Iowa Public Television

Michelle Ahrenholtz
Hello! I am Michelle Ahrenholtz and my husband and I live on a farm in Denison, Iowa with our 5 children -- Michaela is 8, Zachary is 7, Jonah is 6, Joshua is 4 and Emma is 1. I just went back to teaching Kindergarten this year, 2006-2007, after being home raising the children. Before I stayed home, I was a Kindergarten teacher, preschool director/teacher and music teacher over the course of 8 years. I graduated from Buena Vista University with a BA in K-6 Education, a minor in music and my Reading Endorsement. I also received my Early Childhood Endorsement later from Morningside College. While I stayed home, I taught private music lessons on the piano, violin and viola. I also worked with TeacherLine, taking and facilitating courses since 2001.I love what TeacherLine has to offer teachers!

Mary Carpenter
Falling into the world of technology, Mary Carpenter developed a passion for finding ways to deliver content in a way to create curiosity and motivation. She is most recently an Instructional Systems Designer with UNITECH, Inc. Her primary responsibility is to design Multimedia Interactive Media based courses for clients. She has been in the education world for 15 years with a passion for technology. She has a Bachelor's of Elementary Education from Iowa State University and a Masters of Art in General Education with an emphasis in Technology from Viterbo University. Since leaving the public school arena in 2000, Mary has pioneered Web-based learning at two organizations. The first was to introduce online learning opportunities to Iowa teachers across the state, eliminating the need to travel and attend a face-to-face course as a Utilization Specialist for the public television station. At Farm Bureau Financial Services, Mary rolled out the Learning Management System for a geographically dispersed sales force. The training opportunities numbered over 120, all of which Mary designed with the assistance of a quality control specialist, subject matter experts and a graphics designer. Part of a larger plan, the online components were delivered to a fifteen state territory leveraging a variety of technologies including an HTML template; LMS software; and CD-ROMs containing video and full motion tutorials. Online learning has become Mary’s preferred way to learn since it is convenient, manageable, and accessible 24/7/365.

Tina DeYoung
I am Tina DeYoung. I have taught music at all grade levels, and I have taught in the elementary classes. I especially loved 2nd and 4th grade. I am currently working with an organization that provides assistance for those individuals with mental and physical disabilities. I manage staff in the department for severe and profound disabilities. I have been facilitating the Teaching Reading Across the Content Areas course for a few years now, and enjoy helping teachers find new ways to use reading in all of the content areas.

I took my first online learning course in 1991 with a mostly text based interface. It was a lot different than what we see now and I hope you find our learning environment user-friendly. I will be your online facilitator for the next few weeks. Please do not hesitate to ask for help or clarification. The world of online learning can be overwhelming at times and I would like to make your experience as positive and productive as possible. I look forward to working with you.

Personal info:
I live on acreage near Ames, IA with my husband, Brian, and three children Emily, Caitlin, and Ethan. Our official pets include a black lab named Smoky, two cats and a beta. Unofficially, any bug, toad or snake that gets caught is adopted for a short time. We love being outdoors and Iowa provides us with a variety of weather to experience. In my spare time, I enjoy doing crafts of any kind and gardening. I have learned a semi-lost art of tatting which is a form of lace making. I also love to read science fiction, historical based novels and mysteries.

Theresa Presley
Theresa Presley grew up in Oconto Falls, Wisconsin, which is 30 miles north of Green Bay.
She spent her childhood doing many outdoor recreation activities, including ice skating, snowmobiling, ice fishing, camping, boating, and swimming. After receiving a B.A. in Music Education and Music Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1986, she taught instrumental music in Wisconsin and Missouri for four years. Then she became interested in special education and completed the Master of Education program at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, in 1996. Theresa taught in a high school special education resource program for seven years in two districts in Iowa. Since 1999, she has been a Special Education Consultant for Heartland Area Education Agency 11 through the Ames Office and serves the Madrid District and Ballard Jr/Sr High School. Theresa is a certified Professional Developer for KU Learning Strategies, and a TeacherLine Online Facilitator.

Currently Theresa lives in Nevada, Iowa, with her husband, Wade, who is the high school band director at Nevada High School. Their daughter is in the 9th grade. Theresa enjoys attending theater productions and symphony concerts. She is involved in music by playing trombone in the Central Iowa Wind Ensemble and summer municipal bands.

Diane Royer
Diane Royer is a middle school math teacher at IKM (Irwin-Kirkman-Manilla) in Manilla, Iowa. Diane began facilitating TeacherLine courses in 2002. Beginning in 2003, Diane has presented math sessions for the annual Iowa Council of Teachers of Mathematics Winter Conference, and at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Regional Conference in Chicago in 2006. As a past recipient of the Golden Apple Award, and an Iowa finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, Diane demonstrates her passion for education.