Institute+Teams

 **LOGISTICS TEAM ** **Jim Walker ** - __jwalker@lpvec.org __ Jim has a MA in Art Education from Univ. of New Mexico and MS in Special Education from Marywood University. He has been a special ed teacher for 21 years at the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative. Jim has been integrating technology into his classrooms since Apple IIe and dial up. He developed and ran the LPVEC web site for 10 years, and helped other teachers integrate technology into their classrooms. Jim developed Moodle classes for his class and taught online courses in Classroom Behavior Management. He was one of five Massachusetts teachers to complete the EDC EdTech Leaders Online course. Jim has developed a Web 2.0 teacher training site at __[|www.learning2oh/moodle] __. He is now the Online Technology Coordinator at the LPVEC and is completing the course work to get a Moodle Course Creator Certificate.

**Zach Smith ** - __zsmith@lpvec.org __ Zach is the Online Learning Coordinator for the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative. He has a M.Ed. in Educational Policy, Research, and Administration and is close to finishing his Ed.D. in Research and Evaluation Methods at the Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst. He has researched numerous large-scale assessments, including NAEP, AP Tests, and MCAS, to assess everything from validity and reliability to equating and item analysis. Using his pychometric and policy background, Zach worked for the Connecticut State Department of Education to help develop the Modified Assessment System, which makes the CMT and CAPT statewide assessments more accessible to special education students. He also worked to move some of the special education classes and assessments online where technology can increase learning and understanding for this population. Now, he is coordinating the development of online courses for at-risk high school students for LPVEC and DESE that will be used statewide, as well as creating online assessments and evaluation on other projects.