Meet Our Advisory Board: Dr. Jackie Gerstein

by | Apr 5, 2012 | Advisory Board | 0 comments

As our Powerful Learning Practice Network grows, we are doing some amazing things with communities of practice, e-learning, raising the voices of forward-looking practitioners, and more. With these and other PLP initiatives underway, we felt it was time to establish an advisory board to help us keep our work out on the edge of professional learning in the 21st century.

We’d like to introduce our advisory board to you, one by one, and so we’ve come up with seven questions for each of them so you can have a little peek into what they’re thinking and who they are.

Meet Dr. Jackie Gerstein, 2012-2013 Advisory Board Member

Jackie Gerstein

Jackie Gerstein, PLP Advisory Board Member

I’m Jackie Gerstein and my byline is “I don’t do teaching for a living, I live teaching as my doing . . . and technology has increase my passion for doing so.”

I am a lifelong learner, an experiential educator, an Easterner (Pennsylvania) who really is a Southwesterner (New Mexico), a potter, a dancer, a reader, a critic of institutionalized education, an Introvert (although most don’t believe it), and most of all, an advocate for kids.
I attempt to live a whole person lifestyle.  By this, I mean I attempt to live each day by actively engaging my mind, heart, spirit, and body.  I spend most mornings searching my social networks for key resources and articles to share with my professional learning network – best practices in education, suggestions for educational and education reform, and ideas for integrating technology into the classroom. The rest of my time is spent working on my online classes, hiking, dancing Zumba, and making ceramic pottery.

Why did you decide to become a part of the Advisory Board at Powerful Learning Practice?

The name, Powerful Learning Practice, was a motivator in and by itself.  Most importantly, though, the beliefs that drive PLP – http://plpnetwork.com/what-we-believe/ are closely aligned with my own.  So being apart this community is a privilege and an honor.

What are you up to professionally?

Professionally, I teach online educational technology and Master’s educational classes for Boise State, American InterContinental, Argosy, and Western Governors’ Universities.  My current areas of professional interest are The Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture Based on Experiential Learning Cycles and Experiential Mobile Learning.  I have been developing activities, blogging, and presenting on these topics for the past year.

If you had the power to make an immediate change to our educational system, what would you implement?

Since the age of 19, my sole wish has been to change the education system.  If I had the power to make an immediate and lasting change in the educational system, it would be to put the student at the center of learning rather than the standards and content.   Each learner would receive a personalized education where the support and resources would be provided for them to fully develop their interests, passions, and potential.

What is your favorite quote and what does it mean to you?

The two following quotes have a simple message which is that education and learning should be passion-based.
Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

~~ William Butler Yeats

There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

~~ Nelson Mandela

Where can people find you online?

I believe that one of the roles and responsibilities of the 21st century education is to share resources, ideas, and instructional strategies with other educators.  As such I can be found on:

Any final words?

For a near future event, I am presenting at the Mobile Learning Experience 2012 on April 12.  My topic is Experiential Mobile Learning – Here is my latest blog post about this event.  Another post that may be of interest, relates to an activity I did with students, The Equity Game: A Mobile Device-QR Code Driven Activity.

Are you ready to learn from Jackie Gerstein?  She will be teaching the following PLP eCourses starting this summer:

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Christen Dodd

Christen is a Connected Learning Specialist for PLP. After earning her MEd. in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Virginia, she began her career as a K-5 Computer Resource Teacher. She enjoyed collaborating with staff and creating technology lessons that engaged students, but caught “the bug” for presenting to educators on a national level. For eleven years, Christen trained educators both face-to-face and virtually with Verizon Thinkfinity. She also served as their Distance Learning Coordinator and Vice President of Professional Development. Christen has enjoyed working with Powerful Learning Practice since 2011 and continuing her work with educators, parents and students alike. Currently, she is also an instructional technology specialist at her children's JK-8 Catholic school.

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