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Sharon Balke, Minnesota Online High School
BIO: Over the past nine
years, Sharon Balke, Director of Student and Parent
Services, has worked with hundreds of high school students
online, and developed new models of orientation and student
services for an Internet-based learning environment. She is
responsible for serving students and their families from
enrollment through graduation, including individualized
learning plans, academic advising, testing and assessment,
college planning, career exploration, and student records
management.
Prior to working in a high school setting, Ms. Balke served in several
roles at Dakota County Technical College (DCTC). These included
directing the weekly Campus Visit program for prospective students,
administering and interpreting the admissions tests for new students,
career counseling, Coordinator of the Career Assessment Center, A.A.S.
Degree Advisor, and DISCOVER Coordinator. Some of the goals of the
DISCOVER program were to encourage women to consider non-traditional
careers, and to prepare students for the rigors of college
study.
Ms. Balke has a B.A. degree from St. Olaf College, and an M.A. degree
in Counseling and Student Personnel Psychology from the University
of Minnesota. She is a member of the eStudent Services Workgroup,
sponsored by Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MNSCU),
and a founding member of the Minnesota K-12 Online Alliance, a
consortium of online charter schools and alternative programs.
Assaf Biderman, SENSEable City Laboratory
BIO: Assaf Biderman is the
Assistant Director of the SENSEable City Laboratory at MIT. The Lab
focuses primarily on studying and predicting the changes that cities
undergo as interconnected computational elements become available
almost everywhere (whether it is people's mobile devices or digital
chips that are embedded at various points in the city). Following his
early education in physics, Assaf became involved in research and
development of human computer interaction schemes. He spent several
years at the MIT Media Lab and has been a researcher at the SENSEable
City Lab since its establishment in 2004. Assaf authored several
papers in HCI, registered 3 patents, and won design awards. His
work was featured in museums and exhibitions such as the 2006 Venice
Biennale of Architecture, Centre Pompidou — Paris, and Ars
Electronica Center — Austria. In addition to his direct
involvement in research, Assaf is also in charge of technology
transfer and commercialization at the SENSEable City Lab.
Gregory Daigle, Digital Watershed
BIO: Greg Daigle is the
Executive Director of Digital Watershed, a sponsor of this and past
Wireless Cities conferences. Digital Watershed is a 501(c)(3)
non-profit dedicated to building strong communities through
leveraging new wireless technologies. He is an educator and
digital media consultant with twenty-one years experience
managing software development including e-learning and
science education software for kids.
Steve Dietz YProductions
BIO: Steve Dietz is Artistic
Director of ZeroOne: the Art and Technology Network. He was the Director of
ZeroOne San Jose: A
Global Festival of Art on the Edge and the
ISEA2006 Symposium and
ZeroOne San Jose: A Global Festival of Art on the Edge, which took
place in San Jose, California, August 7–13, 2006. He is the
former Curator of New Media at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, USA, where he founded the New Media Initiatives department
in 1996, the online art Gallery 9 and digital art study
collection. He also co-founded, with the Minneapolis Instite of Arts
the award-winning educational site
ArtsConnectEd, and the artist community site
mnartists.org with the McKnight Foundation.
Robert Dixon, The Ohio State University and Ohio Academic
Resources Network (OARnet)
BIO: Bob Dixon, Chief Research
Engineer, Office of the CIO of Ohio State University and
OARnet (http://cio.osu.edu/dixon.html), is a recognized mentor, resource
provider, motivator, and “evangelist” in advancing the
state of H.323 video conferencing technology and its value throughout
the Research and Education community. He is the organizer of the
annual MegaConference, the largest international videoconferencing
event, the participants of which span the globe and number in the
thousands. He is a developer of the “Internet To Go”
small mobile
Internet satellite system, which provides high-speed Internet
connectivity anywhere. He developed wireless video cameras,
which allow live video to be originated from anywhere. He directed
the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence at the Big Ear radio
telescope of Ohio State University, and is now involved in
development of the next generation of radio telescopes, called
Argus. He is part of the team that is providing community
wireless systems to small towns in Appalachian Ohio. He is
the author of two books and many scientific publications and
presentations.
Aaron Doering, Learning Technologies, University of Minnesota
BIO: Aaron Doeringis an
assistant professor at the University of Minnesota in the Learning
Technologies program within the Department of Curriculum and
Instruction where he teaches courses related to how technology
can be used to enhance learning. He has extensive experience in
the development and delivery of educational content via the Internet.
With a Ph.D. in instructional systems and technology and a M.S. in
Geography, Aaron's latest research and publications focus on the
theoretical foundation and pedagogical models of using adventure
learning in K-12 classrooms, how teachers' teaching styles are
influenced by their experiences with online learning environments,
the design and development of multi-scaffolding environments, and
how geospatial technologies can be used to enhance learning within
science and social studies curricula.
