Staff

Karen French is the coordinator for the IDEA Studio.She holds a Ph. D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Instructional Technology as well as a Master's degree in Anthropology. She is certified to teach both Spanish and Latin and taught high school Latin for seven years. Prior to joining the IDEA Studio staff, she worked as a facilitator in the WINGS program, an online mentoring program for new teachers sponsored by the University of Texas at Austin. Karen's professional interests include training K-12 and university faculty to integrate technology into classroom instruction. Her dissertation research focuses on the role of reflection in electronic discourse and the online mentoring of novice teachers.

Yangjoo Park is a Graduate Research Assistant in the IDEA Studio. He is working on his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Instructional Technology. Yangjoo also holds a Master's degree in Instructional Technology. Before joining the IDEA Studio, he developed several web sites for graduate and undergraduate students using HTML, CFML, PHP, and other technologies. His work for the IDEA Studio includes web development, web-based database development, and multimedia development, as well as QuickTime Virtual Reality panoramas and objects. Yangjoo's research interest is related to the patterns of interaction among group members in on-line collaborative learning environments.

Royce Kimmons is a Graduate Research Assistant in the IDEA Studio and a Doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Instructional Technology. Royce currently holds a Master's degree in Teaching, emphasizing Language Arts instruction, and before joining the IDEA Studio, he served as a founding teacher for a new charter school, where he taught digital media and computer literacy, designed websites and multimedia, and developed and maintained the technology-rich school's computing infrastructure.  Royce's research interests include the potential for free and open source software in spear-heading school change and educational gaming.

Michelle Fulks Read is a Graduate Research Assistant in the IDEA Studio and a Doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Instructional Technology.  Michelle's professional experience includes 15 years as a teacher, Technology Integration Specialist, school web developer, and Intel Master Teacher.  She holds two master's degrees, both obtained through the UT Telecampus system, in Educational Technology and Literacy Studies.  Michelle's research interests include the successful and practical integration of technology in the average classroom and its impact on student performance and overall literacy development.  

Shyamala Lakshminarasimhan is a Graduate Research Assistant in the IDEA Studio.  She is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Computer Science.  Her work in the IDEA studio focuses on enhancing and maintaining the ePortfolio application.  Before joining the University, she worked for three years as a software engineer in India.

 

Jeongwon "Jenis" Woo is a Graduate Research Assistant in the IDEA Studio, and a Doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Instructional Technology.  She holds a Master's degree in Instructional Technology.  Before joining the IDEA Studio staff, she participated in many projects as a Research Assistant and Researcher in Korea.  She was a RA for Brain Korea 21 Academic Leadership Institute and the Educational Research Institute at Seoul National University. Major projects consisted of assessing online content, developing blended learning model and web supporting system, needs analysis, usability testing and developing training programs.  Jeongwon's professional interests include computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) as well as knowledge building in CSCL. 

Nathalie Hunt is a Graduate Research Assistant in the IDEA Studio, and a Doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Curriculum Studies.  She holds a Master's degree in Curriculum and instruction.  Before joining the IDEA Studio staff, she supervised intern and apprentice teachers in the Early Childhood through Fourth Grade Certification Program, aiding preservice teachers in the implementation of the state curriculum with best research practices in mind.  Nathalie also served as a Lower Elementary Montessori Teacher for three years.  Her research interests include creating optimal learning environments and learning experiences for elementary level students.

Srilakshmi "Swati" Pendyala is a Graduate Research Assistant in the IDEA Studio. She holds a bachelors degree in computer sceince & Information Technology and is currently pursuing Master's degree in computer science. She worked in serveral faculty proposed projects in LTC during the last two semesters and is now working on developing a video case based learning tool in the IDEA studio.Before joining school, she worked as a software development engineer in India and worked on developing customer facing applications for clients like GE , Barklays, etc. Her area of interests include application development , database design and application performance enhancements.

Hyojin "Helena" Yoon is a Graduate Research Assistant in the IDEA Studio, and a Doctoral student in Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Instructional Technology. She holds Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology. Since 2007,she has been a Research Assistant of Dr. Joan E. Hughes, assisting her for research related with Preservice Teacher Technology Preparation program, with contacting participants, supporting survey question creation and developing online survey, and analyzing data. She is interested in Teacher Education, Effective Technology Integration in Curriculum.