~Biography

Welcome to the exciting and ever-changing world of online teaching, primary sources and school media/technology. It’s a world of education that I love and one I am eager to share with you as a speaker, workshop facilitator, writer, and online instructor through the University of Wisconsin-Stout where I teach a course on using primary sources in the classroom In 2006 I received a Top Online Educator honor from Walter McKenzie’s SurfAquarium.  I also teach for the Library Media Education Department at Minnesota State University-Mankato and the College of Education at Winona State University.  I’m  an avid fan of the Winona State University basketball team!

I have had the honor of working as a Library of Congress American Memory Fellow and am a member of a Library of Congress Professional Development Committee working with LOC staff to develop TPS Direct, an online PD program for educators. I am eager to share the riches of those exciting collections of primary resources with educators. As an American Memory Fellow my partner and I developed a lesson that focuses on German Immigration to the Upper Midwest.  

In 2011 I worked with a team of educators to develop teacher guides to Minnesota Reflections, a collection of Minnesota-based digital primary source materials.

From 2005 – June 2010 I was the Lead Media Specialist and co-webmaster for Winona Area Public Schools in Winona, Minnesota. Prior to that I was a media specialist at Winona Middle School. Highlights of recent school years included district-wide collection improvements and planning new media centers.  My experiences as a school media specialist, online instructor and working with primary sources are shared in an ongoing column published in Internet @Schools .  Select the Articles, Primary sources and Facilities links above for PDFs of selected articles.

Callithump Benefit, 2011

I’m a  proud volunteer for the Great River Shakespeare Festival.  I am a member of the Volunteer Steering Committee, the Advancement Committee, and edit the newsletter and blog for 400 supportive volunteers.

I’ve been a member of   MEMO,   the Minnesota Educational Media Organization for several years. I have been the State Vice President, State Telecommunications Division chair, and an active member of many committees including the Information Power implementation committee and conference planning committees. Recent involvements include editing the organizational newsletter, chairing a conference program, helping  develop a data gathering tool for Minnesota school media centers, working with the teams that developed the Minnesota Standards for Effective Library Media Programs and criteria for the Minnesota school media program census.