#34: Doug Levin

Named by Tech & Learning as one of the top 10 most influential people in EdTech in 2011, Douglas Levin is the Executive Director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA). In this position, he works with and represents U.S. state and territorial educational technology directors to other national education groups, federal policymakers, the U.S. Department of Education, the private sector, and the media. SETDA provides national leadership on technology-based education reform and school improvement, supports state members with meaningful professional development opportunities, and engages in partnerships to advance the use of technology in support of effective teaching and learning.

Doug brings 20 years of Washington, DC-based education policy and research experience to SETDA, gained through prominent roles in the private and non-profit sectors. He formerly worked with the National Association of State Boards of Education, the American Institutes for Research, and Cable in the Classroom, the cable industry’s national education foundation. He played key roles in developing the nation’s first three national education technology plans and in conducting research and evaluations of major educational technology programs and initiatives, including as primary author of the groundbreaking Pew Internet study of internet-savvy students, The Digital Disconnect. By appointment of Governor McDonnell, he serves on the Virginia Open Education Curriculum Board and is a 2006 recipient of a Making It Happen award for educational technology leadership. Doug served as an IEL Education Policy Fellow from 1998-99, holds a Master of Arts degree in Sociology from George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the College of William and Mary.  

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#32: Karen Peterson

Karen A. Peterson, M.Ed. is the Chief Executive Officer for the EdLab Group. Currently, she is the Principal Investigator for the National Girls Collaborative Project, SciGirls – A New National TV Series, the Computer Science Collaboration Project, and Bio-ITEST: New Frontiers in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, all of which are funded by the National Science Foundation. These projects all address gender, racial and socioeconomic underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Peterson serves on local, regional and national boards which develop and administer programs designed to increase underrepresented students’ interests in STEM. Peterson has published in The Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering and has co-authored evaluation reports and promising practices reports in informal information technology education for girls for the National Center for Women & Information Technology and the Girl Scouts of the USA. Peterson has also managed U.S. Department of Education grants designed to provide professional development opportunities to Puget Sound area teachers.

For over 20 years, Peterson has been active in education as a classroom teacher, university instructor, pre-service and in-service teacher educator, program administrator, and researcher. Serving as Western Washington University’s first ”Internet Librarian,” she assisted teacher education faculty and students in the integration of technology into K-12 classroom teaching. She currently serves on the board of TrueChild, a research and action center devoted to challenging and transforming gender stereotypes and their impact on young people so they achieve their full potential. A graduate of the University of Washington, Bothell campus, her Master’s thesis focused on gendered attitudes towards computer use in education.

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#31: Gary Stager

It can sometimes be difficult to wrap your head around Gary Stager.  I’ve always told people, “I don’t want to know whether he’s 100% real or not.  If I realize “not”, I’m going to be crushed.  Like Santa.”

I can confirm that after the hour we spent with Gary Stager today…he is absolutely, 100% real.

Not that I ever doubted.

#believe

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#30: Susan Brooks-Young

Susan Brooks-Young has been involved in the field of instructional technology since 1979. She was one of the original technology users in the district where she taught and has continued to explore ways in which technology can be used to facilitate student learning. She has worked as computer mentor, technology trainer, and technology curriculum specialist.

Prior to establishing her own consulting firm, Susan was a teacher, site administrator, and technology specialist in a county office of education in a career that spanned more than 23 years. Since 1986, she has published articles and software reviews in a variety of education journals. She is also author of eight books which focus on education technology and leadership.

Susan works with educators internationally, focusing on practical technology-based strategies for personal productivity and effective technology implementation in schools, including mobile technologies running iOS or Android OS.

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