura

Thu Ngo

Late to the party, as usual! :)

My name is Thu Ngo, and I'm wrapping up my second year at Milpitas High School. I taught freshman English this year (isn't it weird to be talking in past tense??? I can't believe it's summer!), and will be teaching freshmen and sophomores next year. I'm also the advisor for the class of 2011, and that takes up a fairly large amount of my time (but I completely love it). You can tell I spend way too much time around teenagers when the only photo I have to show you is a self-posed Myspace photo.

I grew up in the Bay Area and spent a good portion of my life in private school. I graduated from Notre Dame High School in San Jose in 2001 and promptly moved to Portland, OR to attend Lewis & Clark College, where I majored in English, with an emphasis on 19th-century Brit lit. I graduated in three years, and then moved ALL the way down the coast to attend UC Irvine to get my Master's in English. Finally I settled back at home to get my teaching credential from Santa Clara University. I student-taught at MHS, and I haven't left since.

Things you should know about me:
- I'm quite shy in person.
- However, I have five tattoos and lots of piercings that I'm not that shy about showing.
- I'm a music snob. (My three great passions are Radiohead, Elliott Smith, and John Lennon.)
- I'm a bit of a movie snob, but not nearly as much as Michael Cummins.
- I love the San Francisco Giants, for better or for worse. I occasionally follow the A's.
- I'm an avid knitter, as if to contrast with my tech-iness. (If you've ever wanted to learn how to knit, I can totally teach you!) I'm part of that new wave of punk/indie knitters. That said, yes, I can crochet a granny square. Blog: http://web.mac.com/thungo
- I'm a literature geek. Austen is my hero.
- I wish I could call myself a runner, but I'm really a runner-slash-hobbler. I am, however, training for my first marathon in October through San Jose Fit.
- Oh... In case you couldn't tell, I'm a major Mac supporter. I can't live without my Macbook.

I'm looking forward to an awesome three weeks with KCI! I am working with Michael and Frank Castro on a collaborative project to span our respective grade levels and subject areas.

Ryan Ikeda

So my name is Ryan Ikeda and I teach English at Los Altos High School. This is will be my second year teaching. I enjoy traveling and am leaving for Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, and Spain in 9 days!!! I'll be returning a couple days before our program starts. I'm looking forward to working with you all this summer. Ryan

Matthew Phillips

Greetings, nerds!  

My name is Matthew Phillips.  I just moved to the bay area recently from Montana. 

This will be my second year living and Mountain View and teaching English in Fremont.  My colleagues and I are working on creating a Technology career path at our school and we are looking forward to forming some common practices. I’m excited to start exploring ideas and making plans for next year.  I’ve got a bunch of ideas to try.  Most probably won’t work (my fMRI assisted reading assessment plan is ahead of its time) but with some collaboration and adaptation we’ll create something almost as innovative.

I love living and teaching in such a diverse and progressive area and I am glad to find a group of educators who are taking concrete steps toward giving students the skills they will need and desire in this particular community.  I look forward to meeting and working with you all.

Matt

 

Andrea Hutchison

Hi Everyone,
I’ve been living in California and teaching at Milpitas High School since 2000. Before that I taught in Texas for 13 years. I’ve taught pretty much all of the business education courses including programming, accounting, and computer applications. In my current position, I teach Computer Applications and am lead teacher for the Digital Business Academy and the Business Department at MHS. I finished my master’s degree from SJSU last year and took last summer off, so I’m really excited to have the opportunity to learn some new technology applications. I love to learn new things and try to instill in my students that learning is a lifelong process!
My “About Me” section includes that I’m Mom of two awesome kids. My son just turned 20 and lives in College Station, Texas where he works full-time as a department manager at Best Buy and attends Blinn College full time as well. I’m really proud of him in case you can’t tell! My daughter is 16 (going on 25) and is totally a free spirit. She’s truly the light of every day for me. She loves cheerleading; My Space, cell phones, her iPod and (ugh) boys! I know school is in there somewhere! :-) She’s very creative and wants to do something in the field of journalism.
I’m looking forward to spending time this summer with a group that I know I will have a lot in common with!

