Jacquie KociubukJacquie Kociubuk is a doctoral student in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s iSchool Information Studies program. Her research is centered around children’s informal learning environments, playful learning, public library outreach, and social justice. Jacquie earned her MLIS/MEd from Kent State University and has worked throughout Ohio as a Children’s Librarian and K-12 Educator.
Amy Mueller
Amy Mueller is a doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Instruction – Design, Informal, and Creative Education and Multicultural Education. Amy is a former elementary educator as she taught 4K and later served as a K-5 technology teacher. Amy’s research is focused on the equitable use of educational technologies, family and school relationships, and the integration of informal learning environments within formal school environments at the elementary level. Her dissertation is based around the transition to online learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on elementary educators and families.
Megan Newcomb
Megan Newcomb is a student in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s online MA Library and Information Studies program. She lives in Virginia, where she works as a youth services specialist in a public library. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, she enjoyed planning escape room programs for teens and families, hosting weekly Baby Story Time (with the help of her ‘baby model,’ a stuffed sloth named Sylvester), and cracking the code to find the right reader’s advisory recommendation. When not at work, she enjoys playing video and board games, kayaking, creating pottery, and reading.
Dr. Peter Wardrip
Dr. Peter Wardrip is an Assistant Professor of STEAM Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research focuses on informal/formal learning collaborations, professional learning for educators, formative assessment and making as a learning process. Peter earned his PhD in Learning Sciences and Policy from University of Pittsburgh and is currently a visiting researcher with the University of Pittsburgh Center for Learning in Out of School Environments (UPCLOSE) and the Learning Media Design Center at Carnegie Mellon University. Peter enjoys playing soccer, euchre and drinking hot cocoa with his family.
Dr. Rebekah Willett
Dr. Rebekah Willett is an Associate Professor in the Information School at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has conducted research on children’s media cultures, focusing on issues of play, literacy, identity, and learning. Her publications include work on makerspaces, playground games, amateur camcorder cultures, online gaming, and children’s story writing. She has published in highly ranked peer-reviewed journals in the fields of education, childhood studies, media studies, and library and information science including Children & Society; Convergence; Learning, Media and Technology; Library Quarterly; and Media, Culture & Society. In addition, she has co-authored and/or edited five books and contributed to numerous edited books and encyclopedia projects.