Speaker: Karl Hakkarainen

In his three decades in IT, Karl has developed training and instructional materials for systems ranging form smartphones to mainframes. He is currently technology adviser for Worcester Institute for Senior Education (WISE). In addition to offering classes on educational technology, social networking, and the news business, he provides web, application, and mobile device support for WISE members.

He has been a manager, engineer, writer, and trainer for large corporations and as an independent consultant. He is a regular contributor to United Business Media technology blogs and to Worcester Connects. Karl holds a BA from Amherst College where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

His grandchildren still ask him for technical help.

Speaker: Bill Murphy

Bill is currently the Technology Center Manager at Quinnipiac University. He is responsible for the operation of the combined Help Desk and Media Services area on all 3 of QU’s Campuses and is in charge of the Student Worker Program. Bill has his Bachelors and Masters from Quinnipiac and has been working for QU since 2007.

Speaker: Lou Rinaldi

Lou Rinaldi wears several hats in the Academic IT Solutions unit of Yale ITS. In addition to serving as the unit's Applications Portfolio Manager, he is also the acting Manager of Instructional Systems Design, where he drives new solution development and oversees lifecycle management of existing systems. In this capacity, Lou leads the development team for Classes*v2, the University's primary learning management system built on the Sakai platform. The team's operations include the research and analysis of new technologies; user needs assessment, piloting new functional enhancements, stakeholder communications, quality assurance and troubleshooting, gathering of feedback, efficacy analysis, and other related activities. Finally, Lou's work as the unit's Usability Manager gives him the opportunity to conduct focus groups and one-on-one interviews with both students and faculty. Partnering with Instructional Systems Design's senior designer and instructional technologist, the seeds created by these conversations are nurtured to bear fruit in the form of modernized interfaces and improved user experience. Lou also convened the Yale Usability Community of Practice in an effort to bring together like-minded practitioners across campus for regular discussions and case studies.

Speaker: Jay Rozgonyi

Jay Rozgonyi is the Director of Academic Computing at Fairfield University as well as an instructor in the Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions there. He has more than 20 years of experience working in education, media, and technology, and holds an undergraduate degree in Media Studies as well as master's degrees in Library & Information Science and History. Jay's work in information technology has focused on bringing technology into the classroom as a tool to support learning, and has included extensive training, documentation creation, and faculty collaboration.