CK-12 Champions

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CK-12 Champions are a group of both current and retired teachers, administrators, and educational technology enthusiasts who are dedicated to enhancing the learning experience for students throughout the country and world. These evangelists are instrumental in spreading the word on CK-12 Foundations offerings and other invaluable resources that can revolutionize education in and out of the classroom.

Abdul Hafeez Malik, Karachi, Pakistan

Alexei Prohoroff, San Diego, CA

Barry Desborough, France

Barry Ludvik, Sheboygan Falls, WI
Educational Technology Specialist, Sheboygan Falls School Distirct Barry was a life sciences teacher for 23 years. During those years he was, as we all are, posed with the question “Why do I need to know this?” and it really made him wonder. He came to the conclusion that his students didn’t need to know the content necessarily, but needed the content to become better thinkers. His focus changed to developing thinking skills and having the students become creators that had ownership in their learning. This is why he turned to FlexBooks — because the students and the teacher could modify and create a book that would meet their specific needs. He is currently in the tech department now and encourages others to do the same.

Bill Hunt, Big Pine, CA

Boyd Weiger, Forest Lake, MN

Chalee McDougal, Arvada, CO

Charles Baranowski, Pointe Claire, Canada

Cheri Gorey, Brooklyn, OH

Chris Gott, Watsonville, CA

Chris Scott, Santa Maria, CA
Chris is a teacher who has introduced and developed several technology programs within his district. He uses his student-lead Geek Squad to build and maintain the technology resources within his district. Chris proposed and has successfully implemented a 1:1 netbook program that uses Open Source software, making a cost-effective and easily manageable program. Besides being a History and Technology teacher, he’s currently the President of Santa Barbara CUE, a recent Google Teacher Academy UK grad and a CK-12 Champion.

Christopher Rozitis, Vancouver, Canada

Cindy Murphy, Smethport, PA
Seneca Highlands IU9 Ms. Cindy Murphy has been a Curriculum Specialist for IU9 for the past 4 years. She has been involved with vari­ous initiatives and programs implemented through IU9 on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). As an educational consultant, she develops, or­ganizes and implements training and technical assistance activities and resources to school district administrators and educators. Some of the key initiatives that Cindy is involved in include: Common Core, Pa Teacher Evaluation, Math Instructional Strategies, SAS (Standards Aligned System), Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtII), School Improvement, Getting Results, PSSA instructional strategies, Power Teaching, Reading Apprenticeship, Data Analysis with PVAAS, PSSA, 4Sight and Study Island, and Technology. She has been recognized as a Pa Keystone Technology Integrator and Discovery Star Educator.

Clifford Steinberg, Garden City, NY
Chief Information Officer, Nassau BOCES Cliff is a leading innovator in educational technology for schools. With a focus on K-12, he architects solutions that have a lasting impact on student achievement. Often developing solutions that others do not immediately see, he can be found in front of key educational stakeholders and leaders across the state demonstrating the potential of technology in an educational environment. With a background as a classroom teacher and administrator, he is able to connect disparate technologies in true systems solutions that touch on every piece of the educational ecosystem. Cliff is also a veteran of technology project planning. From infrastructure design to mobile classroom technologies, he understands both the requirements and complexity of proper technology implementations for schools to extend and build value. These competencies allow him to see the big picture while also focusing on the smallest details required to realize success. Mr. Steinberg can be reached at: csteinbe@mail.nasboces.org

Darlene D. Kellner, Mountain Top, PA
Crestwood Middle School Mrs. Kellner is a passionate, 19 year veteran educator who believes in the power of teachers to create the appropriate resources for their students when given the right tools like ck12.org. She is a member of the Network of Educator Astronaut Teachers and incorporates a multitude of NASA resources in her classroom. She is also a member of the Quest Atlantis trained teachers who are researching the use of games as an educational tool. She has presented both the use of Quest Atlantis and the use of ck12.org resources at middle school and educational technology conferences in Pennsylvania.

