Four Arizona Educators Recognized Among '20 to Watch'   

Nationwide in Education Technology  

Four Arizona educators have been honored by the National School Board Association (NSBA) for their vision and passion in utilizing technology to enhance education. 

Laurie King, a technology coordinator for the Dysart Unified School District; Heather Cruz, an assistant superintendent for education services with Litchfield Elementary School District #79; Matt Federoff, a director of technology for the Vail School District; and Shawn Wheeler, a director of technological services and training with Peoria Unified School District were all named among the NSBA's "20 to Watch" nationwide.

The NSBA "20 to Watch" List is the result of a nationwide search to identify the top 20 individuals shaping the future of education technology.  

"These educators are the thought leaders of tomorrow," said Ann Flynn, director of education technology for NSBA.  "Their natural curiosity allows them to explore the potential of new tools and ..excite and inspire others to follow their lead."

Here's a look at Arizona 's four educational technology leaders making the list:

Laurie King, Dysart Unified School District: Laurie is bringing teachers together to develop their instructional practices, utilizing technology as a primary resource.  This year, she worked with her district's staff development and instructional technology departments to build a cohesive professional development plan based on the latest instructional strategies.  She also provides leadership in the areas of pod casting and blogging as tools for teaching and learning, and as professional development models.

Heather Cruz, Litchfield Elementary School District #79:  
Heather empowers students to become leaders in their schools by actually teaching the teachers!  Her team of students assists teachers in learning and supporting technology in the classroom, as well as by updating web pages, blogs and on-line calendars and working with digital production.  When she's not mobilizing students to help their teachers, Heather is encouraging parents and community leaders to foster the use of education technology.

Matt Federoff, Vail School District: 
Through Matt's leadership, the Vail School District connected its schools with wireless technology and then provided wireless access at the schools themselves. He also led the opening of Empire High School three years ago, a school encouraging students to become self-directed learners.  Students at Empire receive a laptop in place of textbooks and teachers utilize technology as a tool in class and for homework.

Shawn Wheeler, Peoria Unified
School District:  
Shawn built a variety of outstanding technology professional development offerings, including the Blackboard e-learning environment; on-line Small Learning Objects, a collection of single-topic training documentation supported by multi-media materials; and pod casting and RSS (Real Simple Syndication) technology.  Shawn also coordinated the design of the school district's portal used for instruction as well as district business operations.