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Surry County Schools' Digital Quest Design Team |
EPIC Academy was initially created by Lucas Gillispie, Director of Academic and Digital Learning for Surry County Schools. After a successful pilot program in 2015 the program began to expand. Today, with funding from a NC Digital Learning Initiative Grant, Lucas has assembled a super-hero team of quest designers to create even more engaging, quest-based digital learning for the district and beyond. These professionals are innovative leaders locally, state-wide, and around the world! Connect with them and grow your PLN!
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Stephanie Bode (Mentor)
Stephanie Bode is currently the Digital Learning and Media Innovation Facilitator at Dobson Elementary. She has been working for Surry County Schools since January of 2000. In that time she has taught 3rd, 4th and 5th grades before moving to the media center. Stephanie served as Dobson Elementary’s teacher of the year in 2002-2003. She received her B.S. in Elementary Education from Appalachian State University in December of 1999 and finished her M.S. in Library Science from East Carolina University in May of 2005. She has presented multiple times at NCTIES and NCSLMA. This year she is part of the NCDLCN coaching network through the Friday Institute. She is an Epic Academy member, mentor and content creator. One of her favorite things about education is forming lasting relationships with her students and seeing the excitement in their eyes when new technology tools are incorporated in lessons to help teachers better instill key concepts with their students. On Twitter - @chiefarocka |
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Jessica Dunlap
Jessica Dunlap is a North Carolina Educator who teaches in the Surry County School System. She began her career in Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, teaching first grade and quickly realized that her heart belonged in Elementary Special Education. She has been following her dream for 12 years. She is constantly searching for new and inventive ways to help students reach their fullest potential and tries to stay abreast of research and uses that knowledge to better herself in the classroom. She is the wife of a graphic designer with two beautiful children. Her hobbies include reading, playing games with her family, and working puzzles. On Twitter - @J_Dunlap83 |
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Tonya Fletcher (Mentor)
Tonya Fletcher is the Digital Learning and Media Innovation Facilitator at Franklin Elementary School in Mount Airy, North Carolina. She serves as a Creativity Consultant for the Imagination Foundation and leads an Imagination Chapter where the focus is on creativity, entrepreneurship, and 21st century skills. Tonya is a North Carolina Teaching Fellow, DonorsChoose.org National Teacher Ambassador, and member of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. Find her online at genimagination.blogspot.com and twitter.com/tonya_nc where she loves to share ideas related to children’s literature, educational technology, the maker movement, global connections, and service to others. On Twitter - @tonya_nc |
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Lucas Gillispie
Lucas Gillispie is Director of Academic and Digital Learning for Surry County Schools in North Carolina. A passionate gamer and educator, Lucas explores the intersection of games and learning. He is the creator of the WoWinSchool Project, exploring the educational potential of online games like World of Warcraft with middle schoolers, was one of the earliest pioneers to bring Minecraft into classrooms, and is working to build game-inspired professional development for teachers in his district through his EPIC Academy program. He shares gaming resources with educators and even makes an occasional blog post at: http://www.edurealms.com. On Twitter - @lucasgillispie |
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Summer Kreeger (Mentor)
Summer Kreeger is a 5th grade teacher at Shoals Elementary School in Surry County, NC. A teacher leader and passionate educator, Summer serves as the Digital Learning Leader and School Based Technician for her school and she is a certified Thinking Maps Trainer for Surry County Schools. She has a Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology from Appalachian State University. She is committed to making learning exciting, but also rigorous, challenging students to get outside their comfort zone. She is an active member of EPIC Academy, where she is known as oppositeofwinter and she recently became a mentor to a group of new participants. Summer is a wife and proud mother of two adorable children. Her hobbies include indoor cycling, reading to her kids, and crafting. She shares information about her lessons and teaching experiences on her blog, Pray, Teach, Repeat. On Twitter: @SKreeger406 |
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Kelly Mayes
Kelly Mayes is a 4th grade teacher at Dobson Elementary School in Surry County, North Carolina. After earning her Bachelor’s in Elementary Education at East Tennessee State University, she moved to the Surry County area, and has been teaching for 10 years. As a teacher leader, Kelly is the School Improvement Team chair, Faculty Advisory Committee chair, PLC leader, and a CRISS trainer for Surry County Schools. Kelly is passionate about helping both students and teachers feel a sense of community while teaching problem solving skills that will help them in the future. She is also an advocate for technology in the classroom, as she participates in the EPIC Academy and has recently begun designing new content. You can connect with her by checking out her blog, A-Mayes-ing Days. On Twitter - @mayesk33 |
