by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Laurie Conzemius, the media specialist at Pine Meadow Elementary School, has been appointed to the board of the International Society for Technology in Education.
ISTE is a membership association for teachers and education leaders who use technology in the educational process. There are about 5,000 members worldwide. Conzemius, one of three new people appointed to the board, will take her seat on the board this month in San Diego. There are 24 people serving on the board.
Previously, Conzemius had served for three years on a sub-group of ISTE dealing with special-interest groups fo media specialists.
Conzemius and other board members will meet at least twice annually and stay in touch through electronic media.
“I’m hoping to be able to listen and learn,” she said. “I love to work with professional development in training teachers. They have a lot to do and cannot always meet face to face. When they can’t meet face to face, we can set them up with Webinars and other forms of online training.”
Conzemius has already met her mentor through a Skype visit. The mentor is the assistant superintendent for technology at the Indiana Department of Education.
As a media specialist, Conzemius is keenly aware of how education, long based on book-learning, now involves a dazzling variety of computerized technologies such as iPads, Skype and even cell phones. However, Conzemius still has a strong faith in the printed word.
When asked if libraries will become obsolete, Conzemius was quick to answer.
“Technologies are making things so portable,” she said. “Resources can go anywhere. But we still need a place (libraries) where people can gather with experts to help them find those resources. There may be different forms of it (besides books), but the printed word will never go out of style.”
Born in Alexandria, Conzemius graduated from Jefferson High School in that city. She graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, then earned a master’s degree in information media from St. Cloud State University. She has been a media specialist in the Sartell-St. Stephen School District for eight years. Before that, she was a media specialist in Park Rapids.
She moved to Sartell when her husband, Tom, was offered a position as activities director at Sauk Rapids High School.
Conzemius is excited about meeting other media specialists on the ISTE Board.
“I love learning,” she said.