2005 Inspired Teacher Scholarship Winners

Inspiration Software^® is proud to announce the 30 educators worldwide who will receive its 2005 Inspired Teacher Scholarships for Visual Learning. For the seventh year, this scholarship program supports professional development activities for educators in K-12 schools, colleges and universities who champion the integration of visual learning and technology into the curriculum.

The 2005 scholarship program marks the debut of the Inspired Teacher Scholarship Rookie Awards. Five of the 30 scholarships were awarded to educators who are beginning to use visual learning instructional strategies with their students and want to learn more.

This year's successful applicants included technology coordinators, college and university faculty members and elementary, middle and high school teachers from 16 U.S. states, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Award recipients use the $750 scholarships for a wide range of professional development activities, including attendance at a conference, training event or professional education course where visual learning is a key topic.

The 2005 Inspired Teacher Scholarships for Visual Learning recipients are:
Danielle Abernethy uses visual learning instructional strategies with students throughout Sumter School District Two in South Carolina. As an instructional technology coach, Abernethy says visual learning inspires both the Future Business Leaders of America group she works with and students at the district's Alternative School for Academically Challenged Students. She will use her scholarship to attend the 2005 National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in Philadelphia in June, where she will make a presentation on digital storytelling.

Gregory John Alchin achieved a 20% increase in student exam scores following his implementation of visual learning techniques as a teacher at James Sheahan Catholic High School in Orange, New South Wales, Australia. Alchin plans to attend the 2005 Navigator Schools' Consortium held in Bendigo, Australia to gain new information about supporting the development of thinking skills through curriculum design. He will share what he learns in his classroom and through his position as a teacher-trainer in professional development activities and workshops at state conferences.

Laurie Busness, a fourth-grade teacher at Harriett Thompson Elementary School in Grandview, Wash., is a leader in the use of visual learning for students with learning disabilities, having presented on the topic at several regional and national conferences. Today her fourth grade students use graphic organizers to plan and present classroom projects. Busness plans to attend the Northwest Council for Computer Education Conference in Seattle in March, where she will attend sessions on integrating visual learning into the curriculum and share new information with her colleagues through workshops and presentations.

Darlene Cardillo is the director of education technology for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany (N.Y.) where she shares her experiences using visual learning in the classroom with teachers throughout the district. She diligently reminds teachers that to be successful learners, students need different ways to represent and manage information. Cardillo plans to attend NECC and include what she learns in meetings and workshops during the next school year.

Hoppy Chandler, teacher at Standley Middle School in San Diego, Calif., has shared his passion for visual learning in more than 400 presentations he has given over the past 15 years at local, state, national and international venues. He incorporates graphic organizers in his middle school classroom as a tool for learning concepts and making connections to increase understanding. Chandler will apply his scholarship funds toward the costs of attending and presenting at the 2005 World Conference on Computers in Education, held in Cape Town, South Africa. He will continue to share applications of visual learning across the curriculum through the many presentations he offers.

Gail Corder, technology coordinator for Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, Texas, believes that excellent lessons using graphic organizers can be created for any discipline. She uses visual learning in her French classroom, holds workshops and creates lessons to help teachers in her school and district with integration. At NECC, Corder will focus on using graphic organizers with handheld computers, and will share the information through workshops and individual mentoring.

An English teacher at Candor Junior Senior High School, Candor, N.Y., Debra Craig uses visual learning with her students and colleagues in her role as a mentor teacher. She has used graphic organizers to help freshmen understand the character connections in literary works and to guide seniors participating in career planning. Craig will use her scholarship to attend the 2005 New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education Conference where she hopes to learn even more strategies for integrating visual learning into her lesson plans, student projects and faculty workshops.

Susan Ettenheim is the computer arts teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, New York City, where she is responsible for the library, distance learning and schoolwide technology. Ettenheim's students use graphic organizers to learn the research process and present their final projects. As a district leader, she uses visual learning to guide staff development workshops on topics such as how to organize lesson plans. Ettenheim will share the exciting new things about visual learning that she learns from other teachers at NECC with colleagues in her school.

