Member Bio

Lynn

Lynn Marentette

Website: http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com

School Psychologist

Union County Public Schools

Full bio

Early on, I was involved in art, music, and dance. As an adult, I gradually went digital, from drawing and painting to Illustrator, from film to Photoshop, from piano to MIDI/electronic keyboard. I never leave home without a means of taking photographs or video.

My enthusiasm about emerging technologies of all kinds was sparked when I visited Expo '67as a child with my family. To this day, I often find myself envisioning "what-if?”.

Regarding my education, as a young adult, I earned a double major psychology and social science from the University of Michigan. I went on to receive an M.A. in Educational Psychology and a Specialist of Arts (Sp.A.) in School Psychology, with additional training in clinical psychology/counseling and school guidance counseling.

When it comes to technology, I am a "kid in a candy shop". I returned to school in 2003 part-time to take computer courses. I wanted to learn how to make interactive educational multimedia games and applications for use on hand-held devices and interactive white boards. I took a variety of courses at a community college, and found that the more I learned, the more I wanted to know. I enjoy designing useful and usable interfaces and interactions, which is important when I work on small programming projects that benefit young people with special needs.

The graduate courses I've taken so far include computer music technology, information visualization, artificial intelligence for game design, virtual reality for training and education, distance learning & online communication, ubiquitous computing, human-computer interaction, and privacy & security from an HCI approach.

I am especially interested in off-the-desktop collaborative technologies, such as interactive displays with multi-user, multi-modal, and natural user interfaces. I’m interested in how people use the technologies they encounter when they are “out and about”, and how various technologies can inter-operate to support human-to-human and human-world interaction/experiences locally, and remotely.

I know that it is not common for a mid-career school psychologist to embrace another field of study, but to me, it makes sense. My experience working with high school students inspired my interest in serious games in education and also the use of games to expose students to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) concepts and career choices. My work with students with multiple challenges, including autism, inspired my interests in Universal Design for Learning, Universal Usability, accessibility, assistive technology, and multi-modal interfaces. I'd like to see accessible technology "everyware".

I started blogging as a requirement for a graduate course, and continued blogging to keep a multi-media journal of my journey into the world of technology. My blogs serve as my on-line filing cabinets, open to the world.

I would like to have time and financial resources to continue my studies, and work towards a PH.D the area of human-computer interaction and ubiquitous computing.

Due to the economic downturn, I returned to work full-time as a school psychologist. I provide limited freelance and consulting services in UX/Interaction Design/Universal Usability and instructional design.

In my free time, I like to travel, read, compose electronic ambient music, and dance around my house. I also enjoy my family, as I’m married to a great guy, and I’m the mother of two enchanting young adult daughters. I keep up with extended family members through Facebook and Skype.

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