What is the Infinite Thinking Machine?
Our shows and website are an important way to spark dialogue and help educators explore a wide range of innovative ideas. We rely on the collective wisdom of many experienced educators to select interesting ideas to share, but we cannot validate these practices beyond that. Also, please keep in mind that any mention of products, ideas, websites, and organizations does not represent an endorsement by the producers or sponsors.
Why Create the Infinite Thinking Machine?
The ITM is a positive vehicle for K-12 educators to share stories and ideas that tap into the infinite resources available on the Internet. Our goal is simple: to show how today's digital tools can impact student learning in meaningful ways. The ITM is about learning, thinking, communicating, and creativity - not technology. We sincerely hope that this blog and our media productions can jumpstart a wider conversation about innovation and creativity in K-12 education, and we look forward to hearing your ideas and feedback.
Who Contributes to the ITM Blog?
Current contributors to the ITM Blog include:
Lucie deLaBruere has 25 years of experience teaching and learning with technology. She has a Bachelors of Arts from S.U.N.Y.-Oswego in Secondary Education and a Masters of Science from The Graduate Center at Marlboro College in Internet Engineering. As IT Academy Instructor and Director she has helped rural high school students obtain IT industry certifications from Microsoft and Oracle and has coached 10 teams into the semi-finals and one platinum win in Global School House's International Cyberfair Competition. Her success involving girls with technology lead to a position as Technology and Equity Specialist for The Vermont Institutes, where she founded TechSavvy Girls.
Lucie has taught graduate courses and offered professional development opportunities to teachers using the Internet and Web 2.0 to create Tech Savvy Learning Communities. An award winning teacher, with 20 years of experience developing student leadership opportunities, Lucie has recently brought her experience into elementary education as a technology integration specialist at St. Albans City School.
Julie Duffield is a Research Associate in WestEd's Comprehensive School Assistance Program (CSAP) where she works for various CSAP's professional development projects, including managing online events, learning resources, and mentoring networks for WestEd's SchoolsMovingUp -- a WestEd initiative aimed at serving low-performing schools nationwide. Julie has more than 22 years of experience both within and outside of the classroom, including working with diverse learners. Most recently Julie managed the Access and Equity strand of the Regional Technology in Educational Consortium (RTEC) where she highlighted best practices of differentiated instruction and technology to support diverse learners in reading and writing skills.
Dr. Wesley Fryer
Wesley Fryer is an educator, author, digital storyteller and change agent. With respect to school change, he describes himself as a "catalyst for creative educational engagement." His blog, "Moving at the Speed of Creativity" (www.speedofcreativity.org) was selected as the 2006 "Best Learning Theory Blog" by eSchoolnews and Discovery Education.
Wesley secured $1.3 million in grant funding for West Texas schools participating in the Texas Technology Immersion Pilot Project in 2004-2008. He was named an Apple Distinguished Educator in 2005. Wesley is completing his doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction in 2006-2007 at Texas Tech University, studying the impact of technology immersion (1:1 computing) on student achievement. He is the Director of Education Advocacy (PK-20) for AT&T in the state of Oklahoma.
Lucy is the Lead Technology Coach at the Center for Urban School Improvement at the University of Chicago. In her current role, she is responsible for the development of a technology professional development program serving faculty on three University of Chicago Charter School campuses. Lucy also supports technology integration efforts at the North Kenwood/Oakland Charter School.
Prior to her current position, Lucy worked as a primary grade teacher in the Chicago Public Schools and as a middle computer science teacher at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. She holds an M.Ed in Technology in Education from National Louis University, where she also serves as an adjunct faculty member and advisory board member to the TIE program.
Lucy's varied professional interests include the incorporation of Web 2.0 technologies in educational settings, multimedia development, assistive technology and global education. In recent years, she has been appointed an Apple Distinguished Educator and Google Certified Teacher.
Tom March is passionate about teaching, learning and children and how these can meet in compelling learning activities. He finds this often involves technology as an inspiration to creativity and a means to impressive accomplishments. Recognized as a Teacher of the Year for San Diego County after five years in the profession, he concluded ten years as a classroom English teacher in 1995 by taking a three year fellowship at San Diego State University. There Tom worked with Professor Bernie Dodge to create the WebQuest model.
Since moving to Australia in 1998 and starting ozline.com, he has contributed at least one new product or initiative every two years. These include Web-and-Flow, BestWebQuests, The Cutting Edge-ucator.com, aNew3Rs.com, ClassActPortal and The New WWW. Each initiative builds on what's been learned and addresses new needs of Web-enhanced educators. He regularly keynotes, writes, and facilitates workshops focused on aspects of making learning for Real, Rich and Relevant.
Currently Tom thrills at what he sees as the best chance to truly transform education from the factory model to one that resounds with the human connections of a digital age. With this in mind, he works both ends of the spectrum by facilitating technology integration at the school level as well as consult on high level design issues in the Ed 2.0 marketplace.
Chris Walsh is a Digital Learning Specialist at WestEd working on new ways to use collaborative technology and interactive media in the K-12 community. Chris specializes in eLearning, web-based communication, and technology-enhanced instruction, and he assists a wide-range of education organizations with strategic planning, multimedia production, and professional development. He is a popular speaker at education conferences and has led numerous workshops and teacher institutes, including the Google Teacher Academy.
Chris has a wide range of experience in education and business, including positions as a middle school teacher, camp director, multimedia producer, marketing director, and technology director. He is an active member of ISTE and Computer Using Educators, and he serves as the chair of the CUE Communications Committee. Chris is the host of the live webcasts for the NECC and CUE conferences, and he produces and hosts the Infinite Thinking Machine show.
Formerly a high school English teacher, Mark has since served as an educational technology coordinator at Estancia High School, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, and the Orange County Department of Education. He now serves as the president of the Educational Technology and Life Corporation, which provides professional development and consulting services to schools, districts, and other educational institutions.
Mark has a masters degree in cross-cultural education. He is also working towards a PhD in Educational Technology at Walden University, and expects to complete his dissertation in 2008. His dissertation focuses on the use of video games in education, and specifically on the potential applications of massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORGPs) as constructivist learning environments