Mark White

I teach 5th grade along with fellow KCI participant, Linda Bauld, at Sunnybrae Elementary in San Mateo. I was born and raised in Colorado, but I have now lived in San Francisco for over 20 years. I started out as a corporate computer consultant, but found little satisfaction in the work. So one day, I up and quit to pursue my true dream of becoming a teacher. I have been teaching ever since, and I love, love, love it. I have worked in both public and private schools, and I have taught every grade level from pre-kindergarten to 12th, except for 3rd.

When I am not working, my passions include swimming, bicycling and traveling. I swim on a Masters team, and I occasionally compete in various meets around the country and around the world. Last year, I took up open water swimming, and I was especially excited to compete in the Waikiki Rough Water swim (2.5 miles). I am currently training for the Lake Berryessa 2 mile swim.

I also love to travel, and my last trip was to Sydney, Australia over Christmas vacation. That's me after swimming in a spectacular pool right on the harbor, with the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House in the background. My next travel plans include D.C., Williamsburg, Virginia, and New York for this summer, and Copenhagen, Stockholm and Amsterdam in the summer of 2009.

I'm looking forward to working with all of you this summer. I always enjoy working with other teachers and sharing ideas.

Cathleen Carmichael

Hi, I am Cathleen Carmichael from Kennedy Middle School in Redwood City. I have taught the Computer exploratory class at Kennedy for about 14 years. Before this, I taught all subjects in 2nd through 6th grade. Now, I am branching out and teaching ELD to a small group of students who need extra help learning English. My goal is to create a project for this ELD class that includes the use of podcasts.

I am a Bay Area native but have lived in many places, Spain, Florida, Southern California and Humbolt. I got my masters degree at Humbolt State. I have a daughter just graduating from Cal State Monterey Bay and a granddaughter finishing first grade. I have a new tent trailer in which I plan to spend every minute that we are not working this summer.

I am looking forward to working with everyone this summer. It looks like a great group of educators.

Steven Caringella

Hey everyone,

Steven Caringella here. I am one of the MERIT instructors, for the K-6 group. I teach Fourth Grade at Zanker Elementary School in Milpitas Unified School District, and am about to complete my tenth year of teaching. I'm really excited to have so many other Milpitas teachers in the summer institute!

I was an EWYL (MERIT) participant in 2004, then a Fellows participant (I highly recommend this after you complete MERIT), and finally a Fellows team leader for two years. I also teach technology classes part-time here at the KCI. Check out http://caringella.my-ecoach.com to see what classes I offer.

When I am not teaching, you can find me juggling my two and a half-year old Chase, and my three month old, Dean--one in each arm--or spending time with my wife Jen. Hearing my son call me "Daddy" is about the best feeling in the world there is!

In my free time, I like to camp and backpack, read, and watch reruns of the Office over and over again. Like Michael Cummins, I too am a U2 fanatic, although he far surpasses me with his photo taken in front of Bono's home in Ireland.

Looking forward to meeting each of you this summer!

Steven
caringellasteven@foothill.edu

Barbara Okazaki

I am a Physical Education teacher at Piedmont Middle School in San Jose. I am in my 28th year of teaching and still enjoy going to work. I am married (27 years) and we have 2 daughters and 1 son. The girls have UC degrees in biology and our son is at UCLA majoring in history. We also have a 2 year old boxer/staffordshire terrier named Cheechoo.
Needless to say we are involved with many activities. (tennis, basketball, volleyball, crafts and technology) I enjoy taking tech classes as I am trying to incorporate more crafts & technology into school projects.
Physical Education is usually viewed as a "low tech" subject, but I am working on changing that at Piedmont Middle. I am very excited to be a part of the KCI Merit program this summer and look forward to meeting everyone & learning new things.

