E-Learning Development for Online Educators - Faculty

Tom Luba, MS, is the director of the Technology and Innovations in Education department at the Linn Benton Lincoln Educational Services District (LBL ESD) in Albany, Oregon. Besides being the chief information officer for the agency, managing information systems and network services to LBL's 12 component districts, Mr. Luba is also responsible for Web services, e-learning and co-directs the Student Achievement Service Center (SASC), which is the primary school improvement program at the ESD. His previous position was director of distance learning at Portland State University, where he managed several distance learning programs and provided university-wide leadership in distance learning and e-learning. His positions previous to PSU include coordinator of Distance Education in the School of Agriculture at Purdue University and instructional media specialist at an international agricultural research and training organization located in Mexico. Mr. Luba received his master's degree in education with a specialization in instructional technology from Purdue University.

Dennis Schultz, MS, has recently been moved into the role of Student Achievement Services Center coordinator at Linn Benton Lincoln ESD. Since 1999, he was directly involved in distance education and was the principal of COOLSchool for five years. For more than a decade, Mr. Schultz was a research assistant in geophysics in Oregon State University's College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences. In 1990, he earned his certification in elementary education. He was a classroom teacher in Newberg School District and was later hired as their technology coordinator. In December of 1996, he served as an instructional specialist for the OPEN Clearinghouse (OPENC). Two years later he became OPENC coordinator where he was responsible for overseeing development of online resources for Oregon teachers. At the height of development, the site averaged over 600 daily user sessions. Mr. Schultz holds a master's degree in information technology.

Stacy Whiddon, MA, has worked in e-learning since 1999 developing online professional development for teachers, creating online high school courses, and supporting faculty and staff in online programs. Her career in education started as a middle school social studies teacher where she first started to fuse technology into unit design. Currently she operates her own consulting business with business, educational, and non-profit clients.