Participants

= =

__**Institute Leaders**__ 

**James Lester**

Dr. James Lester received his Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1994 from the University of Texas at Austin. His research aims include devising intelligent computational systems that can adaptively support human-computer interaction and communication and applying basic AI research on computational linguistics and intelligent user interfaces to educational software. Specifically, his team at IntelliMedia Group investigates issues related to animated pedagogical agents, explanation generation (both natural language and multimodal), virtual cinematography and narrative prose generation. In collaboration with colleagues from NC State’s William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, he has focused on the development of advanced learning technologies with an emphasis on intelligent tutoring systems, game-based learning environments and tutorial dialogue. Dr. Lester currently serves as Editor-In-Chief for the //International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education.// //Email:// lester@ncsu.edu



**Hiller Spires**

Dr. Spires, who has been on the NC State faculty since 1986, is a Professor of Literacy and Technology in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. She received her Ph.D. in literacy education with a cognate in English from the University of South Carolina. Dr. Spires served as the founding director of The William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation from 2002-2006 and currently serves as FI Senior Research Fellow. Dr. Spires' research focuses on the effects of digital literacies on learning, including emerging literacies associated with gaming environments and Web 2.0 applications. She is co-PI on the NSF-funded projects, Crystal Island and Narrative Theatre. She has published in Journal of Educational Psychology, Cognition & Instruction, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Literacy Research & Instruction, and Reading Psychology, among other journals. She coordinates the New Literacies & Global Learning graduate program. Dr. Spires and Dr. John Lee co-direct the Friday Institute’s New Literacies Collaborative. Check out Dr. Spires' website. Email: hiller_spires@ncsu.edu



**John Nietfeld**

Dr. Nietfeld is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology in the College of Education at North Carolina State University. His current research emphasis falls within self-regulated learning (SRL) and metacognition. He has conducted a number of studies investigating how students monitor their behavior on cognitive tasks and he is particularly interested in the extent to which training within classroom contexts (K-12 through college) can facilitate more accurate monitoring of performance and strategy use. Currently, he is collaborating with computer science faculty to examine how to create intelligent game-based tutoring systems that will facilitate and scaffold SRL skills for elementary and middle school students in science. Dr. Nietfeld also teaches educational psychology, specifically focusing on metacognition and self-regulation.

 Email address:  john_nietfeld@ncsu.edu

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**James Minogue**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Minogue teaches elementary science methods courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Much of his research centers on systematically exploring the use of haptics (simulated touch) in the teaching of school science concepts. He is also involved research projects that examine the prudent use of science notebooks and studies that explore pre-service teachers' evolving mental models of themselves as science teachers. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: james_minogue@ncsu.edu

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Brad Mott**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Brad Mott completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science at North Carolina State University. His research has explored the generation of decision-theoretic models of narrative planning for interactive 3D learning environments. He currently works with the IntelliMedia and Liquid Narrative research groups at NC State to investigate the design, construction and empirical evaluation of computational mechanisms to support intelligent human-computer interaction and communication. He has held positions at Emergent Game Technologies, IBM, Analysts International Corporation and Nortel Networks. Dr. Mott co-founded LiveWire Logic, a venture-backed enterprise software start-up, where he served as the Vice President of Technology and worked with the development team to design, implement and refine the RealDialog™ product suite — an automated customer service solution leveraging corpus-based computational linguistics. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: bwmott@ncsu.edu

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Eleni Lobene**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Eleni has been working with the CI-5 research team since January 2011. She completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at George Mason University and began her graduate work at North Carolina State University. She is currently finishing her dissertation in the Industrial/Organizational Psychology department. She is the Grants and Projects Coordinator for the IntelliMedia Group, the computer science team for Crystal Island. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: eleni.lobene@gmail.com

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Kristen Hoffman**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Kristin F. Hoffmann completed a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction: Educational Psychology at NC State University in 2010 under the supervision of Dr. John Nietfeld. She currently works as an assistant teaching professor in the educational psychology department and as a post-doctoral research fellow on Crystal Island. Her research interests are in the areas of self-regulation, metacognition and reading comprehension. She is currently focusing her research on metacognitive monitoring and control of cognitive processes during reading and on the promotion of self-regulated learning within virtual learning environments. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-top: 0pt;">Email: klhoffma@nscu.edu

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Angela Meluso**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Angela Meluso is currently a Doctoral Candidate in the Lifespan Developmental Psychology program at North Carolina State University. Her overall research interests include examining developmental differences in children’s eyewitness memory and source-monitoring ability. More specifically, her research interests include examining preschool children’s ability to remember and report about experienced events that are traumatic or stressful in nature (i.e., crimes, physical and sexual abuse, etc.) and the circumstances under which preschool children’s memory for such events is most and least accurate. She began working with Dr. Spires at The Friday Institute in the summer of 2010 on the CRYSTAL ISLAND project. She has been involved in both data collection and data analysis during various iterations of the CRYSTAL ISLAND project and looks forward to working with the teachers this upcoming year! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email：acmeluso@ncsu.edu

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Meixun (Sinky) Zheng**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Meixun Zheng is currently a Doctoral Candidate in the Literacy and Technology program in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at NC State University. Her research interests focus on teacher education/professional development and digital learning technologies. Specifically, she is interested in how emerging Internet and Communication Tools can be effectively integrated in classrooms to facilitate students' 21st century literacy learning. She is a Graduate Research Assistant at the William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, working with Dr. Spires on the NSF-funded CRYSTAL ISLAND digital game-based learning project. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: mzheng@ncsu.edu

