Patrick Crispin

Patrick Crispen is the Faculty Training and Support Coordinator for the Faculty Technology Center at the California State University in Long Beach. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Alabama and a master's degree in educational technology from Pepperdine University.

At Cal State Long Beach, Patrick collaborates with faculty, university technology support staff, and other individuals and groups to provide guidance in the development of technology-based learning and instructional materials.

Prior to moving to California, Patrick was the Internet Training Materials Specialist for the Internet Network Information Center (InterNIC) at Network Solutions where he was the program manager for the internationally acclaimed 15 Minute Series, free PowerPoint-based Internet training presentations.

Patrick was also a Simulations Director for, and founding staff member of, the United States Space Camp's Space Academy Level II program (now called "Advanced Space Academy").

In the fall of 1994, Patrick created a free, 27-lesson Internet training workshop called "Roadmap." Over 500,000 people participated in Roadmap, making it the most popular Internet training workshop in history. Patrick also co-authored two classroom textbooks, Atlas for the Information Superhighway (1996) and Web Page Design (1999), and is the co-author of the Internet Tourbus, a free semi-weekly Internet newsletter read by over 100,000 people in over 130 countries. Tourbus celebrated its tenth anniversary in the Summer of 2005, and PC World recently rated Tourbus as one of the Internet's 15 best newsletters.

Since October of 1997, Patrick has been an invited weekly panelist on a call-in radio show on WGN Radio in Chicago. The show, the "Website Wednesday Nightie portion of the "Steve and Johnnie" show, is broadcast live to 38 states and most of Canada on AM 720 and is also simulcast over the Internet. Callers from around the country ask Patrick and a panel of two other experts technology-related question.

Kathy Dorr

A believer in the power of technology to transform student learning, Kathy Dorr has been a classroom teacher for 30 years, a university instructor for two years at Western Washington University, and is currently Assistant Director of the Teacher Leadership Project and Instructional Technology Coordinator for Northwest ESD 189 in Washington State. She holds a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction and conducts professional staff development in her region.

As a facilitator for professional development, Kathy leads educators through project-based learning and curriculum development centered on meaningful and appropriate technology integration. She enjoys watching teachers become excited about the possibilities that technology can bring to their instruction. When teachers can engage students in their own learning using these tools, the shared adventure of teaching and learning takes on new dimensions. With a focus on performance based assessment and differentiated student learning, Kathy is a strong advocate for technology use in the classroom.

Kathy has been a presenter at NECC, NCCE, and FETC and has helped write online curriculum for the Teacher Leadership Project and local school districts. When not focusing on technology and curriculum, Kathy enjoys time with her family, trying out new tech toys, visiting with friends, and taking long walks.

Karen Fasimpaur

An enthusiastic user of a variety of mobile technologies, Karen Fasimpaur has over fifteen years experience in education and educational technology, working with schools and educational organizations to integrate technology.

Ms. Fasimpaur is currently President of K12 Handhelds, which focuses on handheld computing in education. Ms. Fasimpaur has conducted presentations and workshops nationwide on the use of handhelds in education, as well as on other topics relating to the integration of technology in K-12 education. The forums she has presented at include NECC, FETC, TCEA, CUE, the Florida Technology Leadership Summit, and elsewhere. Ms. Fasimpaur is the author of the award-winning book 101 Great Educational Uses for Your Handheld Computer.

Prior to that, she served as President of Futurekids, a K-12 educational technology integration company with operations in 75 countries worldwide. Before that, Ms. Fasimpaur was an executive at Davidson & Associates (later known as Knowledge Adventure and Vivendi Universal Publishing), where she oversaw a joint venture with Addison Wesley to produce an innovative multimedia history curriculum in collaboration with the California, Florida, and Texas state departments of education. Ms. Fasimpaur has also served as the Director of Operations for the Mazer Corporation, an educational materials developer.

Ms. Fasimpaur has classroom teaching experience as a teacher of elementary and adult education. She holds a Master of Business Administration Degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Leslie Fisher

Leslie Fisher's interest in technology began while studying music at the University of Southern California. She quickly realized the value of using computers for music mixing and thus began a personal discovery process where technology replaced the flute and, in the process, brought her nationally celebrated talents to us today.

After graduating from USC with a Business and Marketing degree in 1989, she went to an Apple Computer subsidiary where she was in charge of the education marketing and training program. Wanting more technical experience, Fisher left this company in 1992 and joined Apple Computer as a senior systems engineer in K-12 education, providing technology solutions to school districts across Southern California.

When the Internet took off in 1994, she was one of the first Apple employees assigned to study Internet growth and implementation. Due to her knowledge of web design and server implementation, she became the Internet resource in the Educational Western Region.

In 1997, Fisher formed Fisher Technologies, which is a national corporation providing web design, consulting, training, and presentation services to school district and corporations.

