L2L Team

	Marisa Beard has been involved in the educational field for 20 years. Her background involves early childhood education with an emphasis in literacy and technology. She received her Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology and Telecommunications (ITT) from Western Illinois University. Currently she is employed as an instructional technologist with the Office of Teacher Education Partnerships (OTEP) under the College of Education and Human Services (COEHS) at Western Illinois University. With the OTEP team she develops and conducts workshops for school districts that request training in a variety of areas, from integrating technology into the P-12 classroom to how to use specific software titles. She has also serves as adjunct faculty for the ITT department at WIU. Email ML-Beard@wiu.edu
	Danielle Brush, an Instructional Technologist for the Office of Teacher Education Partnerships at Western Illinois University, works extensively with teachers in integrating technology into their classrooms through workshops, school improvement trainings, and one-on-one mentoring. Since receiving her Master’s Degree in ITT in 1998, she has been working with educators throughout the state of Illinois, on a variety of technology topics and issues, previously as ROE #26 Technology Coordinator and currently in her position at WIU. Danielle also serves as adjunct faculty for the Department of Instructional Technology and Telecommunications (ITT), developing the curriculum and instructing pre-service teachers in adapting and transforming uses technology for student learning. Email DM-Brush@wiu.edu
	Cris Crissman, PhD, is L2L's instructional designer and content developer for L2L: Reading , Writing, and Thinking Across the Curriculum (Elementary and Middle-High School courses). She is also a Special Projects Consultant with Distance Learning at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Curriculum and Instruction Department at North Carolina State University(NCSU), and a writer and media producer. Her teaching experience is in literacy education, and she was honored as Reading Educator of the Year in 1998 by the North Carolina Reading Association. She teaches graduate courses in Reading in the Content Areas and Teaching Literature with Young Adults at NCSU. Her current interests focus on designing distance learning projects that engage students in collaborative inquiry while providing professional development opportunities for educators. Contact Cris at ccrissma@dpi.state.nc.us
	Rodney Greer has served as the Assistant to the Dean of COEHS for teacher education partnerships, technology and professional development related activities since 2004. He began at Western Illinois University in 1997 teaching educational psychology, assessment and human development courses in the Department of Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies. He attended graduate school at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he studied educational psychology with an interest in learning strategies and tactics. Prior to working at WIU, he was a school psychologist in rural southern Illinois. He has presented extensively and internationally on how to engage learners in the classroom and how to design instruction and assessment to promote meaningful learning. He has worked with educators who teach at all levels from kindergarten through higher education. Email RJ-Greer@wiu.edu
	Bill Lovin specializes in Underwater, Natural Science and Environmental Media Production. He has filmed in over fifty countries around the world producing programs for broadcast, non-profit and educational markets. Also, a technology visionary, he was honored by The Tech Museum of Innovation in 2002 as an Intel Environmental Award Tech Laureate for his creation of EstuaryLIVE, a live, interactive, Internet field trip. Visit www.estuarylive.org to learn more.
	Sara Simonson, PhD, is a literacy professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Western Illinois University. She teaches graduate courses in secondary reading methods, decoding, vocabulary, assessment, literacy techniques and strategies, and leadership in reading. She currently serves as Graduate Reading Coordinator. She has presented at the state, national, and international conference levels. Dr. Simonson is very active with in-service and workshops at the local level. She works with Illinois State Board of Education, writing and presenting modules across the state to share best practice in reading instruction at a variety of grade levels. Dr. Simonson also writes a column for professional development in literacy for the Illinois Reading Council Journal. Email SD-Simonson@wiu.edu
	Cris Crissman, USDLC Professional Development Coordinator, works in the Resource Development & Evaluation Section at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. An educator with twenty years of experience, she enjoys working at NCDPI and with the USDLC organization. Before becoming the Professional Development Coordinator for USDLC, she helped produce over fifty StarNet professional development programs by traveling across North Carolina interviewing teachers and administrators as well as editing film footage for broadcast. Transitioning all USDLC professional development resources from satellite delivery to online delivery has been an exciting endeavor. Contact Cris at info@usdlc.org
	David Warlick, the web developer of L2L, has been programming computers since he introduced them into his social studies classroom in 1982. Since then he has created some of the most popular education web tools on the Internet, attracting more than six-million visitors to his web site a month. David is also the author of three books on instructional technology and 21st century literacy, and has spoken to audiences about modernizing classrooms throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia.
	Stephanie Wilcox, a Curriculum Specialist for the Office of Teacher Education Partnerships at Western Illinois University, leads the content development of the Digital Literacy Strand of L2L: Reading, Writing, and Thinking Across the Curriculum. She works with teachers to create student-centered classrooms that implement the 21st century skills as well as foster the use of technology. She provides workshops for teachers along with serving as a technology integration specialist for area school districts. Currently, Stephanie is studying online professional development as part of her research and will graduate this fall (’05) with a Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology and Telecommunications. She has presented locally and nationally on a variety of integration and technology-related topics. Email SB-Wilcox@wiu.edu
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