Welcome and Introductions...

[Steve Hargadon]

Welcome!

Please comment here, letting us know who you are, where you are from, and what your interests are.

[Ken Pruitt]

Hello, I am Ken Pruitt. I reside in rural Pennsylvania in a town called DuBois. I am a rookie Technology Integration Specialist and I look forward to listening, talking, and growing in my knowledge of the learning process.

I have no idea what I am doing.
Take Care,
Ken

[Darren Draper]

I think you're smarter than you're letting on. Maybe wise is the correct term. :)

[Vinnie Vrotny]

I am the Director of Academic technology at the North Shore Country Day School. I am starting my fourteenth year here at North Shore.

I have begun to get involved with aspects of the read/write web over the past 18 months, beginning to fully immerse myself during the last nine months. I often feel like a newbie.

I am looking forward to learning and sharing with many of you using this forum.

[tnturner]

Hello.

I'm Tom Turner. I am a technology specialist at an elementary school here in the Polk County School District in Central Florida. I've been blogging for about 8 months now and have enjoyed my brief time here in the edublogosphere. Everyone that I've met to this day has been very helpful and nice in helping me get up and running.

I did my first conference session last year on Using Digital Video in the Content Curriculum, to which sense it is now out of date in a little over a year. Hopefully I will have it redone in time for the FAME conference later this year.

[Jackie Blackman]

Hi, my name is Jackie Blackman and I teach Religious Studies, Psychology and Critical Thinking at a secondary school in London.

I am really interested in using technology to increase motivation and attainment although I have lots to learn. It doesn't help that I have little access to computers in school. However, I do have a lovely new SMARTboard and so I am trying to think of interesting ways of using that.

I am also interested in thinking skills, philosophy 4 Children and the use of visual organisers etc.

I have 2 blogs - both are in their infancy. The first is one I intend to develop over the school holidays to use with students in September. The other is resources for teachers - most of the resources will be for RS teachers, but hopefully there will be things to interest other teachers too.

http://rsteacher.edublogs.org
http://chiswickrs.edublogs.org

[PaulPam2]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Pamela June Pritchard. Lately, I have seen on the Internet several Pam Pritchard's, so I wanted to add that middle name for less confusion. I have been teaching elementary education for over 25 years and loving it. I am a true lifelong learner.

I live with my husband, Paul, in Worth, Illinois about 30 miles from Chicago. I currently teaching at Whittier School in Blue Island, Illinois. My interests are technology, gardening, and quilting. I am currently a student at Walden University.

I am looking forward to this social networking experience.

[Nancy Sharoff]

Hello!

I've been teaching in Ulster County, New York for the past 15 years. I've taught 2nd, 4th, and for the past three years 5th/6th grade math. In the Fall I'll be returning to the Elementary School as their Technology Coordinator. WOOT! It's a new position and one I've been advocating for. I'll be responsible for (translate: Special Teacher) for 4th and 3rd grades and possibly a couple of 2nd grade classes. I'll be seeing my students for 40 minutes, once a week. I also teach graduate level courses in Educational Technology, Children's Literature, and Reading in the Content Area. I'm a recent convert to Second Life, where KJ Hax (Kevin Jarrett) and I are co-founders of SLolar Central on EduIsland II. Our mission is to provide a two-month residency as a 'bridge' for K-20 educators to have a 'home' and learn the basics of SL and its implication on their professional lives and how it might impact their students. If you're interested please feel free to send me a message.

[MVESK5]

Greetings dear edubloggers in our world,

I'm currently teaching as a Gifted Ed. teacher for students grades K-5 in Rockingham County Public Schools which is located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I look forward to the conversations and sharing that this format allows.

Lifelong Learning Blog

Skype, Del.icio.us, Twitter: mjantzi

I'm open to more collaborating experiences with videoconferencing in the classroom. I see the powerful potential for real learning as we connect students with our world experts on various topics.

Warmly,
Margo in Virginia

[Lorena]

Hello everyone
My name is Lorena Zanola, I’m from Argentina. I’m a primary teacher, interested in NT and e-learning.
Hope to learn a lot with you and form you.
Lore

[Tom Hemingway]

Hi everyone!

I'm a native of Michigan, transplanted to Houston, Texas, but have been working for the last 8 years in Ankara, Turkey. I work at a private Turkish school coordinating our IB program and managing international ed projects. I blog about learning and how education sometimes helps, and sometimes impedes learning! I'm an instigator for web 2.0 integration as I see how new technologies can create opportunities for more effective learning and the creation of knowledge.

I'm jazzed to see so many other members showing up from outside North America. It's been lonely out here!

[jomcleay]

Hi, this is Jo McLeay from Melbourne, Australia. I am a long time English teacher in a secondary school for girls teaching students from ages 12 to 18. I love to explore the use of connective tools in my pedagogy such as blogs and hopefully soon, wikis and podcasts. I love social networking and am very interested in discussion and research into how learning happens and consider myself to be a constructivist. I love writing and reading and speaking and meeting new people and helping students to be excited by learning. I blog at http://theopenclassroom.blogspot.com

[Graham Wegner]

My name is Graham Wegner and I hail from Adelaide, South Australia where I work as an ICT Coordinator and Classroom Teacher in a suburban primary school. I've been involved in educational blogging for two years now and have found Web 2.0 tools to be the most amazing way to connect to other educators and to skyrocket my professional learning. There are not a lot of educational bloggers from my part of the world but the ones that I do connect with are very dedicated. I am very comitted to raising awareness of the benefits of technology for learning and strongly believe that we will only move things forward on a global scale if we become conscious of the different ways education is delivered around the world, and the different viewpoints we can all bring to the table. My blog is at http://gwegner.edublogs.org