Jim Hirsch

Jim Hirsch is in his 32nd year serving public education and promoting the use of educational technology. During that time he has worked with thousands of teachers and administrators across the United States and Canada to integrate technology into their daily classroom teaching and learning activities in addition to hundreds of school districts on strategic technology planning and curriculum design. Hirsch spent the first 21 years of his career with the Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota, leading a variety of technology implementations including one of the first large district wide area networks and an early adopter of providing online curriculum support via the Internet. Since joining Plano ISD in 1996, he has led the district in a series of intensive technology improvements. These include the development of a digital user interface (DUI), through which the district’s network recognizes every student and staff member on any of its more than 30,000 computers and delivers their personal desktop directly to them. In 2001, Plano implemented an 81-mile long fiber-optic network that carries voice, data, and digital video as well as a 116-channel private analog video network to 80 sites. Hirsch has also been involved in the development of an award-winning elementary school curriculum project that integrated technology in every classroom and led the development of district standards for hardware, software, staff development and support to provide more efficiency. Most recently, Jim has been a lead designer in the Plano ISD eSchool effort to provide a comprehensive online curriculum and a pilot district site for the Texas Education Agency in their research into providing an appropriate model for statewide online school efforts. His current focus is on personal, ubiquitous computing and open technologies.

Since 1978, Jim has presented over 180 conference sessions and workshops regarding technology integration and leadership skills for technology decision makers. His audiences include the American Association for School Administrators (AASA), the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), Cable in the Classroom (CIC), the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the National School Boards Association (NSBA), the National Coalition for Technology in Education Training (NCTET), the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and 25 state and regional technology associations throughout the United States. Hirsch is often characterized as "a visionary with detail" for his ability to embed promising technologies with daily classroom activities.

Annette Lamb

Dr. Annette Lamb has been a school library media specialist, computer teacher, and professor of education and library science. She is currently teaching online graduate courses for librarians and educators as a professor at Indiana University - Indianapolis (IUPUI).

In addition to online teaching, she writes, speaks, and conducts professional development workshops, presentations, and keynotes throughout North America and is well-known for her realistic approaches to technology integration and information inquiry. In addition to working on state and national-level grant projects, she enjoys spending time with administrators, teachers, and individual school districts, universities, and museums focusing on practical, technology-rich approaches to teaching and learning.

Annette received her Ph.D. in Educational Technology from Iowa State University. Her roots in library, media, and technology are reflected in her passion for interdisciplinary approaches, reading and writing across the curriculum, and using a variety of resources from books to the Internet.

Annette's numerous articles and over a dozen books are valuable resources for educators. Her popular website, Eduscapes.com, includes a wide range of award-winning, free resources for educators including 42explore, Teacher Tap, Literature Ladders, Activate, Naturescapes, and Multimedia Seeds. Her newest web resources, escrapbooking.com focuses on electronic, primary source materials.

Brad Patrick

Brad Patrick is the General Counsel and interim Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida. WMF, a 501(c) (3) charitable organization, runs Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, and numerous other projects.  Prior to joining WMF, Mr. Patrick practiced law with Fowler White Boggs Banker in Tampa, Florida in their Technology and Product Liability Litigation Group.  Mr. Patrick's prior experience includes positions in private law firms, government, and the software industry in Washington State, New York State, and Florida.  While working in Redmond, Washington, he led the campaign to build a new library in downtown Redmond, and served on the board of the Open Window School for gifted children in Bellevue, Washington.  Mr. Patrick served in the Washington State Department of Information Resources in Olympia, and with the Seattle law firm of Preg, O'Donnell & Gillett.  He has been active online since 1994, when he started teaching introductory Internet classes to the local bar.  When he is not in front of a computer, Mr. Patrick can be found hiking, kayaking, and enjoying Florida beaches with his family..

Tony Vincent

Described by Edutopia magazine as a "tireless evangelist for the power of handhelds," Tony Vincent's specialty is creatively using technology to engage learners and he's spread his message across the country. He inspires educators with his informative blog, enlightening podcast, practical workshops, valuable book, and exciting presentations. As a former fifth grade teacher, his classroom was the destination for hundreds of educators interested in handheld computing and online publishing. As a technology specialist, Tony started Radio WillowWeb, one of the first podcasts for kids and by kids. Tony's learninginhand.com website is now a destination for thousands of educators interested in improving teaching and learning with today's digital tools.

Tammy Worchester

Tammy has more than twenty years of educational experience as a classroom teacher at various levels from kindergarten to 8th grade, and also served as the Technology Director for her K-8 school. For the past nine years, Tammy has worked for ESSDACK, an educational service center, providing staff development and training in the area of technology integration as an Instructional Technology Specialist. Her web site "Tammy's Technology Tips for Teachers (www.essdack.org/tips) is a popular online resource for teachers around the world. Tammy has developed several software applications for teachers and is the author of four books that are published and marketed nationally.

Tammy is extremely innovative and resourceful and specializes in finding unique and creative ways to use traditional computer programs in the classroom. She enjoys sharing her ideas with teachers throughout the nation and has a presentation style that can be described as inspiring. Participants leave her sessions energized and anxious to try out what they've learned!

Tammy's experiences as a parent, a teacher, a Technology Director, and a training specialist have allowed her to develop a strong sense of the best educational practices. Those skills, coupled with her technology expertise, enable her to collaborate with other educators to build models of effective technology implementation that will have the potential to transform schools to truly "high-tech".