Corona's Jewels

Crown’s Jewels
My name is Patricia Lynne Corona. I am fifty three years old and live in Oakland, California. I have been a teacher for twenty-six years. I’ll just write the highlights, or jewels of my life.
I was born in Los Angeles, raised in Minnesota, North Dakota, and California. I started school in Minnesota in 1958, and I have never stopped taking classes. I enjoy learning. My mother told me I was always a curious child. I was the first person in my family to obtain a Master’s Degree.
I graduated from Lowell High School in 1971, in San Francisco. I’ve worked and attended classes ever since. I worked in convalescent hospitals and took classes at City College. When I graduated from City College with my A.S., I transferred to San Francisco State University. I got my B.A. When I got my teaching credential, I got a job in a private school in San Francisco. I finished my M.A. at S.F.S.U. and started taking classes around the Bay Area. In 1997, I switched to teaching in public schools. I taught in Ravenswood, Redwood City, and now Oakland school district. I taught teachers how to teach math and science for two semesters for the University of Phoenix, I have taught newborn to 105 year olds.
During vacations, I enjoyed traveling. I have traveled all over the United States. I have also visited Canada, the Virgin Islands, and took two cruises. I cruised by Denmark, Norway, and England on my first cruise. My second cruise went from Florida, the Bahamas, the Panama Canal, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and ended in Mexico.
In 2001, I got married. My husband is very supportive of my pursuits of travel and education. It is fortunate that I took many years of Spanish in school, since my husband only speaks Spanish. Since we married, he is learning English, and my Spanish is getting much better.
You could say I have a multicultural background. My mother’s third husband was Chinese Hawaiian. I have godsons and goddaughters- two are African American and the other two are Filipino/Hawaiian/White. My husband is Mexican. My maternal great-grandmother was born in Norway. I enjoy learning about different cultures. I always thought I could have been an anthropologist, if I hadn’t become a teacher.
I enjoy my pets when I am at home. I have a little black female dog named Reina, a white, brown and black male dog that looks like a Jack Russell Terrier named Chevy, a Bearded Dragon named Pepper, a turtle named Gumbo, and many fish. They keep me busy. In December of 2005, we bought a house in Oakland…which also keeps us busy.
I love teaching. In addition to my Master’s degree ( in education with an emphasis in computers), I have a multiple subject teaching credential from the state of California as well as a CLAD credential. I still take classes, I just can’t decide if I should go for another degree or another credential. I was nominated for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and was given an award by the mayor of San Francisco for being an Outstanding Teacher in San Francisco.
I also enjoy music, keeping in touch with friends, a good mystery story or a good joke, and cooking- when I have time. That’s about it for me. Oh, by the way, in English corona means “crown”, in case you were wondering about the title.
I am looking forward to the summer KCI program. I don’t have photos, since I am currently a work in progress ( I am on a strict diet, I’ve lost 55lbs as of today).
See ya!
Call me Lynne

Travlyn Russell

My daughter slaving a hard drive.

She calls herself "nerd-spawn."

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of myself.

However, she is cuter anyway!

I am thrilled to part of this year's KCI Merit Program. As I enter my tenth year teaching, it will be nice to have the time develop curriculum that integrates technology in a mindful way, rather than in an accidentially useful way--which always seems to happen to me.

My background: I was born in Chapel Hill, NC, but moved to the Bay Area with my parents when I was six months old. I grew up in Oakland with my techno-phobe father. However, I was always fascinated by technology, because my mother was always on the cutting edge. We had a Wang Word Processesor, for crying out loud! When I went to college (back before the World Wide Web), my mother took me down to the basement of the Computer Science building at Davis and forced me to get a Unix account so I could "email" her. It was 1989, so that was pretty cutting edge at the time. When I got a 14,400 baud modem, my neighbors thought I was crazy; "you'll never need that kind of speed!" How the world has changed...what hasn't changed is my love of technology and my desire to keep my skills current.

I spent most of my professional life teaching underserved populations in Dorchester, MA and Richmond, CA, so there really wasn't much emphasis on technology--just getting books was a challenge! However, I demanded than my students learn some basic computer skills--other than using the web to design sneakers. Now that I am in Fremont, it's great to have students who know how to use PowerPoint, Excel, webcams, you name it! It's exciting to be close to silicon valley in a community that values cutting edge technology and high quality education.

I look forward to expanding my use of all sorts of technology this summer--see you then!

