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News Release

Last modified: Thursday, November 8, 2012

IU School of Education names latest class of Jacobs Teachers

Teachers from Indiana, nationwide honored for use of technology

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 8, 2012

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University School of Education has announced its latest class of Jacobs Teacher Educators from Indiana and across the country. The annual Jacobs Teacher Educator Award honors five teachers who use technology to support innovative, inquiry-based teaching and learning activities in their classrooms.

Each teacher selected receives a $1,500 stipend at the end of the one-year appointment and $1,000 toward purchasing technology resources to support his or her teaching, as well as funds to support travel to Indiana University for professional development events throughout the year. The IU School of Education honored the latest group of teachers in the annual "Call to Teach" ceremony Nov. 3 at the Wright Education Building in Bloomington.

"We are excited to have such an outstanding group of educators who are committed to working with our teacher education students this year," said Thomas Brush, the Barbara B. Jacobs Chair in Education and Technology. "All of these teachers have demonstrated their excellence in the use of technology to support inquiry-based teaching and learning strategies in their classrooms."

The current class includes two teachers from Indiana and three from around the nation:

• Ross Cooper, Willow Lane Elementary School, Macungie, Pa.: A fifth-year teacher in a fourth-grade classroom, Cooper has studied website design and is currently a student at Lehigh University, where he is working toward his K-12 principal certification. Cooper is an Apple Distinguished Educator, an honor granted by Apple Computers to recognize K-12 and higher-education professionals using a variety of Apple products to transform teaching and learning. He is also a Google Certified Teacher, earning the distinction for using Google technology after attending a Google Teacher Academy.
• Jody Duncan, Bloomington South High School, Bloomington, Ind.: A Monroe County teacher since 1980, Duncan is now a technology coach at Bloomington South, where she'll oversee implementation of her iPad initiative for the next four years. Duncan's activities have included the Howard Hughes fellowship in Inquiry-based learning, the Project Based Learning Academy, and the Leadership in Ethics and Social Action program at IU. She is also an Indiana University High School course developer and current online instructor in biology.
• Caroline Haebig, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, Ill.: The instructional technology coordinator at her school, Haebig forms collaborations with various community organizations, museums and universities to facilitate student research and film projects. She has produced several student-led community events and service learning projects, giving students the opportunity to educate the larger community through their work. In addition to presenting at state and national conferences, Haebig is an active member of the International Society for Technology in Education Young Educator Network and the Apple Distinguished Educator Community. She was recently named the ISTE Outstanding Young Educator for 2012.
• Michael Hernandez, Mira Costa High School, Manhattan Beach, Calif.: A film and broadcast journalism teacher, Hernandez speaks regularly at regional and national conferences on journalism and technology in education, and is a contributing editor for JEADigitalMedia.org, a website that provides resources for online, multimedia and broadcast journalism. He is also an Apple Distinguished Educator.
• Michelle Yoder, Avilla Elementary School, Avilla, Ind.: A first-grade teacher who has been an educator for 10 years, Yoder strives to improve learning outcomes by providing students with rigorous and relevant learning opportunities leading to 21st-century success. Yoder said her goal is to have a classroom where even the youngest students work with real-world applications that are inquiry-based. Her classroom is a place where innovation, creativity, thinking and problem-solving are actively taught, encouraged and nurtured.

The current class earned the Jacobs Teacher honor from a pool of more than 25 nominees. Each of these teachers has committed to working with the School of Education throughout the year to share expertise and experience with teacher education students and faculty.

The Jacobs Teacher Educator Award became possible though a $1 million gift from the late Barbara B. Jacobs. Her previous philanthropy established the Jacobs Chair in Education and Technology in 1998.

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