Debbie Brewer, Anchorage, AK
Teacher, Math & Science Department Chair, and Technology coordinator Debbie has been a teacher for almost 20 years– having taught 7th – 12th grade math and science for most of that time. Though she grew up on the East Coast, she’s lived in Alaska for over 30 years. Debbie is passionate about what she does and enjoys watching the changes in education. Her current job includes part time classroom teaching and part time educational technology coordinator. Besides developing and integrating a technology plan, she trains teachers in how to make more effective use of what they have and what the kids have.

Donna Hackner, Downey, CA

Erika Rhodeside, Lancaster, PA

Gary Sakuma, Bangkok, Thailand
Gary Sakuma is a Math teacher at Panyarat High School, a math and science bilingual school in Bangkok, Thailand. He was certified to teach science and math in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he taught for ten years. Gary was a Biology major from University of Southern California and got his MBA from University of Phoenix. Going on his sixth year of teaching in Thailand, he has embraced technology in the classroom, where all his students have laptops. With his class of 20, he uses Moodle, Learnboost, Classdojo, and Khan Academy.

Greg Metcalf, Glen Allen, VA

James Driskell, Crane OR

Janet L. Adams, Fresno, CA
Janet works as a Special Projects Coordinator in the Office of Continuing Education at Fresno Pacific University. Before her current position Janet played many roles including Elementary teacher for 4th grade and Middle School Algebra teacher as well as Charter School Developer and Administrator. Following her work in the school house, she became a Consultant for Harcourt School Publishers and then a Curriculum Technology Administrator for a California County Office of Education which specialized in interactive videoconferencing for grades K-12 and serviced 16 districts with 23,000 students.

Jenny David, Jamestown, CA

Jessie Chuang, Austin, TX

John “Coach” Brishcar, Front Royal, VA
John “Coach” Brishcar teaches children 6th grade science in Warren County, Virginia. He sourced 30 laptops for his students and operates a Moodle on his own server. Because he is not connected to the internet, he created his own science book with the help of CK12.org and mirrors it online at StarMaterials.com. He was awarded the National School Board Association’s “20 to watch for Technology in the Classroom – 2012″.

John Peplinski, North Branch, MI

José Armando, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Julie Mathiesen, Rapid City, SD

Kelli Boklaschuk, Saskatoon, Canada

Malcolm Pringle, Cambridge, MA

Mark Van Arsdale, Eagle River, AK
Science Department Chair/ Technology Collaborator Mark has been teaching science for fifteen years, fourteen of them in the Anchorage School District. He has been the science department chair at Eagle River High School since 2006 and the schools technology collaborator since 2010. He specializes in helping teachers to better integrate technology into their classrooms. Mike has made use of CK-12 FlexBooks to build online textbooks for Biology and 9th grade Integrated Science Courses. He loves living in Alaska and tries to take advantage of all its outdoor adventures.

Mohan Mandava, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
Director, Ameya World School Mohan has a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from Bombay University, Master’s degree with major in Computer Networks from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He’s worked in Bangalore, Singapore, and at Cisco Systems in San Jose, CA for 15 years. He co-founded Ameya World School in India, a school focused on meaningful learning by children using hands-on activities in a joyful environment. His interest in CK-12 is in putting together textbooks and learning material, and making them available to a larger audience.

Philip Lacey, Skokie, IL
As the Director of Instructional Technology Services for Niles Township High School in District 219, Phil works closely with classroom instructors and curriculum authors to integrate dynamic tech tools into courses to develop engaging student centered learning environments supporting ubiquitous access. A former high school science teacher and staunch advocate of OER and sustainable education solutions, Phil is working closely with teachers to develop a rigorous, sustainable 21st century model for equitable education.

R. Michael Joyce, Dayville, CT
Mike teaches at Tourtellotte High School in Thompson, CT. This is his 14th year in Thompson as a tech teacher, but he has been teaching for over thirty years. He has also worked in the machine tool and construction industries. Mike has been working with his 3D printer for two years now, his carvewright CNC router for a year and is expecting delivery of his new laser cutter soon. Mike is excited to see how the CAD industry has changed since he first started using CAD in the eighties. Mike believes that today’s new technology allows us greater design ability and we can immediately test the design and make a model. He lives in Northeastern Connecticut (called the quiet corner). In addition to his projects with computerized manufacturing projects, he is fixing up an old house and barn and working in his garden and greenhouse.

