SOOC
4Learning
T: 1-800-000-0000
Small-Open-Online-Courses
The Team
We're more than the sum of our parts. We have key people with experience in higher education, accessibility, K-12, programming, online environments, business and professional learning. By combining our unique experiences and skills, we bring districts powerful professional learning communities that engage learners and help transform practice, purposefully integrate technology and support all learners.
Kendra Grant - Co-Founder & CEO
Kendra is uniquely qualified to lead the company with experience in K-12 education, business and EdTech start-ups. She know what it takes to make a successful company and has experience building pipelines, marketing product and working with districts both small and large in an agile environment. She is a 30-year veteran K-12 classroom teacher, Special Education district consultant (AT, IEPs) and administrator, with more than 15 years experience supporting large-scale technology implementation through the design and delivery of blended professional learning. She directed the educational design and focus of Sublime Learning as its CoFounder and Chief Education Officer. Kendra conceived and designed Sublime’s award winning product, eTeachables, video based teacher professional learning. Last year she sold Sublime Learning, and continues to support Sublime Learning as an advisor while expanding her work in the eLearning field, leading the development of online resources and apps for both business and education. Kendra wrote a series of articles articles related to the use and implementation of Inclusive Technology published by Dave Edyburn (Special Education Technology Practice). She is currently the President Elect for the Inclusive Learning Network and a volunteer advisor at MaRS Discovery District, working with a variety of startups in the EdTech industry.
Betsy Dalton - Co-Founder & Chief Learning Officer
Dr. Dalton directs special programs and grant development at TechACCESS of RI. Prior to this, she was Assistant Professor of Special Education at Rhode Island College, and Coordinator of Assistive Technology and UDL for the Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities. A postdoctoral fellow in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) & Leadership at Boston College and CAST, Inc (1/201012/2010), she earned her PhD in Education at the University of Rhode Island (2009), receiving the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in Education Award of Kappa Delta Pi (RI) for “The Relationship between Assistive Technology State Standards for Teachers, Assistive Technology Implementation, and Student Performance in the Context of Evidence based Practice”. Dr. Dalton implemented the RI UDL Workgroup in 2005, a collaboration of higher education professionals across RI, developing training, materials, and resources for UDL implementation. She presents regularly on UDL and technology integration, as well as digital literacy, both nationally, and internationally. Dr. Dalton is current past president of the Inclusive Learning Network (formerly SETSIG) of ISTE, and serves on editorial boards of the Journal of Research on Technology in Education (ISTE) and Journal of the International Society for Technology in Education (IASE). Prior experiences include counselor/advisor for nontraditional students at the community college level, various special education positions in RI public schools, and teaching at a Montessori school.
Luis Pérez - Co-Founder & Chief Accessibility Officer
As someone who has a visual disability, Luis has experienced firsthand how technology can improve the lives of people with disabilities in a positive and meaningful way. He now shares his personal experience and expertise in the field of inclusive design as a consultant, speaker and author. He is the author of Mobile Learning for All: Supporting Accessibility with the iPad, from Corwin Press, and his work has appeared in publications such as Journal of Special Education Technology, Teaching Exceptional Children, Closing the Gap Solutions, THE Journal and The Loop Magazine. Luis earned his doctorate in special education from the University of South Florida, and in 2009 he was named an Apple Distinguished Educator. He is currently on
the Advisory Board for the ADE program in the U.S. and presents nationally and internationally. Luis is the current Chair of Professional Learning for the Inclusive Learning Network of ISTE. In addition to his passion for technology, Luis is an avid amateur photographer.
Josh Hoover - Chief Technology Officer
Josh is the co-founder of the award-winning social learning platform Saywire™ and innovator in the social learning arena. Saywire is a core R5S partner. As the primary architect of the platform, he’s been involved with the online side of social learning since 2005. Since then his career has evolved into a passionate devotion to studying the learning process and designing tools to make it easier, safer, and increasingly effective for teachers and students to work together online. His experience has afforded a unique perspective on the evolution of online learning and what is truly required to produce tools that can make a difference and help people safely share what they know. Saywire is the result of those experiences.