Carl Erickson

I was born and raised in Norwalk, Connecticut. I went to college in western Pennsylvania for two years, and then finished my undergraduate degree at Humboldt State University. After graduation I worked as a Marine Science Educator in the Florida Keys for Newfound Harbor Maine Institute and Seacamp. I went back to Humboldt to get my teaching credential, and got a job at Buchser the very next year. I have been here ever since and I love every minute of my job. I am currently in my 10th year teaching science and plan to be here until the day I stop teaching. I taught 6th grade for the first 9 years and recently made the change to 8th.

My wife and I live in Santa Clara, where we hope to someday raise a family. When I am not teaching or geeking out on the computer I buld stuff in my workshop, play hockey, and relax on the houseboat (thanks to the in-laws!!!). I am the tailtwister and the webmaster for DeAnza Lions Club. My happy place is Key West Florida!!!

I am looking forward to not teaching summer school this summer (thanks to the MERIT program!!!) and colaborating with all you other educators!!!

Frank Castro

Hi, I'm really excited about the opportunity to grow as a techie this summer and throughout the next year. I've always enjoyed working with technology but I've felt that I was nothing more than a novice. I look forward to all the cool stuff we're gonna learn and how it will make our experience as teachers so much more rewarding.

I grew up in San Jose and went to Liberty Baptist High School and have two degrees from San Jose State. I've taught Social Studies at Milpitas High School for the last 13 years. I teach Economics and Cultural History. Next year, I'll be teaching a new class on Personal Finance. I'm very excited about this! I finally get to put my Business degree to use. I coach basketball at Rancho Middle School also in Milpitas. I consider this to be the dessert of what I do. Coaching is why I got into teaching.


I've been married for 14 years and have two kids, a dog and two cats. Needless to say I'm very busy. My wife Renee and I are constantly about the business of parenting whether that be softball for Maria or play dates for Frankie. At the moment our family is engrossed in my daughter's softball season. This is her first year and she's having a blast. I help coach and have found this to be most gratifying. My interests are few but very intense. I've been a Giants season ticket holder for over 20 years. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the Giants. I am a sports junky, I root for the local teams whether it be college or pro. I listen to KNBR constantly and I've been known to call in on occasion. I love sci-fi (BSG, Star Trek, etc.) I am involved in my church and try to live the Christian lifestyle as best as I can. I am looking forward to meeting you all, it should be a lot of fun.

Stephanie Davey

Hi folks. The big news recently in my life is that I was married in December and just got the pictures in last week. (Sorry for playing the part of the over-exuberent and slightly obnoxious bride.)

I've been teaching at Los Altos High School since the fall of 2005. I started out teaching in a private all girl's Catholic school in San Jose after graduating college in 2001. I also took a break from teaching to live, work and learn in south Chicago--yes, I know where Barak Obama lives! Sorry, I digress, while getting my master's in divinity, I also worked in a second grade classroom where I learned something about classroom management in elementary education. I currently teach World Studies to frosh and two sections of AVID.

So, in my free time I indulge in running and training for races with distances between the 5k and the marathon. I run with the Palo Alto Run Club twice to three times a week. I also indulge in watching Dancing With the Stars, reading and the occasional Us Weekly. I have a dog named Pluto who is the cutest dog ever.

I'm looking forward to learning about new technologies that can enrich my history curriculum and technology that can help my students in the AVID program bridge the technological divide.

Linda Bauld

Hi eveyone! I am so excited to be part of this program and to learn new tech tools. I look forward to meeting you all and making more connections throughout the Bay Area.

I teach 5th grade at Sunnybrae School in San Mateo. This is my 17th year teaching, and I still love being with the kids. Each year brings a whole new set of challenges so I never get bored. Sunnybrae is a Primary Years Prep school, which is the elementary portion of the International Baccalaureate program. It is so exciting to teach in this program because we teach through inquiry, incorporating large units of study with an international focus.

A couple of years ago I achieved National Board Certification and the process changed me as a teacher. I serve as one of the support providers at Stanford for candidates pursuing certification. I love talking about it and sharing how great the process is for professional growth.