Gail Froeschl, second-grade teacher and building computer mentor for North Elementary School in Falls City, Neb., advocated the use of visual learning techniques-including graphic organizers-to address school improvement goals in reading comprehension. She created grade-appropriate notebooks containing sample graphic organizers and materials to help teachers implement these goals in the classroom. By attending NECC, Froeschl plans to add new ideas to the teacher binders and share this information through workshops, interactive whiteboard trainings and the school improvement newsletter.

Tamra Hass is a speech-language pathologist and autism specialist for Portland Public Schools in Portland, Ore. Using visual learning techniques, she developed an informal visual assessment and teaching tool designed to help students with Asperger's Syndrome in a mainstream classroom environment. Hass will use her scholarship funds to attend Closing the Gap in Minneapolis and will share information on visual learning strategies at workshops she offers to schools throughout Oregon.

Diana Garland, associate director of academic outreach at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo., focuses on learning styles and the use of graphic organizers in her research. She shares her enthusiasm for visual learning with the pre-service teachers and graduate students in her classes. With her scholarship award, she will attend a variety of local professional development classes and share what she learns in her role as president of the Missouri Distance Learning Association.

Ross W. Gedeborg is a music teacher and the leader of the Shoshone (Idaho) High School team competing in the EdTechQuest competition, a multimedia competition for grades 4-12 put on by the University of Idaho, College of Education. Students use Inspiration to brainstorm ideas, assign roles and organize content for their multimedia projects. Gedeborg will use his scholarship funds to attend EdTechQuest 2005 and will share new information he learns with students and teachers in the school.

An eighth-grade history teacher at Troup Magnet Academy, New Haven, Conn., Judith Goodrich uses visual learning to help students at all levels understand the connections between the past and the present and to build reading comprehension skills. Her students map lessons on topics such as the Gold Rush or the growth of transportation. She also leads after-school workshops on visual learning for her colleagues. Goodrich will attend NECC to learn more about best practices in visual learning so she and her colleagues can enhance use of graphic organizers to close the achievement gap.

As a science teacher at Ridley Middle School, Ridley Park, Pa., Sue Ann Iannacci uses visual learning to help students of all abilities grasp difficult concepts. When studying topics such as geology or the human body, her learning disabled students use graphic organizers to make connections as they participate in hands-on experiments, Internet research and multimedia presentations. Iannacci plans to attend a technology conference, implement what she learns in her middle school science classes and share new information in workshops and science department teacher meetings.

Rochelle Jensen, Katikati Primary, Taurang, New Zealand, works in seven primary schools to foster thinking skills among teachers and students. An enthusiastic proponent of visual learning, she has taught teacher workshops on the instructional strategy throughout New Zealand. She will attend the 12th International Conference of Thinking in July in Melbourne, Australia where she will attend sessions focused on thinking skills that will help her create professional development activities for the next school year.

Linda K. Kennedy, adjunct professor at National University, Sacramento, Calif., kicks off her education technology course by asking students to use graphic organizers for brainstorming the top five reasons why students and teachers need to learn how to use technology in the classroom. This initial activity forms the foundation for a course in which concept maps, webs and other graphic organizers are integrated as both a teaching and a student project tool. Kennedy's scholarship supported her attendance at the 2005 Computer Users in Education Conference (CUE) in Palm Springs. She will share her new knowledge with the pre-service teachers in her classroom and her university colleagues.

Donna J. LeBretton is the instructional technology coordinator for eight schools in the Whitman-Hansen Regional School District, Whitman, Mass. She champions visual learning by modeling the use of graphic organizers in lessons, working with teachers to integrate technology into curriculum projects, maintaining a website with visual learning resources and providing workshops for district parents and staff. LeBretton will attend NECC to discover ideas for using visual learning methods with new technology-including handheld computers and interactive whiteboards-which she plans to share with her staff.

Valaina Maher, educational technology specialist for The Charles Finney School in Penfield, N.Y., works to integrate visual learning and technology into the K-8 curriculum by organizing staff workshops. She also teaches students to use graphic organizers to plan projects and organize information. Maher plans to attend NECC and then share new ideas for integrating visual learning activities into the curriculum with staff through hands-on, mini-tech times and with parents through a monthly technology open house at the media center.

