Deborah Douma (EDD ’12, Higher Ed Admin) received the Campus Impact Award as the 2013 Grants Professional of the Year at the National Council for Resource Development Conference. The event was held in Washington, DC, last month. Dr. Douma is currently the Dean of Institutional Effectiveness and Grants at Pensacola State College.
We had a successful Grand Guard event this year, celebrating the 50th class reunion of 1963. The alumni and their guests had the opportunity to have lunch at Norman Hall with Dean Glenn Good, Associate Dean, Tom Dana, and Assistant Dean, Theresa Vernetson. The former education students were able to spend time with other classmates and listen to some of the new research and highlights that are taking place with the College of Education today. The Grand Guard members also participated in a presentation in the new technology teaching lab.
To see more pictures, click here.
Left to right: Karen Lahey, Dorothy Witt Thomas, Vanda O’Neill, Phoebe Raulerson, Carol Kelley, Martha Carter, Albert Strickland, Jacquelyn Kline, Robert Askren, and Francis Spera.
James May, a “double EduGator” with two advanced degrees from UF’s College of Education, was named one of this year’s Top 40 Innovators in Education by the national Center for Digital Education. The center is a national research and advisory institute specializing in K-12 and higher education technology trends, policy and funding. May earned his bachelor’s degree in Spanish literature in 1993, his Master of Education in ESOL curriculum and instruction in 1999, and his doctorate in teaching and learning in 2007, all from the University of Florida. He currently is a professor of English as a second language at Valencia College in Orlando, where he has pioneered the use of cell phones and computer-assisted learning in his classes. He is also the faculty fellow for innovation and technology at the college.
“We live in a world where just about everything that is known can be found by way of a quick Google or YouTube search,” May said. “Teachers who aren’t willing to embrace this digital reality are robbing future generations of what we could know tomorrow. Learning has become on-demand or just-in-time and our teaching methods should to adapt to this truth.”
For May, there is no one technology that serves as “the solution.” Instead, technologies like smart phones, Google Goggles, QR codes and Evernote (a note-taking and archiving app) provide him and his students with more efficient and engaging strategies that can be used to identify solutions to authentic problems.
“This technology allows me to model life-long learning strategies that students can use long after they have forgotten about me,” May said. For example, May teaches his students how to use Google Chrome to perform voice, image and text searches and how Google Drive could be used for collaborating learning and writing.
“Professor May’s success stems from pushing boundaries and engaging both faculty and students through various technologies and innovative digital and communications strategies,” a Center for Digital Education spokesperson said. To watch May in action, follow this link for a video by Valencia College.
May has been recognized in the past for his “eclectic” teaching strategies and use of technology in the classroom. In 2010, he was named the Association of Florida College’s Professor of the Year, and in 2011 he was selected as the CASE/Carnegie Foundation’s Florida Professor of the Year. In 2012, he won the Sloan Consortium Effective Practice Award for his presentation, “Cellphones in the Classroom: Collaborative or Calamitous?”
UF College of Education alumnus and professor James May, second from left, uses classroom technology to teach his ESOL students at Valencia College. (Photo by Don Burlinson, Valencia College)
This month, Wendy Drexler (EDS ’07, PHD ’10, Curriculum & Instruction) was appointed chief innovation officer by the International Society for Technology in Education. Dr. Drexler brings more than two decades of experience in educational technology across the K-20 spectrum to her new position as the division leader responsible for the ISTE Standards, professional development services, and the association’s thought leadership teams, including research and evaluation.
Wendy Drexler received an EDS and a PHD in Curriculum and Instruction from UF. She is also a former elementary, middle, and high school teacher.
To read the full article, click here.
Hongwei Yu (PHD ’13, Higher Ed Admin) has accepted a post doctoral research position with the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) at the University of Illinois College of Education. Dr. Yu will begin working on his research with the college next month.
Hongwei Yu began his doctoral fellowship in the Fall of 2009 with the School of Human Development and Organizational Studies. His primary research included: student retention and degree completion in community colleges, part-time faculty, community college baccalaureate degrees, high school and community college partnership.
John Poidevant (MEd ’85, EDS ’85, School Psychology; PhD ’89, Marriage & Family Counseling) has been named the Georgia Association of School Psychologists’ 2013 School Psychologist of the Year. Dr. Poidevant has worked as a Cherokee County School District school psychologist since 2006 and currently serves Avery and Macedonia elementary schools.
In 1985, he received his Master’s and Educational specialist degree in School Psychology from UF. In 1989, Poidevant graduated from UF with is his doctorate in Marriage and Family Counseling. Dr. Poidevant will be recognized at the Oct. 17 Cherokee County School Board Meeting by Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Frank R. Petruzielo, and the school board.
Dr. Russ Rothamer (MEd ’93, Social Studies Ed.; EDS ’97, Curriculum & Instruction; PHD ’03, Higher Ed. Admin), Vice President of Academic Affairs at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff, AZ, has been selected by a national review panel as one of only 31 community college leaders to attend the prestigious Executive Leadership Institute. The Executive Leadership Institute is sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College. The 32 participants hold senior-level leadership positions in community colleges throughout the United States.
The institute provides an opportunity for potential community college presidents or those in transition to review their abilities and interests, to refine their skills, and to participate in discussion on leadership with an outstanding array of faculty drawn from among nationally and internationally recognized community college leaders.
Previous alumni update about Dr. Rothamer is here.
Jeremy Moore (PhD ’11, Ed Leadership) has been appointed Director of Cayman International School in Grand Cayman. Moore previously served as the Secondary Principal for the past three years.
While attending the University of Florida, Jeremy Moore earned his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Elementary Education. In 2011, he completed his doctorate in Education Leadership where his research focused on state funding formulas and poverty weights.
During his career as an educator, Moore has been an elementary and middle school teacher. After moving into administration, he served as the Principal of Brookshire Elementary in Winter Park for four years before relocating to Grand Cayman.
Lauren O’Hara May (MEd ’09, Early Childhood Ed) has been selected as interim assistant principal at San Jose Catholic School. She previously taught kindergarten at St. Pius V. Catholic School for four years.
Lauren graduated with her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in early childhood and special education from the University of Florida. During her college experience, she worked with the Gator football team recruiting department and gave tours to prospective students.
To read the full article, click here.
Linda Hacker (MEd ’89, Mathematics Education) is the library director at the College at Brockport MetroCenter. The MetroCenter Library was selected in April as the RRLC 2013 Academic Library of the Year.
Linda enjoys working with the students at the library while they pursue their bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the college. Congratulations to Linda Hacker and the College at Brockport MetroCenter!
Click here to read the article for the Rochester Regional Library Council.
