Nicol R. Howard & Sarah Thomas

Nicol R. Howard, PhD, is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning. She previously taught educational technology and research methods courses in the College of Educational Studies at Chapman University. Howard has also worked as a research assistant in the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA. In addition to her experience in higher education, she has taught at the high school level (including special education) and grades K through 4. She was also a program specialist in personalized and blended learning in the Santa Ana Unified School District. Throughout her years in education, she has facilitated multiple courses and professional learning opportunities for new and veteran teachers related to STEM education, educational technology, learning theories, and research methods.

Sarah Thomas is a regional technology coordinator in Prince Georges County, Maryland, and doctoral candidate at George Mason University. While she is passionate about best practices, such as flipped and blended learning and gamification, her passion has expanded to helping educators connect globally. This is the rationale behind her EduMatch project, which was founded in September 2014. The project belongs to all EduMatchers, and together they have grown it to include Voxer, guest blogging, and a weekly Twitter chat/podcast. Sarah loves to connect with other educators, because she strongly believes that we are all experts at something and can learn so much from each other.