ABOUT US | Founder and President
EdTech Associates was established by Kathleen H.
McClaskey, M.Ed., a well-respected and recognized professional and
innovative leader in educational technology. Kathleen has almost
three decades of experience in educational technology with a firm
philosophy that technology is a tool that can improve teaching and
learning. In her long career, she has been a computer teacher,
technology integration specialist, K-12 technology director and
graduate instructor for in online and onsite technology courses.
Kathleen is a frequent international, national and regional workshop
presenter on topics that include Technology for Diverse Learners,
Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Moodle and the 21st Century
Classroom, Math and Technology: Bringing Research to Practice, The
Role of Technology to Improve Literacy Outcomes for All Students
and Utilizing Interactive Whiteboards in Group Instruction with
Autistic Students. In 2007, she was awarded a three-year NH Math
and Science Partnership grant for the “Science4All” project where
UDL principles were applied in teaching science. In 2009,
Kathleen designed and is directing the Tools for Learning Math
Intervention Project where tools are applied to UDL researched-based
instruction in math. In that year she was asked to design, train
and implement a district-wide Autism Spectrum Disorders program
where SmartBoards and interactive software would be used to engage
ASD students in group instruction. In late 2009, she became the
professional development director of three ARRA technology funded
projects in NH to create 21st Century Classrooms. Kathleen has
presented at ISTE 2010, NECC, CUE Conference, TRLD Conference,
IDA Conference, TCEA Conference, Christa McAuliffe Technology
Conferences, American Community Schools in Athens, Greece, Schools
Moving Up and ISTE TIP Webinars along with numerous state and
regional conferences.
Kathleen’s professional associations include ISTE (International
Society for Technology in Education) where she served as SETSIG
member-at-large from 2006-2010 and NHSTE (New Hampshire Society
for Technology in Education) where she has been a 25 year member
and currently serving on the NHSTE Board as the Advocacy Chair.
She also serves as the board chairperson for the Strong Foundations
Charter School - Board of Trustees where she has been a board
member since 2006.
Kathleen has a BA in Education from the University of Massachusetts
and a M.Ed. from Lesley College in Technology in Education.
A Story from the Founder
We all have a story to tell, and my story is
about my oldest son who found school difficult, especially when it
required reading and writing. As a toddler he was quite articulate,
engaging many adults with the stories he would tell. His nursery
school teacher remarked that she had never met a young boy who
could tell stories in such detail and with such expression. Who
was to know that he would enter first grade and not be able to
learn to read?
In 1986, whole language was the method that was used to teach
children how to read. I found out, years later, that this
methodology was detrimental for a child with dyslexia. Yes, I
ever had any educator tell me that he was dyslexic as this was a
medical diagnosis, one that educator could not address. In 1994,
I located a professional evaluator who ascertained that the language
difficulties my son had been having were due to a diagnosis of
dyslexia. You see, my son was never taught to read or write in public
school, and every word he seemed to know had been in printed form and
was memorized. It was in 7th grade when he could no longer memorize
multi-syllabic words, and he could no longer keep up with his
classmates. He depended on teachers and paraprofessionals to support
him at every level, gaining no independent learning skills for his
entire educational experience. He tells me now, years later, that
he felt “stupid” almost every day of his life in school; he always
felt bad that he could not learn how to read. As a consequence, he
turned to activities that made him feel important, ones that would
bring him into a different world than the one his father and I
wanted for him.
In 1995, my son went to a private school for dyslexics in the state
of New York, where he was finally taught how to read. At 16 years
old, he went from a 4th grade reading level to a 9th grade reading
level within a six month period, based upon the same evaluations
by the independent evaluator. Graduating in 1998, he left a reader
but had limited independent learning skills with equally limited
choices in a post secondary environment. (You need to understand
that many students who have difficulty in learning become
completely dependent on adults to support their learning.)
In 2003, I had a heart-to-heart talk with my son about his natural
abilities to engage people in conversation and to crunch numbers
mentally. He did not go to college but he is using his natural
abilities to make a living. Today, he is a successful car salesman
in Massachusetts.
My son is the reason I started this company in 2001. I knew that
there were millions of children, just like my son, in schools
throughout this country and beyond. Like my son, these children
have developed a poor self perception of themselves as learners
and they do not possess independent learning skills necessary to
have choices in postsecondary schools.
I ask every educator to reflect on the fact that the goal for
educating our children is to create “independent learners.” With
that in mind, consider how we can change our instructional methods
so that every learner will gain the independent learning skills
to be successful in school and in life.
Join me today in a vision that every child will realize their
hopes and dreams. Begin by “finding the heart of every child”
that you teach.