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**L.Manning Pruden**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">L. Manning Pruden received a dual major, B.S. in Education and B.A. in Art from the College of Charleston, in 2006. After completing her degree, Manning worked as a literacy coach, an elementary teacher in South Africa and a literacy outreach coordinator for an educational non-profit organization. Manning received her Master’s degree in Education from North Carolina State University. She is a graduate research assistant at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, working on a NSF grant to develop a web-based writing tool for middle school students. She hopes to eventually relocate to Kenya to cultivate her interest in international education reform. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: justmanning@hotmail.com

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Erin Lyjak**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Erin Lyjak is a research associate at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation and is working on the New Literacies Collaborative project. She received her Master's degree in Experimental Psychology from Radford University. Erin has been in the field of educational research for over 10 years. Prior to joining The New Literacies team, she worked on a wide range of educational studies, including those examining school violence prevention, standardized testing, PISA and chancellor reviews. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email:eelyjak@ncsu.com

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**April Scott**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">April Scott is a Ph. D student in Literacy and Technology in Department of Curriculum and Instruction at NC State University. Her research focuses on K-12 reading education. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: aascott@ncsu.edu

//<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**A.B. Combs Elementary** //


<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Cathy Ashton** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> **__(replace Ms. Cox)__** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">//5th grade teacher// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: cashton@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Eugene Wheeler** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">//5th grade teacher// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: wwheeler1@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Angela Headley** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">//5th grade teacher// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: aheadley@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">S**hea Grisham** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">//5th grade teacher// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: jgrisham@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Shannon Page** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">//Multi grade teacher// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: spage@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Shannon Page is a 4th/5th multi-age teacher at A.B. Combs Leadership Magnet Elementary. She has taught 3rd grade for 3 years and 5th grade for 2 years. She attended Longwood University in Virginia.

<span style="color: #800000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 160%; text-align: center;">__**Teacher Participants**__

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">//**Blue Ridge Elementary**//
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Martha Turner** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: martha.turner@ashe.k12.nc.us

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Katy Waddell** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: katy.waddell@ashe.k12.nc.us

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Sheila Johnson (*)** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">//5th Grade Teacher// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: sheila.johnson@ashe.k12.nc.us

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Susan Poe (*)**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">//5th Grade Teacher// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: susan.poe@ashe.k12.nc.us

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Sandy Shaw**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">//5th Grade Teacher// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: sandy.shaw@ashe.k12.nc.us

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">//**Powhatan Elementary**//
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Mike Engeman** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: mikeengeman@johnston.k12.nc.us

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**//Leesville Elementary//**
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Thomas ReBant** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: trebant@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Bob Kradel** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: rkradel@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Evan Jones** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">//5th Grade Teacher// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: ejones4@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Allison Kniedler** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">//5th Grade Teacher// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: akniedler@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Allaina Pawlowski** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">//5th Grade Teacher// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: apawlowski@wcpss.net

Allaina is currently a 5th grade teacher at Leesville Elementary. She graduated in December of 2101 from UNCW with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. She is currently pursuing a Masters degree at NC State.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Lisa Wainscott** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">//5th Grade Teacher// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: lwainscott@wcpss.net

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">//**Underwood Elementary**//
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Karen L. Fichter-Venners** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: klfichter@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Karen has been teaching in Wake County for almost 20 years. Currently she is teaching 5th grade at Underwood Elementary G&T Magnet School. Karen said the Crystal Island experience inspires her to be a 21st century learner and teacher!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Heather Peaden** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: hpeaden@wcpss.net

**Kelly Nsytrom** * (replace Mr. R)
//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Email: knystrom@wcpss.net

=<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">//**Mills Park Elementary**// =

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Danielle McCaslin** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email:dmccaslin@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Danielle is currently a 5th grade teacher at Mills Park Elementary in Cary, NC teaching math and science. She has been teaching <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">for nine years in NC and has taught both 3rd and 5th grades. She is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, PA.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Tom Treichler** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: dtreichler@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tom is a fifth grade teacher at Mills Park Elementary School in Cary, NC. He has taught in Wake County for nineteen years (9 years as an instructional <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">technology specialist and 10 years as a classroom teacher). He received a B.S. Degree from Houghton College in 1990 and a M.Ed. from North <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Carolina State University in 1997. He believes in the power of technology and creatively explores its application in my classroom. He is excited about <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">the opportunity to participate in the Crystal Island Game-Based Learning Institute and spring research project.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Katie Calhoun (*)** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: kcalhoun@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Katie Calhoun is a 5th grade teacher at Mills Park Elementary School. She is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. Katie has lived and taught in North Carolina for 14 years and feels very fortunate to be raising a family in such a wonderful area.

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Green Elementary
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Stephanie Thorb** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: sthorb@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Stephanie Thorb was recently a Wake County fifth grade teacher at Leesville Elementary School and just began working at Green Year Round in July. Stephanie is a former North Carolina Teaching Fellow and has been teaching for 8 years. She enjoys science a great deal and looks forward to the new technology NC State is providing!

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Michael Coysh** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: mcoysh@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Mary Anne Ruffin (* )** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: mruffin@wcpss.net

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Linda Draganc<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">huk ** //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5th Grade Teacher // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Email: ldraganchuk@wcpss.net

**Mountain View Elementary (Ashe County)--added after institute**
colleen.dixon@ashe.k12.nc.us
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Coleen Dixon (*) **

susan.greer@ashe.k12.nc.us
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Susan Greer (*) **

frances.eller@ashe.k12.nc.us
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Frances Eller (*) **

**Kasey Overcash (*)** --Replace Teresa Wiles

kasey.overcash@ashe.k12.nc.us

//**Note:**//
 * Will participate in Spring study but not coming to the Institute *
 * Will participate in institute and Spring stuy