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Teaching
runs in my family. Piano teachers,
elementary teachers, and college
professors are just a few of the
teaching areas. As a child, I played
school in the summer. My mother would
give me assignments and I'd go do
research at the local library on topics
like magic, racoons, and crafts. My
cousins and I could create plays,
invent clubs, and play school. As a
teenager, I babysat, worked at the
mall, and developed an interest in
working with children. In high school
and college, I worked in a community
center, summer parks and recreation
program, and in other positions dealing
with children. At the right are some
kids from one of the summer programs I
supervised in the late 70s.
After
college, I became involved in business
rather than education, but my master's
degree drew me back into teaching and
technology. As a graduate assistant and
temporary instructor at Iowa State, I
taught undergraduate courses for
teachers in instructional media and
educational computing. We were often
one day ahead of our students as we
learned and taught SuperText,
AppleWriter, VisiCalc, PFS, LOGO, and
the other software of the early 80s. I
also worked in the technology
lab.
After
receiving my Master's Degree, I took a
position at the Cedar Falls, Iowa
schools as a library/media specialist
and computer teacher. With the help of
a supportive administration and
experienced paraprofessional staff, we
were able to develop a flexible
learning environment in the library
where we could begin integrating
technology. At the same time, we
continued to stress the importance of
books and reading. We moved from the
traditional card catalog to an
automated cataloging system. In
addition, we developed a computer
literacy program that stressed
practical applications of the computer
including critical thinking, organizing
information, and communication
skills.
Next, I
took a faculty position at the
University of Toledo in Toledo Ohio. I
worked with educational technology
graduate students including classroom
teachers, library/media specialists,
and HRD professionals. The graduate
program took a practical, hands-on
approach to technology integration and
instructional design and development.
After some career and personal
reflection, I moved to Evansville,
Indiana and joined the Teacher
Education faculty at the University of
Southern Indiana. I was promoted to
Full Professor with tenure in March of
1997 where I taught undergraduate and
graduate courses in educational
technology.
Ready
for a new challenge, I started Lamb
Learning Group to expand my interest in
working with teachers and technology.
Over the past several years, I've
worked with dozens of conferences,
school districts, and grant projects to
promote effective technology
integration ideas. In addition to
speaking and writing, I spend much of
my time developing new teacher and
student resources for my
eduscapes
website.
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