I love to exercise, hike, read, and meet friends for coffee. I'm running/walking the Bay to Breakers for the first time! My girlfriend and I turn 55 this year so we thought what the heck let's go for it! I climbed Half Dome before 50, Mt. Whitney before 52, so now I'm looking for my next challenge. Maybe Mt. Fuji or Mt. Shasta?? Anybody done either of those?

I look forward to hearing about everyone else! Have a great rest of your year. Linda

Megan Meyer

The first picture is me (starting on left), my two sister's and my sister in law.


The next picture is my dearest friend Christine (left and I am right) in Chico '08.





I am a kindergarten teacher in Santa Clara Unified School District at Montague Elementary School. I have been teaching for 11 years. I taught fifth grade for one year and kinder for the last 10 years. I am also a Saint Francis High School Alumni ('91). I grew up in San Carlos, went to high school in Mt. View and went to college in Chico. In 2004 I got my Masters in Education Administration and leadership from San Jose State.
I have three siblings (a twin brother and two sisters) and seven nieces and nephews that live in Redwood City, North Carolina and San Diego. I visit them often and they come home more than a few times a year. :)
I love to travel. I have visited Mexico, the UK, and many places in Europe. I am going on a trip right after school ends before our summer program to London and Paris!
I played softball from age five until junior year in college and coached for many years after that. I coached pitching for Menlo College and Menlo High School.
I look forward to working with all of you this summer and making some significant gains with my skills in technology.

David Moore

To start, I am incredibly grateful and excitited to be involved in the KCI Merit Program. I am so looking forward to a great summer learning how to better reach our students!

I teach Kinesiology (think of P.E., but with a more cognitive based progressive approach) at Abbott Middle School in San Mateo, California. This is my third year, and I currently teach grades 6/7/8. I also serve as the districts' Athletic Director. Before teaching, I student taught and served as an instructional aide at Bayside Middle School (where another teacher-Josh Sheridan-in our program used to teach.) I am also currently pursuing my M.A. in Education at Cal. State Northridge. With what little resources I have, I try to implement technology into my curriculum as much as possible. From pedometers to PDA's, I do what I can. I am most proud of the website I created, check it out if you want: http://www.mooreball.net/

I was born and raised in South San Jose, and currently live in Sunnyvale with my wife Amber, 14 month old son Nolan, and our crazy Boston Terrier dog Kramer. We are also expecting a second boy in the middle of June, so I see some sleepy times ahead.



Again, I am really excited to be involved in this program for the next year. It will be fun to learn new ideas and get to build great relationships with passionate teachers.

Hannah Sun

Hi all! I'm Hannah and my name is spelled the same backwards. (Just a way for you to remember me?) I'm in my third year of teaching, though it feels like the first year all over again because I switched subjects as I moved to a new school, so this has been a year of learning new content and planning new lessons. Currently I teach 6th grade Math, Science, and Exploratory Wheel (art, technology, life skills) at Lawson Middle School in Cupertino.

I would consider myself a novice when it comes to technology. I love gadgets and love learning how to use new technology, but haven't had a lot of time to do so. This is why I'm excited to work with all of you for three weeks over the summer and learn from the wealth of knowledge that is available in this pool of brilliant people! I completely agree with Michael C. when it comes to just how tech-savvy our kids are these days. Our students are so well-versed in current technology that they know how to acquire and pass on information in the matter of seconds. So many of my students know a lot more than I do and I'm always asking them, "Uh... how do you ________ on a Mac?" I also feel that current education is years behind in terms of how information is presented to the students and how we expect them to learn it. In the ideal world, each student would have access to a computer at school and "hands-on" learning, which is how they learn best! I really hope that my three weeks in MERIT this summer will help me develop ideas that incorporates technology in my classroom.

Some other tidbits about me: I love to sleep, watch movies, and enjoy all activities that include performing and visual arts. I've been a piano teacher since I was in high school and graduated from UC San Diego with double B.A. in Communications and Music (with a focus on performance and composition). Traveling is also a hobby of mine as it allows me to see the world beyond my bubble and also do quite a bit of photography at the same time.