Doering, an educator, author, photographer, and voice for the
environment and authentic learning through the effective utilization
of the Internet, directs the GoNorth! Arctic adventure learning
program at the University of Minnesota. Doering has traveled
thousands of miles throughout the Arctic by dogsled delivering
adventure learning programs and spending time with the
Inuit.
Prior to teaching at the University of Minnesota, Aaron taught middle
and high school social studies in Rochester, MN taking students to
more than 17 countries in order to study the physical and cultural
geography of these countries. His love for geography stems from his
farming roots, as he was raised on a farm in southern Minnesota.
Currently a resident of St. Paul (a big city), Aaron misses the
solitude and peacefulness of rural living.
GoNorth! Adventure Learning Series ...
http://www.polarhusky.com
Alan Escovitz,
Office of the CIO, The Ohio State
University
BIO: He serves as Director of
External Affairs in The Ohio State University Office of the
CIO (http://cio.osu.edu/escovitz.html) with the responsibilities
for promoting distance education linkages between Ohio State and
business, professional organizations, government, and service
agencies; translating technology, campus research, and knowledge
to the regional and global distance education markets; assisting
the CIO in defining the external outreach agenda for distance
education to promote partnerships and collaboration within and
beyond the local community; and connecting and extending the
university distance education resources to support outreach
and engagement initiatives.
He is a member of the American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC)
Program Panel and ADEC Distance Education Policy Collaboratory and
served on the Ohio Learning Network Academic Outreach Committee. Dr.
Escovitz currently served as Co-PI on Ohio States initiatives under
a NSF-Advanced Internet Satellite Extension Project (funded through
ADEC), Tri-State Aquaculture Outreach Using Technology grant (funded
through the U S Department of Agriculture and the American Distance
Education Consortium), a Pew Grant Program in Course Redesign, and
an Ohio Board of Regents Technology Initiatives Program grant.
James Farstad, rClient
BIO: James Farstad is the
founder and president of rClient, LLC, and a consultant to the city
of Minneapolis’s citywide wireless project. Jim has 24 years
experience in strategic telecommunications consulting and business
management. Jim is a past-President of the Minnesota
Telecommunications Association (MTA) and is a former
board member of the Society of Telecommunications
Consultants.
Before founding rClient, Mr. Farstad was the founder and CEO of Epic
USA, a telecommunications and technology-consulting firm. When Epic
USA was sold to Larson, Allen Weishair and Company (LAWCO) in 1995,
Jim became a member of LAWCO’s senior management team and board
of directors. He managed Epic USA as a wholly owned subsidiary until
he left LAWCO in 2000 to begin the effort to establish
rClient.
Mr. Farstad has 20 years experience in strategic technology consulting
and business management. He has gained a strong reputation in the
consulting services
industry, and is a recognized leader in strategy, vision, and
innovation.
Peter Fleck, University of Minnesota Cancer Center
PF Hyper Blog
pfhyperATgmailDOTcom
Resume
BIO: Peter
Fleck was a member of the Minneapolis
Digital
Inclusion Coalition which drafted the original
Community
Benefits Agreement which served as a base for community benefits in the
final contract for wireless network deployment in the City of Minneapolis. The
Agreement provides for the funding of initiatives that will bring broadband
Internet to low-income households and will provide diverse and localized
content.
(The
final Agreement is available here.) He uses his
PF
Hyper Blog as a means of reporting on broadband initiatives in the Twin
Cities.
Peter currently serves on the Minneapolis Digital Inclusion Task Force Portal
Committee which is deciding on freely available content for the entry pages to
the Minneapolis wireless network. He is also a member of the newly-created
Digital Inclusion Fund Advisory Board which will oversee and fund digital
inclusion proposals in Minneapolis.
During the day, Peter is the Technical Webmaster for the University of Minnesota
Cancer Center. In
addition to keeping the web servers happy, he champions collaborative web tools
like wikis, social bookmarking, podcasting, and blogs.
Before coming to the Cancer Center in 2001, Peter was a teacher at Minneapolis
Community and Technical College where he established courses in HTML, CSS, and
web scripting for the Electronic and Web Publishing Department. He still serves
on the Department's advisory board.
At the University, Peter was a co-founder of the CSS (Cascading Style Sheet)
Development work group which is advising University Relations on creating a CSS
version of the U of M templates. Peter is also a member of the Enterprise Web
Content Management (E-WCM) Advisory Committee which is tasked with replacing the
current Filenet system with the Stellent WCM system. Peter is co-chair of the
Stellent-Filenet User Network group.
