Meet the Editors
Thor Gibbins is an Associate Professor at SUNY Oneonta and co-director of the Leatherstocking Writing Project. He is an associate editor for Educational Media International. His primary research interests are in digital and critical media literacies and how digital media may be employed by students and educators for inquiry into issues regarding social, ecological, and economic justice. He earned his doctorate at the University of Maryland, College Park. Before earning his doctorate, he was an adolescent literacy specialist and high school ELA teacher for the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, whose primary mission was to serve historically marginalized youth who have already dropped out of high school or were in the process of dropping out.
Ed Beck is an Instructional Designer at SUNY Oneonta. Some of his interests include the scaffolding of digital competencies across the curriculum, and the exploration, adoption, and creation of high quality open resources and tools. He is one of the co-founders of SUNY Create initiative that invites students to build a web presence using open source tools. He is co-editor of Chronicling a Crisis: SUNY Oneonta’s Pandemic Diaries. Past awards include the SUNY Faculty Advisory Council on Teaching and Technology Award for Excellence in Instructional Support and the Wells College President’s Award for Excellence.
Kjersti VanSlyke-Briggs is a Professor at SUNY Oneonta and is the chair of the Secondary Education and Educational Technology Department. She is a Past President of the New York State English Council and is a past editor of The English Record. Her primary research interests are in the intersection of literacy and social media as well as young adult literature. She is the co-editor of Dress Rehearsals for Gun Violence and A Relentless Threat – both collections examine school shootings in the United States. She was awarded her doctorate at Binghamton University. Her honors and awards include the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching.
Meet the Authors
Ann Fradkin-Hayslip is an associate professor within the Elementary Education & Reading Department at the State University of New York at Oneonta. She has spent nearly 30 years as a teacher in grades pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, in urban, rural, and suburban settings. Dr. Fradkin-Hayslip holds a doctoral degree in educational leadership from the University of Florida and a bachelor’s degree in juvenile justice from Hampshire College. Her research interests focus on teacher autonomy and equity in education and has led trips to Finland to observe classrooms that embody these qualities.
Loren Jones is Associate Clinical Professor and TESOL Certification Programs Coordinator in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership in the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her 2023 co-authored book titled Teaching young multilingual learners: Key issues and new insights, outlines culturally sustaining teaching practices that are critical for working with multilingual learners. Some of her other recent work has been published in TESOL Journal, The Teacher Educator, and Computers & Education.
Shannon M. Kane is an Assistant Clinical Professor in Teaching Learning, Policy, and Leadership at The University of Maryland, where her work focuses on literacy and teacher preparation/development. She began her career in international development, focusing on women and education, before joining the DC Teaching Fellows inaugural cohort. Dr. Kane has worked as a teacher in traditional public and public charter schools in Washington, DC. She has also worked as an instructional coach, curriculum writer, professional developer/consultant, school leader, teacher-researcher, and adjunct professor. Dr. Kane holds a doctorate in Reading, Writing & Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania and Master’s degrees in International Development and Elementary Education/TESOL. Her research interests include K-12 literacy instruction, including critical literacy; the development of elementary teachers as literacy practitioners; the influence of identity on literacy practices; classroom discourse and literacy development; and technology & literacy pedagogy/development.
Maria Cristina Montoya has been teaching at SUNY Oneonta for the last 24 years, she has a Ph.D in Linguistics from the State University of New York at Albany. As a native-born Colombian and later an immigrant child in the United States, she experienced two different programs for English Language Learners (ELLs), first a bilingual “pull out” program, and later an ESL full immersion approach. These personal experiences were her introduction into the field of teaching English as a second/new language and multiculturalism in the classroom. In addition to her own experience as an ELL and her professional practice, she is raising two children who are growing up bilingual and although not considered ELL at their school, they are heritage Spanish speakers with different experiences and needs. From different angles, Dr. Montoya is knowledgeable in the field of languages and specifically of the English language learners’ population.
Sarah Morris is a former high school English teacher and currently serves as Coordinator for Undergraduate Writing at West Virginia University. Morris’s current research focuses on composition pedagogy, Appalachian identity, and place-belonging. These research interests translate directly into classroom practice in her work with undergraduate writers, in teacher training in her role as program coordinator, and in her service work as co-director of the National Writing Project at West Virginia University (NWP@WVU).
Maggie Peterson is Associate Clinical Faculty at the University of Maryland and the Executive Director of the Maryland Initiative for Literacy and Equity, a joint project between the University of Maryland and Morgan State University in Baltimore. Her research is focused on teacher education and K-12 writing instruction in the teacher education space. She has conducted professional development for K-12 teachers, and taught preservice teachers for the past 10 years, centering literacy, writing and discussion as modes of learning.
Elyssa Stoddard is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education in the Department of Secondary Education and Educational Technology at SUNY Oneonta. Her scholarly interests include initial and on-going teacher education, teachers’ conceptions of doing, learning, and teaching mathematics, and mathematical practices. These interests are informed by her work with future and current teachers and her own experiences as a high school math teacher.
Nicole Waid is an assistant professor at SUNY Oneonta in Secondary Education and Educational Technology. Nicole’s main teaching focus is secondary social studies. Her research focus is social justice and addressing antisemitism on college campuses.
Illustrations and Artwork
Natalie Frank created the original illustrations of educators and theorists appearing throughout the book as a senior intern in the Faculty Center for Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship. She graduated from SUNY Oneonta in 2024 with a BFA in graphic design. Natalie currently works at Upstate Ink & Thread, a custom design company in Central New York.
Olivia MacGiffert is a junior graphic and web design major at SUNY Oneonta. She is hoping to work in the design world after she graduates. As an intern in the Faculty Center for Teaching, Learning and Scholarship, Olivia designed the book cover and original diagrams in the book.
