Doctoral Student Leading CONFERENCE IN DENMARK

Nadia Abdallah, a Doctoral Student in Educational Technology Leadership at NJCU in Cohort 10, was a featured speaker at the 2022 Nordic Network Educators Conference in Hellerup, Denmark on November 12th.

Nadia’s talk focused on student agency, differentiation, and using educational technology to give learners a voice in the classroom. Nadia’s work in education draws on her experiences growing up in a home with immigrant Palestinian parents in Brooklyn, NY. She was a teacher and school leader in international schools in the Middle East for over a decade. Nadia is currently Chief Education and Development Officer at INJAZ Al-Arab in Jordan, which is part of the Junior Achievement Worldwide global network. Her work is focused on developing innovative educational initiatives and business development opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa. (Nadia Abdallah pictured below.)

M.A. Alum Erik Gundersen APPOINTED SUPERINTENDENT

Congratulations to P. Erik Gundersen—M.A. Alum in Ed Tech—newly appointed Superintendent of Suffern, NY School District.

(Erik Gundersen pictured.)

Dr. Judith Francis LEADING THE WAY IN HEALTH EDUCATION

Dr. Judith Francis (Ed.D., Cohort 6) is now the Program Manager for Central Jersey Family Health Consortium. Her duties include managing grant funded state initiatives centered around maternal and child health concerns, supervising community health workers, and creating digital resources for public health prevention and awareness programs. Judith also continues to work as an adjunct instructor at William Paterson University.

(Judith Francis pictured above.)

Doctoral Student STARS IN MUSICAL

Congratulations to Melissa Welz (Cohort 10) who starred in Sentimental Journey-A Musical Review of Rosemary Clooney at the Players Guild of Leonia in September. This show started out as a musical workshop and just recently got picked up by producers. It will start touring around the holidays to bring everyone a White Christmas!

Melissa performed songs such as, “ Half As Much”, “ Sisters”, “ Suzy Snowflake” and others in this two-act musical review. Melissa is an alum from NJCU’s music department. She received both her undergraduate and graduate degree in music education with a concentration in Voice and Composition. She currently is a music teacher in the North Bergen School District. Her research interests include the use of technology on theater education. (Melissa Welz pictured below.)

Dr. Samantha Kozar— Instructional Coach

At Innovative Vocational School And Njcu

ED TECH’S NEW STEM CERTIFICATE COORDINATOR

Dr. Samantha Kozar (Ed.D.,

6) is now an instructional coach for the Union County Vocational Technical Schools in Scotch Plains, NJ.

This includes five high schools on the main campus, all of which offer specialized education for career readiness. US News and World Report named the magnet high school one of the top ten high schools in the United States in 2017-2019. There are two additional high schools located off the main campus that serve students recovering from addiction as well as intensive academic support for alternative pathway students. Dr. Kozar’s role is to incorporate innovative pedagogical strategies, research-based practices, emerging technologies into all subjects. She is also part of a pilot program to help the district adopt an Understanding by Design curriculum.

Dr. Kozar is also the newly appointed coordinator of our STEM Certificate. The STEM Certificate Program is a rigorous, online, four-course program that provides K-12 school leaders, school librarians, and educators in all disciplines--including arts and humanities--with both the foundational STEM pedagogy, and the hands-on experience to be successful integrating STEM into their classrooms and schools. (Samantha Kozar pictured above.)

Doctoral Student Selected FOR NATIONAL STANDARDS PANEL

Melissa Garcia (Cohort 9) and English Language Learning educator, was selected as a national panelist to review the WIDA Standards. WIDA is a national consortium devoted to the development and delivery of standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment of multilingual learners.

Melissa also recently presented with Ed.D. doctoral student Manuel Algarian on Game-Based Learning at the 2022 MC3 Technology and Learning Conference. (Melissa Garcia pictured above.)

Dr. Martin Hoffman Leading QUALITY ONLINE LEARNING

Dr. Martin Hoffman (Ed.D., Cohort 1) earned Quality Matters Master Reviewer Certification. Quality Matters is the leading organization for quality and consistency in online course design. Master Reviewers ensure quality in the peer review process.

Dr. Hoffman is the Dean of Learning Resources at Rowan College at Burlington County and is a Reviewer for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. (Martin Hoffman pictured below.)

Dr. Doug Koch Named

President Of Nedla And Earns Equity Award

Alum Leading IT IN MT OLIVE

Congratulations to Dr. Rebecca Kreider (Ed.D., Cohort 2) who was recently promoted to be the Director of Innovation and Personnel at the Mount Olive Township School District. Rebecca was previously the Supervisor of STEAM and Information Technology. Kudos Rebecca. (Rebecca Kreider pictured above.)

Congratulations to Dr. Doug Koch (Ed.D., Cohort 5). He was recently named President of the Northeast Digital Learning Association (NEDLA). NEDLA is “dedicated to the free exchange of ideas and information between Academic, Corporate, Non-Profit, Government and Healthcare Digital Learning professionals concerning the myriad of issues and technological changes in the field of learning technologies and methodologies.”

Dr. Koch also earned the 2022 the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Employee Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award.

Dr Koch is the Associate Director of Teaching and Learning and the Medical Educational Center of Excellence. (Doug Koch, right, receiving award, pictured above)

NJCU Ed Tech Team Leading RESEARCH ON ADULT LEARNING

Ed.D. Alum Dr. Remberto Jimenez, Dr. Ronnie O’Neill, doctoral students Juan Rodriguez and Kristina Harb, and faculty member Dr. Christopher Shamburg shared their research on informal adult learning and podcasting at the 2022 Edmedia Conference.

The team interviewed 31 adults from across the US on their experiences learning from podcasts. (Podcast Learning Team pictured)