He has an entrepreneurial spirit, founding
PF Hyper New
Media in the early nineties to build Web sites and multimedia CDs. The
Hematography
series, created for the University of Minnesota Department of Medical
Technology, is still popular and has sold 3,500 copies worldwide. Peter
continues to provide technical support.
He graduated in 1989 from Metropolitan State University. He is currently
pursuing his Masters of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota Humphrey
Institute.
After a childhood on northern Minnesota's Iron Range, most of his life has been
spent in Minneapolis. He is long-married to lovely wife Mary and fortunate to
enjoy his daughter's three beautiful grandsons, ages nine, three, and one.
Christine Greenhow, Digital
Media Center, OIT, University of Minnesota
BIO:
Milda K. Hedblom
BIO: Professor Hedblom
offers services as a consultant, lawyer and
policy expert through Dain International Consulting and Legal
Services to public and private clients with telecommunications and
information services needs.
As a consultant and lawyer she tends to work in the space where
innovation occurs. She works on broadband issues in both fiber
and wireless including community broadband development, entry of
new services, and multi-party network agreements, among others. As
a policy expert, she is Director of the Telecommunications and
Information Society Policy Forum (TISP Forum) at the Humphrey
Institute at the University of Minnesota.
Recent policy projects include development of the Regional
Broadband Task Force which is a five county collaboration on
broadband development. She now serves on the Broadband Advisory
Committee for the City of St. Paul. She has considerable
experience at the national level including at the FCC as well as at
the international level. In 2001 and 2002 she held a position as
Executive Coordinator of the World Summit on the Information
Society, a UN project based in Geneva.
She is a professor of politics and communications at Augsburg
College, Minneapolis and of telecommunications policy at the
University of Minnesota. She has a B.A. from Macalester College,
St. Paul, MN, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota
including study at Oxford University, and a J.D. from the
University of Minnesota.
Brad Hokanson, College of Design, University of Minnesota
BIO:
Jeremy Iggers, Twin Cities Daily Planet
BIO:
Kurt Lange, US Internet
BIO:
Cristina Lopez, Digital Media
Center, OIT, University of Minnesota
BIO:
Mary McNabb, Learning Gauge, Inc.
BIO: As director of Learning
Gauge,Dr. McNabb provides assessment
research and evaluation services for a variety of educational
programs with an emphasis on effective uses of technology
within school systems. From 1996 to 2000, she served as senior
program associate and then director of research in educational
technology for the North Central Regional Educational
Laboratory. During her time at NCREL, she coauthored a number
of research and development products on planning and evaluating
educational uses of technology. She worked closely with the
Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Department of Education,
on national and regional conferences pertaining to evaluation
of educational technology. She also held a one-year term as
research scientist for the University of Denver Research
Institute where she served on the core group of evaluators at
the program level for Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use
Technology (PT3), and codirected the PT3 Vision Quest project.
In 1996, she earned a doctorate in educational technology and a
master of science in educational psychology from Northern
Illinois University. She also holds two English degrees from
Michigan State University and is a licensed professional
counselor in Illinois. While teaching English at several
institutions of higher education prior to joining NCREL, she
helped infuse technology into the reading, writing, and
preservice education curricula.
John Miller, Network and Telecommunications Services,
OIT, University of Minnesota
BIO: John Miller
is currently the Director for the University of
Minnesota's Networking and Telecommunication Services
department. Mr. Miller has been with the University for 19
years and has worked in previous appointments as a software
engineer with InteCom, a PBX manufacturer and General Telephone
of the Northwest as a Central Office engineer for a combined 29
years in the telecommunications industry.
Gabe Moulton, Office of the
CIO, The Ohio State University
BIO: Gabe Moulton
joined Emerging Technologies in June of 2000 as a
student employee and was hired full-time in January 2001. He
has participated in all but the first Megaconference (8 events
as of end of 2006), worked to develop a plan for the deployment
of 802.11b wireless on campus, and was an early design team
member for the Internet2 Commons initiative. Additionally, he
was a key member of the Transportable Satellite Internet System
development team and has taught workshops on H.323
videoconferencing, wireless networking, and the use of the
Transportable Satellite Internet System.
Current Wireless projects include two Community Wireless
projects in southeastern Ohio, Chesterhill and Vinton.
Chesterhill has been on the air for over a year and current
work is on a consulting basis. Vinton is the most recent
installation, completed March 20th 2007.
Currently, Gabe is the Systems Administrator for the Internet 2
Commons initiative, an Internet 2 Site Coordinator and a zone
administrator in ViDe net. He received his undergraduate degree
in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the end of Autumn
quarter 2003 and is on track to receive an MBA from Fisher
College of Business in 2009.
