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===   **__Welcome to Wiki4Walden__** ===

**Integrating Technology in Education** There are hundreds of thousands of resources for educators on this great World Wide Web. Most teachers struggle to find the extra minutes to learn about the new technologies available in this quickly changing world. What is the most effective way to choose the best of the best information available on how to integrate technology and education? Wiki4Walden is created by teachers and for teachers who are looking for reliable, easy to use, Internet resources. By clicking on our Resources page you will find a variety of websites and blogs that have been collected and reviewed by the teachers listed below. // At-A-Glance // Each Blog and Website listed on this site has been awarded 1 star for each of the following criteria in order to create an //at-a-glance// rating system. A rating of 4 stars indicates that the blog or website is an exceptional resource for teachers. To read more about how we evaluated the websites and blogs on the resources page please visit the evaluation page.

= __**Introduction to the Wiki4Walden Members**__ =

=Thomas Gorse= Hello group!!! My name is Thomas, feel free to type me as Tom. I am a Social Studies Teacher at the Trumbull Career & Technical Center in Warren, Ohio. I have been teaching 11th and 12th grade U.S. Government for five years and I love every moment of it! My wife's name is Kristin and she is also a teacher, 4th grade Math and Science. We are both huge advocates of using technology in the classroom and we bounce ideas off each other all the time. We also love going to church, spending time with family, camping, and home improvement projects!

Contact Information
Please feel free to contact me anytime during the day or night! The best time for me to get together and work collaboratively would be Tuesday and Thursday evenings and anytime on Saturday.

Phone Number - (330) 240-8196 email - Thomas.Gorse@Waldenu.edu; Tom.Gorse@gmail.com; Tom.Gorse@neomin.org Website - [] Skype - tom.gorse Walden Blog - []

Kristin Hummer
====Hi classmates! I'm a third grade teacher in Manheim, PA. This is my eleventh year teaching; I've also taught Kindergraten and first grade. My husband and I have two daughters (first and third grade) and a Golden Retriever. I used to think my husband, Craig, knew so much more about technology - but I am now surpassing his knowledge of these Web 2.0 technologies. He still is my point-man when it comes to Excel and data bases! A new endeavor for him is that he's currently serving on my home district's school board - different from where I teach. So he enjoys getting insight from the teacher-side of issues (sometimes)! :)==== ====Weekends are busy with soccer, church, and family dinners, but it's also my time to catch up from the week - and many times find myself at school. I usually check e-mail nightly, and sometimes during the day.====

You can reach me by phone at (717) 329-7510 - a mobile number.
Blogs: [] (for Walden) and [] (classroom)

=**Janet Bissett**=
 * Hi everyone! I am a 2nd grade teacher in Newport Beach, California. This is my 16th year teaching elementary school. Before I was a teacher, I was a professional jazz dancer. When I decided to come "off the road" from dancing, I started teaching dance. It was then that I realized I really loved to teach. That is how I went from being in glamorous shows... to being a school teacher. I am married and have 3 cats. My husband is a retired tennis pro. So, our weekends are filled with dancing, tennis, lots of good food, playing with our cats, and a great deal of time on the computer. My husband is always on his laptop if he is not watching tennis on TV. I always went to him when I had questions. However, I think I am going to pass him up after finishing this Masters program. I am happiest when I am at the beach so I put in a photo from last summer on Maui, with my girlfriend's little boy.**
 * My personal email is bissettjanet@aol.com**
 * I have never Skyped before, but I set up an account as janet.bissett1**
 * My cell phone is 949-374-6471**
 * Blog: [|http://classroomnewsletter2012.blogspot.com]**

=**Daniela Petruzzella**=

=
Hello everyone! I am a sixth, seventh, and eighth grade Italian teacher at a middle school in Old Bridge, NJ. Prior to becoming a teacher I worked in corporate sales for two years. About seven years ago a friend of mine mentioned that she was leaving her position at the middle school to teach Italian at the highschool. Since I had a BA in Italian and was always open to new opportunities she suggested that I interview for her position. Needless to say I was hired and seven years later I am still teaching and loving my job more and more each year. Although, I still get my corporate fix doing temporary jobs for various companies in the summer. I am not married and do not have any children. I am not very tech savvy and am very grateful that my boyfriend is because he has been very helpful. I spend my weekends catching up on the weeks workload and trying to spend as much time as I can kickboxing, spending quality time with my boyfriend, friends and family, When the weather is nice I try to be outdoors as much as possible. Fortunately for Smart phones I can be reached anytime anywhere. Please feel free to contact me anytime.=====

Skype: daniela.petruzzella


=**Stacy Martinez**= ====Hello, fellow Walden colleagues! I am a third grade teacher in Worland, Wyoming. This is my twelfth year of teaching; however, I have also taught kindergarten, first, and second grades. My husband and I just celebrated our 11th anniversary yesterday (3/11/12) and we have been "together" for what will be 17 years in July! We have two daughters, Sidnee (9 3/4) and Emmalee (7), two chihuahuas (Romeo and Juliet), six outdoor cats, and two goats :). I am considered a techno-geek by my colleagues at school--and love all things Apple. (I have a MacBook Air, iPhone, iPad 2--but am eyeing the New iPad!) However, I do have much to learn in terms of Web 2.0. It is amazing to see how far we have come with all of the technological advances out there!==== ====My family and I are hard-core "Wyomingites"--enjoying weekends of fishing, four wheeling, shooting, and anything in the Big Horn Mountains which are about an hour drive away. Also, I love to read (although lately, my reading has consisted of required course material), and Walden takes up quite a bit of my weekend time, too. My personal e-mail is: smartinez3377@gmail.com and my work e-mail is smartinez@wsh1.k12.wy.us====

I am very much looking forward to collaborating with all of you!


=Mary Laubenstein=

My name is Mary Laubenstein -- I'm excited to be working you on this Wiki! And I love the name of our group. Thanks, Tom, for your work to get us going.

I teach 9th and 10th grade English in Fosston, Minnesota. We have around 50 students per grade level in our 7-12 building. I have been teaching for 29 years. My other teaching area is Choral Music -- I also direct the junior and senior choirs. I've chosen to concentrate on my English area for this master's program, just to keep things a little bit simpler. My career goals are far from over. I look forward to working within this changing world of education for a number of years yet.

My friends and colleagues would probably describe me as high energy and enthusiastic. I love working with high school students in the different aspects of my job.

I have two daughters: one is a sophomore at North Dakota State University, and one is a sophomore at the high school in which I teach. They keep me busy with any spare time I might have.

My school email is mlauben@fosston.k12.mn.us. My personal email is mlaubstn@gmail.com. I'm on my cell with these email addresses 24/7. My cell phone number is 218-280-1559.

My blog is http://technologyinruralschools.blogspot.com/2012/03/welcome-to-my-blog.html

Looking forward to learning so much with you guys! Mary