Presenter+Bios

=Dr. Megan Salemi=

Dr.Salemi has enjoyed 10 years of teaching and learning from students. She currently teaches 5th grade at New Hope Christian Academy. Prior to her tenure at New Hope, she served as a special education teacher for the Memphis City School System. She worked at Hanley Elementary, A.B. Hill Elementary, and Geeter MIddle School as a resource teacher, working in both pull-out and inclusion settings.

Dr. Salemi vehemently resisted teaching as a profession after the long hours spent in her mother's classrooms and administrative offices before school, after school, and on weekends. After graduating from Rhodes College in Memphis with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and religious studies, she worked as a case manager for homeless women and children at Whitehaven Southwest Mental Health Center. She discovered that her greatest joy came from working with the children of the families affected by mental illness and homelessness. Consequently, she earned her teaching credentials from the University of Memphis in order to make a larger impact on children. She holds a Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.

She believes firmly that children and their educations are more than products to be measured by graduation and assessments. Although these measures are necessary and important, there is more to be gained and developed through teaching and learning. Her research in creativity showed that students can be taught to be more creative, that this increased creativity can be measured, and that it affects students' brain development and learning potential. Dr. Salemi is indebted to Lori Carter for mentoring her in teaching reading to students and for always having a great book at the ready for her own reading pleasure. Their collaboration has increased her integration of technology into teaching reading and developing critical readers.

=Mrs. Lori Carter=

Mrs. Carter currently serves as the Library Media / Technology Integration Director at New Hope Christian Academy. Over the past 10 years she has held positions as a fifth grade instructor, computer lab instructor and librarian at the school.

Mrs. Carter holds a Bachelor's Degree in Medical Technology from the University of Tennessee at Memphis. She earned her teaching credential from Christian Brothers University and completed her Master's Degree in Instructional Technology and Information Science from the University of Missouri - Columbia through the online degree program.

Mrs. Carter is an ardent bibliophile and loves to see her students develop a life-long love of reading and learning. After completing her own Master's Degree online, she became very excited about utilizing technology as a teaching tool and as a way to engage and create an excitement for learning in her own students. Combining her love of technology and reading has led her to explore additional ways that teachers can utilize technology as a teaching and learning tool in the literacy block. She is extremely fortunate and pleased to work with Dr. Salemi as we continue to explore the use of technology to enhance student creativity and critical thinking skills while instilling a love of reading and increasing comprehension and retention of printed text.