Leigh Oltmans, Minnesota Online High School
BIO: Leigh Oltmans,
Co-Director of Curriculum and Teaching, worked as a teacher
and curriculum developer for the award winning Mindquest Learning
Network from 1995 to 2004. Prior to her work online, she taught
in Southwest High Schools Pre-International Baccalaureate and
International Baccalaureate (IB) programs in Minneapolis and
served as a consultant in the development of Southwests IB
Writing Program.
Ms. Oltmans has been instrumental in developing effective online
teaching strategies and assessment tools. She has advised students
working on directed research projects in a wide variety of subject
areas, and has created, enhanced, and adapted curriculum for both
classroom and online environments. She has worked effectively with
diverse groups of learners including at risk students, and gifted
and talented learners.
Ms. Oltmans is licensed in Minnesota to teach secondary Language Arts.
She holds a B.A. in English and Anthropology from the University of
Minnesota and earned Minnesota Certification in English/Language Arts
through the Graduate Program in Education from the University of St.
Thomas.
Craig Rapp, Member Solutions for the International
City-County Management Association (ICMA)
BIO: As Director of
Member Solutions for the International
City-County Management Association (ICMA), Mr. Rapp provides a
broad range of services to members and their organizations. He
is directly engaged in technical assistance, training and
member support. In particular, he focuses on consulting
projects involving organizational development, strategic
planning, and economic development.
Prior to joining ICMA, Mr. Rapp worked for over twenty-eight
years as a senior executive in both the public and private
sectors, holding the positions of City Manager in three cities,
Community Development Director of the Metropolitan Council of
the Twin Cities, and Vice President of a local government
consulting firm.
Mr. Rapp has extensive experience in the area of broadband
technology. He was directly responsible for the development and
deployment of a fiber-to-the home project in a large master planned
community in Minnesota. In addition, he also led the team
responsible for the broadband assessment for the City of St. Paul,
and was a member of the consulting team that recently completed the
evaluation of municipal broadband in the City of Monticello,
Minnesota.
During his tenure at the Metropolitan Council, Mr. Rapp directed
the implementation of the Metropolitan Livable Communities Act
landmark legislation that created a region-wide response to the
issues of polluted land cleanup, affordable housing and innovative
development. In addition, Mr. Rapp oversaw development of Metro
2040, the Twin Cities first new growth management plan to
incorporate the principles of smart growth and address the costs of
growth.
Mr. Rapp holds an M.A. in Public Administration from Minnesota
State University, Mankato.
John Richard, Waite House Neighborhood Center, Pillsbury United
Communities
BIO:
Catherine Settanni, Digital Access
BIO: Catherine Settanni is
founding director of Digital Access and The Community Computer Access
Network. Both are Minnesota projects helping to bridge the digital
divide through support of community-based technology initiatives.
She currently leads the Community Technology Empowerment Project,
an AmeriCorps program that supports 25 full-time AmeriCorps members
serving in fifteen non-profit agencies throughout the Twin Cities
area.
Board affiliations include the Greater Twin Cities United Way, the
Minneapolis Foundations MSNet Fund for Technology, and she is
currently an advisor for the Center for Strategic Information
Technology and Security within the Minnesota State Colleges and
University System (MNSCU).
In association with the current Wireless Minneapolis initiative,
Catherine coordinated initial community engagement efforts, and now
leads the city-sponsored Wireless Minneapolis Digital Inclusion Task
Force. As a result of these efforts, the City recently agreed to a
ten-year vendor contract that includes a strong community benefits
agreement.
Terri Thao, Payne-Lake Community Partners
BIO: Terri Thao currently
works as a program associate with Payne-Lake Community Partners, a
community development initiative created to accelerate investment
in and revitalization in two of the Twin Cities' commercial corridors,
the Payne-Arcade and Phalen Corridor area of St. Paul and the Lake
Street area in Minneapolis. Her previous professional experience
includes working on social justice issues and project management
of research projects about after school education and leadership
development. She also is the chair of the Asian Council for the
Emerging Markets Home Ownership Initiative, a member of the St.
Paul Housing Taskforce, and the Broadband Advisory Committee for
St. Paul. Her other volunteer experience includes: serving on the
board of local non- profit Neighborhood House, a member of the Asian
Pacific Endowment Fund, and a volunteer with the Hmong Women's Circle
program of the Girl Scouts of St. Croix Valley. She has a B.A.
International Relations and Russian and a Master's of Public
Policy, both obtained from the University of Minnesota.
Garrick Van Buren, President,
Working
Pathways, Inc.
BIO:
If you have any questions concerning this event, you can send email to
wccc07@dtc.umn.edu.
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