|
John Heffernan
John Heffenan is a technology teacher and Coordinator PK-6 for the Williamsburg Schools. In 1992 he changed from a software engineering career to that of a third grade teacher. He was the first teacher in Amherst to use the Internet for educational purposes. He led his school’s technology team and received a special superintendent’s award for integrating technology into the curriculum. In 1999 he joined the Hampshire Educational Collaborative (HEC). As part of his work with HEC he wrote and received grants focused on teacher professional development in technology, video conferencing, and distance learning. He designed and developed multiple web-based databases for districts and HEC. In addition, he worked for 2 years at the state level on the Virtual Education Space initiative, which is now know as MassOne.
In 2003, John began working in the Williamsburg Schools as technology teacher and coordinator. In this role, John has introduced and expanded many innovative programs such as robotics, video game programming, and animation creation. His grade six Tech Troops program enables students to develop in-depth technology projects. As the district’s integration teacher, he works with teachers to plan, integrate, and deliver technology-enriched lessons in the classroom. John has offered many professional development workshops for the district including a recent course on using Web 2.0 tools for education.
Ragen Tiliakos
Ragen Tiliakos, the Technology Director for the Taunton Public Schools, has provided leadership in the field of educational technology since 1987 when she was the computer teacher for the Williams Middle School in Bridgewater. She began her Doctoral program in Instructional Design, Development, and Evaluation at Syracuse (with a focus on technology) and was awarded her Ed.D. in spring 2003. Her dissertation topic was on how teachers learn to use new technologies, i.e. the Internet, as an instructional tool. She managed and ran the grant-funded Teacher Technology Center at the Moakley Center at Bridgewater State College to support inservice, preservice, and higher ed instructors in the integration of technology. She also worked as the K-12 Technology Coordinator for Bridgewater State College through Continuing Education. She has taught adjunct graduate level courses for Bridgewater State College and Nova University, and in 2004 she received an award from BSC for Educational Community Partnerships with Continuing and Graduate Ed.
Several years ago, Dr. Tiliakos joined other tech directors from districts in her geographic area of the state, meeting once a month to share ideas, learn from each other, and collaborate on projects for the benefit of all their districts. For the past 4 years she has been the MassCUE Conference Chair, and she takes pride in planning an event where educators from all over Massachusetts can learn about new technologies, share with each other, and take their new-found knowledge back to their districts. Currently she teaches graduate students at Bridgewater State where she loves to watch her students grow into administrators who embrace technology and will influence the education of students in their districts. Technology training has become part of a department’s curriculum revision and is no longer separate. As long as it is a resource that is part of their professional tool box, embedded in teachers’ curriculum training, technology has a better chance of being part of the students’ learning experience.
Ellen M. Driscoll
Ellen M. Driscoll is the Coordinator of Educational Technology and Instructional Media for the Plymouth Public Schools. Ellen, a Mattapoisett resident, has provided leadership in the field of educational technology since 1993 when she began her career in education as a K-3 computer instructor in Mattapoisett. A few years later, she worked in Middleboro as the district K-12 Technology Specialist. In this role she began working with teachers as well as students. She advocated for technology professional development, understanding the need for teachers to actively embrace what was then a relatively new educational tool.
Ellen continued her career as the first Technology Director for Barnstable Public Schools. After six years in Barnstable, Ellen moved into her current position as Coordinator of Educational Technology and Instructional Media in Plymouth. As a technology administrator in both districts, she wrote and was awarded many competitive grants. These grants provided funding to infuse technology into the curriculum across all content areas. The latest grant funded an island in Second Life which is used as part of a four district professional development experience.
Ellen is a Visiting Lecturer at Bridgewater State College and an Adjunct Professor for Endicott College. She holds a Masters in Education, Computers in Education Program from Lesley University and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies (CAGS) in Educational Leadership from Bridgewater State College.
|