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Alicia Ray (Mentor)
Alicia Ray has been an educator since 2006, working as a fifth grade teacher for seven years, transitioning to media coordinator in an elementary school, and now in the second year of piloting a new position in our district, Lead Digital Learning and Media Innovation Facilitator. She currently works at Meadowview Magnet Middle School in the Surry County Schools system. Alicia earned her B.S. in Elementary Education from Appalachian State University and holds a Master of Library Science, as well as a M.A. in Education in Instructional Technology from East Carolina University. Her passions include infusing technology into education seamlessly and effectively and building positive relationships with students and teachers. She is particularly interested in virtual reality, gamification and game-based learning, BreakoutEDU as well as blended environments and flexible learning spaces in a middle school. Alicia enjoys co-teaching lessons that engage and empower students and teachers to fail forward. She serves as a mentor for NCDLCN, Future Ready Instructional Coach Thought Leader, and is a frequent presenter at NCTIES and NCCAT. She blogs periodically at aliciaray.com. On Twitter - @iluveducating |
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Paula Sigmon
Paula Sigmon is currently a 2nd grade teacher for Surry County Schools. Paula has been teaching for over 25 years and considers teaching her “calling” from God. She holds a B.S. in Elementary Education/Special Education and a M.S. in Counseling. Paula serves as a Mentor Teacher, Kagan Coach, Digital Learning Leader, and On-Site Technology technician. She is involved with the Writing Task Force team for Surry County Schools. Paula is a Seesaw Ambassador and EdPuzzle Coach. Paula also served as Teacher of the Year for Pilot Mountain Elementary School during the 2014-2015 school year. On Twitter - @PaulaSigmon |
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Christy Snow
Christy Snow is a Media Coordinator at Central Middle School in Surry County. She is a leader in her school who serves as the Digital Learning Leader and School Based Technician. She has a Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology and Library Science from Appalachian State University. Christy strives to maintain a high level of collaboration while enjoying the joys of teaching. She is a member of EPIC Academy and a quest designer. She is a wife and has one beautiful 18 year old daughter. She is active in her church and loves to plan youth events. On Twitter - @ChristySnow1 |
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Ashley Talbott
Ashley Talbott is a Kindergarten teacher at Cedar Ridge Elementary School. She has been employed with Surry County Schools in North Carolina for 6 years. She started her teaching career as a Computer Lab TA. She transitioned to a 2nd grade teacher at Copeland Elementary then transferred to Cedar Ridge as a Kindergarten teacher. Ashley is passionate about educating the lives of her students. Mrs. Talbott loves incorporating technology into her teaching. Her students love to work with Robots, Coding, Legos, Osmos, and much more! Mrs. Talbott loves to educate herself and bring new opportunities to her students. On Twitter - @talbotta0803 |
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Anya Tilley-Martin (Mentor)
Anya Tilley-Martin is a science educator at Surry Central High School, for Surry County Schools in North Carolina. In addition to teaching in the classroom she is a district Thinking Maps trainer, an EPIC Academy program member and mentor, as well as a quest designer for the EPIC academyAnya also teaches online for the Surry Virtual Academy. She loves teaching high school science, but equally enjoys helping other educators continue to be lifelong learners. On Twitter - @tilleymartin |
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Past Quest Designers
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Rebecca Bennett
Rebecca Bennett is a #futureready elementary library media specialist at Knox County Schools in Knoxville, TN. She previously served as digital learning leader and media coordinator for Surry County Schools in North Carolina. She is passionate about empowering students to take charge of their own learning. Rebecca is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a Masters of Education in Instructional Technology. She enjoys photography, traveling with her family and exploring the nearby Smokey Mountains. |
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Becky Critz
Becky Critz served as a secondary science educator at North Surry High School (her alma mater) in North Carolina. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and her graduate degree in Biology at Clemson University. During her tenure, Becky also served as both a district Curriculum Leader in secondary science and as a Digital Learning Leader, providing technology integration support for her Greyhound colleagues. She's also a proud mother of two! On Twitter - @bcritz129 |
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EPIC Academy by http://epicacademy.info is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. All quests designed by the teachers leaders of Surry County Schools, NC.
