Heng-Yu Ku – Program Coordinator  

Dr. Ku is the Program Coordinator of the Ed Tech Program at UNC. He has been working at UNC since 2001. He teaches Computers in Education, Instructional Design, Performance Technology for Instructional Environments, and Doctoral Seminar in Educational Technology courses. Dr. Ku, an accomplished and awarded scholar, has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and presented papers at national and international conferences. His research interests are in distance education, instructional strategies, and cross-cultural studies.

As the program coordinator, Dr. Ku aligns his expectations with the Educational Technology program’s mission statement which is that “We inspire and develop educators to become effective users of technology; who are valuable to their organizations in their ability to conduct and apply current research and best practices of the field.” The Educational Technology program consists of six faculty, Dr. Jeffrey Bauer, Dr. David Falvo, Dr. James Gall, Dr. Heng-Yu Ku, Dr. Linda Lohr, and  Dr. Berlinda Saenz, each with their area of specialization. Our faculty members are dedicated to providing support and guidance to facilitate students’ success in the program as well as their future endeavors.

Dr. Ku states "I am very glad that you are part of the Educational Technology community at UNC. Some excellent news that I would like to share with you about our community are:

• The Educational Technology and School Library Education programs started the first MA on-line cohort program in Fall 2004 (they graduated in summer 2006), a second MA on-line cohort started in Fall 2005, and the third MA on-line cohort in Fall 2006.
• We modified our curriculum (both Educational Technology and School Library Education) so we can re-sequence the courses, add new courses, and/or delete outdated courses. The new curriculum was implemented in Fall 2006.
• For the 2005 academic year, a total of 35 students graduated from our program. Twelve students received their MA degrees in Educational Technology, 18 students received their MA degrees in Educational Media, and 5 students received their Ph.D. degrees in Educational Technology.
• Our School Library Education Master’s student (Carrie Andrew) was awarded the CoLAB Special Populations Scholarship for the 2006-2007 academic year. Carrie started UNC’s School Library Education program in the fall 2005 semester and will complete her master’s degree in August 2007. She is currently the District Librarian at Norwood Public Schools in Norwood, Colorado where she serves a diverse student population within her rural community.
• Our former Educational Technology doctoral student (Dr. John Taylor) received the Summer 2006 Graduate Dean’s Citation of Excellence Outstanding Dissertation Award.
• Our former Educational Technology doctoral student (Dr. Yi-Chia Cheng) received the Summer 2006 Graduate Dean’s Citation for Excellence Award.
• Our current Educational Technology doctoral student (Ling Thompson) received the “2005 Young Researcher Award” from the Association of Educational Communications and Technology.
• Our current Education Technology doctoral students (Lori Brown and Nicholas Eastham) published an article in Performance Improvement Quarterly.
• Our Educational Technology doctoral student (Ling Thompson) published an article in Quarterly Review of Distance Education.
• Our former Educational Technology doctoral student (Dr. Anne Bell) was hired as the Director of the Library of Congress Grant: Teaching with Primary Sources-Colorado Rural Partnership at UNC."

Keyleigh Gurney – Administrative Assistant

Keyleigh works as the administrative assistant for the School of Educational Research, Leadership, and Technology. Keyleigh has been working at UNC for over 13 years. Over her time here, she saw many changes in the Educational Technology Program. The big difference is that there are more international students in our program now. Working as an administrative assistant for the Educational Technology and Applied Statistics and Research Methods programs is not always an easy job, but she is known for her wonderful work. She likes to talk with students and help them solve their problems. The best part of this job, she said, is the interactions with students. Keyleigh has an 8 year old daughter and a 4 year old son. She enjoys family time as well. Stop in and say hello to Keyleigh in the main office on the fifth floor of McKee.

Berlinda Saenz – Faculty

Dr. Saenz is an Assistant Professor in Educational Technology and the Coordinator of the School Library Education Program. Her research interests are Social Presence, Cultivating Online Learning Communities, Online Learner Interactions, and Effective Instructional Strategies for Online Teaching. Dr. Saenz has worked in the education and business field for the past 16 years as an instructional designer and trainer. As a faculty member she enjoys the interactions with students and collaboration with other faculty. In her spare time Dr. Saenz enjoys road biking and meditating.  She believes in maintaining a balance between body, mind, and spirit. Feel free to drop by and chat with her in her office located on the fifth floor of McKee Hall.