Rachel Schneider, Yorba Linda, CA
Senior Partner – Innovative Educators CA Rachel Schneider worked in traditional face to face classrooms as a public high school social studies teacher for 17 years before making the transition to online teaching in 2009. After working for a public online charter school for several years, Ms. Schneider and a colleague created Innovative Educators CA, an educational consulting firm dedicating to helping traditional classroom teachers make the transition to online and blended learning environments to better and engage and support their students. Ms. Schneider currently lives with her two children in Southern California and is also pursuing an MS in Educational Leadership.

Ramana, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Rebecca Hartfield, Gainesville, GA

Rick Cross, Waldheim, Canada

Rita Buhite, Ridgway, PA
Computer/Math Teacher at Ridgway Area High School Rite is the computer teacher and a math teacher at Ridgway High School in Ridgway, PA. She began her teaching career as a math teacher and evolved into a computer teacher. Rita loves working with technology and finding new ways to use it in her classroom. She also LOVES online learning! Rita is very active in helping her school integrate technology.

Roger Lui, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Ruth Still, Hershey, PA

Sarah Weston, Salt Lake City, UT
Curriculum Director, Open High School of Utah Sarah Weston has worked in secondary education for 16 years, as a teacher, administrator, and curriculum designer. She has built 12 semester courses using OER and currently oversees all course development and teacher training on building with OER. Sarah was awarded Utah Charter Educator of the Year in 2010; the first online educator to receive the award. Open High School was also privileged to be awarded 2011 Best of State in Curriculum Development.

Shaun Errichiello, Levittown, NY
Shaun has taught middle school math for the past five years in New York City at MS255: The Salk School of Science. With a focus on digitizing his entire classroom process, he has been able to reach out to his school community and support students and families as they explore a variety of challenging math topics.

Stacy Olson, Marshall, MN
Instructional Technologist, Southwest/West Central Service Cooperative Stacy Olson currently works as an Instructional Technologist, providing training and support for effective technology integration in classrooms, including initiatives in online learning, mobile devices, and digital curriculum. Olson has her B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND and a M.S. in Instructional Technology from Regis University in Denver, CO. Previous to her current position, Olson taught 3rd and 4th grade in Colorado and Arizona. She is excited about the opportunity to share this free quality curriculum resource with teachers in Minnesota!

B.S. in Electrical Engineering from U.C. Berkeley and his law degree (J.D.) from the National Law Center at George Washington University. Paul’s hobbies in retirement include travel, music, and exploring the wonderful world of mathematics.

Steve Ross, Nevada City, CA

Tandi Steffens, Hillsboro, MO
Tandi teaches H.S Science in Missouri: Freshman Physics, Upperclassmen Astronomy and Earth Science. She has been teaching for 8 years this year. Tandi has 3 kids: 2 sons (12 and 8) and a daughter (7). She’s been married for almost 13 years. Tandi is dedicated to helping her students learn to the best of their abilities, and she hopes to never stop learning, either.

Terry Lindenmuth, Lewes, DE

Thomas Litecky, San Pedro Sula, Honduras

Thomas White, Watsonville, CA
iPad Integration Coordinator for Monte Vista Christian School Thomas have been an educator since 1998, when he began teaching in Ontario, Canada. In 2001, Tom moved to California, and taught at a private school for 9 years, before coming to Monte Vista Christian School in 2010. Monte Vista Christian School was the first school in the world to put iPads in the classroom, and it has been Thomas’s privilege, and his project, to oversee iPad implementation at Monte Vista. In 2010, the vacuum of available digital texts made his job, as a first adopter, difficult. CK-12 has been the one spark of light across the dark landscape of digital resources that is only now starting to develop. Tom hopes he can contribute to CK-12, bringing that spark to life, in a fire that maintains the commitments of the organization’s founder.

Tim Thomas, Mountain Top, PA