Instructional Technology and Media for Learning

Sharon E. Smaldino. Dr. Smaldino is the L. D. and Ruth Morgridge Endowed Chair for Teacher Education in the College of Education at Northerp Illinois University. She was a professor of Educational Technology at the University of Northern Iowa for many years prior to moving to NIU. Sharon received her Ph.D. in 1987 from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Prior to that she received an M.A. in Elementary Education and served for more than a dozen years as teacher, speech therapist, and special educator in school districts from Florida to Minnesota. At Northern Iowa she taught an introductory educational media course for undergraduates and graduate majors and served as coordinator of the Educational Technology program. Dr. Smaldino also taught graduate courses in Instructional Development, Instructional Computing Design, Desktop Publishing, and Selection and Integration. She has received several awards for her outstanding teaching. In her current role, she is focused in working with faculty and teachers to integrate technology into the learning process. Presenting at state, national, and international conferences, Sharon has become an important voice on applications of technology in the classroom and in distance education. In addition to her teaching and consulting, Dr. Smaldino serves as president of AECT, served on the board of directors of IVLA, and has written articles for state and national journals on her primary research interest, effective technology integration in learning. She worked on a Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to use Technology (PT3) grant using the Web to deliver information and case studies of teachers using technology in schools. She has also worked on a Teacher Quality Enhancement grant which identified technology as an important aspect of ensuring quality learning environments.

James D. Russell. Dr. Russell is Professor Emeritus of Educational Technology at Purdue University. He still teaches at Purdue during the summer and fall semesters. Jim works part-time for Purdue's Center for Instructional Excellence, where he conducts workshops on teaching techniques and consults on instructional improvement. During spring semesters he is visiting professor of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems at Florida State University. There he also works part-time for the Office of Distributed and Distance Learning. A former high school mathematics and physics teacher, Jim has taught for more than forty years. He has won numerous honors for his teaching at Purdue, including his department's Outstanding Teacher Award and the School of Education's Best Teacher Award. He was also selected as a member of Purdue's teaching academy and inducted into Purdue's Book of Great Teachers. His specialty areas, in which he has achieved national prominence through his writings and presentations, are presentation skills and using media and technology in classrooms. Through his teaching, workshops, consulting, and this textbook, Jim continues to make a significant impact on classroom teaching practice.