Spotlight on Dr. Laura Summers

We are proud to announce that Dr. Laura Summers, Educational Technology PhD graduate, was recently appointed to the faculty at the University of Colorado, Denver. Laura is an Assistant Professor, Program Coordinator for the School Library Programs: Online, On-campus, & Community - Bound*, and Co-editor for Colorado Libraries. We are especially happy for Laura given the outstanding work she did as an Assistant Professor here at the University of Northern Colorado last year. Laura was able to update our School Library program curriculum, develop curriculum for our programs, and build a strong relationship with Colorado school librarians. To keep in touch with Laura, her new email address is Laura.Summers@cudenver.edu. Congratulations Laura! Thank you for all you did here with our School Library Media Program!

We recently interviewed Dr. Summers and she provided us with insights into her career.
She manages the online, campus, and community cohort programs at CU with over eighty graduate-level students. Her doctoral work in Educational Technology at UNC focused on instructional design, self-directed learning, and online instruction. School library, previously known as Educational Media, is a branch in most educational technology programs. Her master's degree is also from UNC in Educational Media. She has worked as a school librarian and as an instructional designer using skills acquired through both my MA and PhD studies. Laura states, “Twenty-first Century School Librarians are responsible for information and technological literacy skills for all learners. School librarians teach critical thinking and informational management skills in the central learning hub of a school. My position is a small niche because many school librarians do not pursue their doctorates. It is through my combination of skills and work experiences that made me a good fit for this particular position.”
 
Laura gives a few suggestions for graduate students interested in working as faculty after graduation.

“Earning a PhD takes perseverance. Through a PhD program, you learn your strengths and weaknesses. You have to be willing to improve. The more you learn, the more you realize there is to know. The experience is what you make it. It is truly a rite of passage.

Learn how to conduct research and publish. Universities expect you to come out of a PhD program with publications already listed on your vita. If you present at conferences, make sure you have a paper ready to submit before the conference. Presenting at a conference does not usually mean as much as a paper published in a top-tier, referred journal. "Publish or perish" is the motto at most universities. For example, many research universities require a minimum of two publications per year if you are on a tenure-track.
 
Take more statistics and research method courses ! I completed a doctoral minor from the SRM program in qualitative research methods which has been a tremendous help in my own research. In addition, the minor has created an opportunity for me to serve on doctoral student committees and work with other faculty on their studies as the qualitative methodologist. 

Teach as a graduate assistant or as an adjunct instructor at a college. Often times when you interview, you present in front of a School of Education's faculty so that the interviewers can see how well you would teach a graduate course. It is important to show that you like teaching adult students. For example, I started teaching online for the University of Phoenix while working on my PhD. As an instructional designer of online courses, I also wanted the perspective of being the facilitator/instructor. If you are currently in a K-12 environment, I recommend working with your district's professional development office to offer training for teachers in your district as a step towards higher education. I currently have five adjunct instructors that teach in the evenings while being top-notch school librarians during the day.”

*Nationally Recognized NCATE-AASL Revised & Approved School Library Media Education Program

Chuck Yeh - TA

Chuck is in  the 4th year of the educational technology doctoral program. Known as being an exellent student and an excellent TA, his research interests are distance learning and visual literacy. Currently, he is working on his proposal with the topic about virtual literacy. His advice for other ET graduate students is, “Graduate study is like driving on the highway. Though it is smooth on the highway usually, there are sometimes traffic jam. When you are stuck in the traffic jam, you can’t move, even though you want to move fast. However, you will still get to the destination for sure, even though it will take a little bit more time. So, make sure you know what your goals are in this program. Go for your goals at your own pace. When you feel frustrated, you have to slow down but never give up. Concentrate on your driving on this ‘EdTech’ highway and enjoy your ride!” Chuck holds regular office hours on the fifth floor of McKee, or you might find him teaching his undergraduate, pre-service teachers in the first floor lab.