Roger Moore, instructor for NorQuest College in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, uses visual learning strategies in academic coursework with students who are preparing for a skills training course. He has presented visual learning techniques at local and national conferences and at the elementary and secondary school level. After attending the National Great Teachers' Seminar in the Canadian Rockies, he plans to disseminate new information by presenting visual learning techniques at the Learning and Literacy Day for Parents, through a newsletter that will feature learning strategies and through his design of a story mapping tutorial that integrates visual learning.

Karen Plummer, Adams-Edmore Public School, Adams, N.D. uses visual learning in her classroom almost daily. Her third-grade students use graphic organizers for story mapping, book reports and research. Plummer will attend NECC where she hopes to gain new ideas on using visual learning and technology in elementary classrooms. These insights will enhance her teaching and her presentation to colleagues at her school and at the North Dakota technology conference.

For Susanna Messier, a third-grade teacher at Meridian Elementary, El Cajon, Calif., visual learning is an instructional tool for teaching across the curriculum. Her students use graphic organizers to develop the narrative for iMovies and to understand concepts such as the phases of the moon. As a site lead technology teacher, she encourages other teachers in her school to use graphic organizers in writing, social studies and science and will share what she learns at the 2005 CUE conference with colleagues at her school and throughout the district.


Linda Truitt is the computer technologist for Pease Communication Technology Magnet Elementary School in Midland, Texas. She encourages the use of visual learning techniques by helping students in her K-6 computer lab learn how to use Kidspiration and Inspiration to conduct and organize research. She assists classroom teachers in creating their own lessons and presents at conferences throughout her region. After attending NECC, Truitt will present additional workshops to help teachers in the district effectively integrate visual learning.


Jennifer Wagner, technology coordinator for Crossroads Christian School, Corona, Calif., regularly helps teachers incorporate visual learning activities into the K-8 curriculum by creating and sharing Kidspiration and Inspiration lesson plans. She hosts in-services and maintains a web site with information about visual learning and technology. Wagner plans to attend NECC and share new information through her computer lab classes, online collaborative projects and online monthly technology newsletter.


Heidi Zwerk is an elementary Spanish teacher at Freeland Community Schools in Freeland, Mich. She uses visual learning to help her more than 900 students in grades K-6 build Spanish conversation skills and explore thematic units of study such as Spanish food, families and culture. After attending the 2006 Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning Conference, she will present what she learns about best practices in visual learning with her peers at staff meetings and the district's curriculum council.

The 2005 Inspired Teacher Scholarships Rookie Award recipients are: Chris Burnett is a sixth-grade teacher for Mount Clemens Community Schools in Mount Clemens, Mich. She enhances her students' interest in reading and writing through technology literacy projects involving online publication, digital photography and distance learning. After attending the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in June to learn more about incorporating visual learning into reading and writing, Burnett will share this information in her day-to-day lessons and through presentations at educational conferences.

Peter Gehbauer wears many hats, two of which include teacher and curriculum leader, information technology for Westview Centennial Secondary School in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He discovered his students excel at problem solving and writing when using graphic organizers for problem solving. Gehbauer will apply scholarship funds toward his Masters in Education from Central Michigan University. He intends to promote visual learning within his school and district by organizing workshops and modeling integration through his position as a lead teacher.

David Heller is a special education teacher for James H. Blake High School in Silver Spring, Md. He uses visual learning strategies to help his students make connections and retain concepts. At NECC, Heller hopes to learn how to use technology to assist special education students who have been mainstreamed into the general education setting. He plans to share what he learns with staff and students at his school and through presentations at local and state technology conferences.

Michelle Moore, technology instructor for Park International Baccalaureate Magnet School, Hot Springs, Ark., incorporates visual learning and technology into the inquiry-based curriculum of the Primary Years Program by creating lessons for students and sharing integration ideas with other teachers. After attending NECC, Moore plans to conduct a mini-seminar for her staff to share new ways to engage and challenge students using technology and visual learning.

Steve Vain is a seventh-grade social studies teacher for Northfield Community School, Northfield, N.J. His regular integration of visual learning and technology throughout the curriculum helps his students develop a better understanding of class material. Vain will use scholarship funds to implement a series of professional development workshops in his district to increase adoption of visual learning techniques.

The 2006 Inspired Teacher Scholarships for Visual Learning program will be announced in July 2005 and applications will be available in September 2005. For more information, visit Inspiration Software's Web site at www.inspiration.com/scholarship.

Congratulations to these Inspired educators!