I also LOVE Disneyland, and I see that several others do as well. Maybe we should all go after the three weeks are over!

Here: Eating cheap lobsters in Maine.
Above: Trying on a pair of shoes at a
clog factory in Amsterdam last summer.

Lesley Muller

Hi everyone,

My name is Lesley Muller and I am a fifth year teacher at (and alumna of) Saint Francis High School in Mountain View. I currently teach all grades, 9-12, between four different courses in the social studies department: Honors World History, AP European History, Case Studies in Africa and Asia, and Introduction to Economics. In addition to teaching, I coach cross country and track.

Over the past few years I have become very excited about exploring ways in which I can incorporate technology in my classroom. There are so many great resources for history, economics, and current events on the web, and my students get excited whenever I give them a project involving web research. I am also excited about the web as a means of making my lessons accessible to parents, absent students, and the greater teaching community. Last summer I designed a very basic website using Google Page Creator for my AP European History class and have received positive feedback from students and parents. However, I am now frustrated with the limitations of Google Page Creator. Therefore, this summer I look forward to both learning more advanced technologies for web design and acquiring knowledge of new ways to enhance my lessons using technology.

In terms of hobbies, I love to read "The Economist" and nonfiction books, especially about Africa; I enjoy running and hiking; and I am an enthusiastic traveler trying to visit at least one new country each summer.

Michael Cummins

Hi everybody. My name is Michael Cummins and I'm in my third year of teaching at Milpitas High School. I teach 10th, 11th and 12th grade social studies. I am also a member of the Digital Business Academy, a small learning community within the 3000 student high school. I get the same kids for three years in a row and each of them is required to take a computer class as their elective each year. My students have access to better computer labs than the teachers at MHS do. I need to take advantage of this fact.

I saw an incredibly fast example of students and their technology earlier this year. There was a fire in a campus bathroom at the end of school and all students were sent home without access to their lockers. I had a quiz scheduled the next day. I got out my keypad-enabled phone (as I'm an old man and appreciate an alphabet) and sent a text to my T.A.s asking them to spread the word of the quiz's postponement. They forwarded the texts, announced it on myspace and facebook, added it to their xangas and other blogs, until there wasn't a student in any of my classes that hadn't been informed. This is power I (we) need to harness.

On the hobbies front, I've been reviewing movies on line for more than ten years. There are nearly a thousand postings at www.michaelvox.com/filmblog.html
I have been on Blogger so long, in fact, that I was one of those who actually paid for the privilege before Google came and bought it up. I also do a movie podcast with a partner up in Seattle. We've been going strong for about a year and a half. www.cinebanter.com or "cinebanter" at iTunes. The photo above is me in front of Bono's house in Killiney Beach outside of Dublin, Ireland. Can you say stalker? I've seen U2 more than 50 times and I occasionally write for www.atu2.com

Nice to meet you and hope to talk with you this summer.

Jennifer Wu

Hi everyone. My name is Jennifer Wu and I am in my fourth year of teaching. I spent my first year in LA, teaching at a school in Hawthorne while finishing my credential and masters program. I relocated the following year and this is my third year at Mountain View High School where I am currently teaching Geometry and Algebra 2.

I tried to integrate some technology but feel that I'm not doing enough. Usually, when we speak of technology, we simply refer to the Texas Instrument calculators. I'm very excited to see what this program and classes can help me get more ideas. I would like to do more than just calculators and hopefully develop projects that help students make deeper connections with the material.

I'm very excited to meet everyone and can't wait till summer is here. =)

Michael Pens

Hello all! I too am looking forward to working with everyone this summer. I am in my 3rd year of teaching. My first two years were in San Jose, and now I am in Pacifica teaching band at Terra Nova High School. I really love my job and actually look forward to seeing my students each day. That's probably good since I am still living in San Jose and making the hour commute each day.

I am looking forward to exploring new ways of integrating technology into my classroom. I have added a music theory class to my class load for next year and think that there are some exciting possibilities with technology in that class. I also think that further use of technology could greatly benefit my performing groups.

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of my band. I look forward to meeting all of you in July!