About+the+Author

Boni's tenure as a professional educator has been eclectic, spanning from preschool (dabbling) through undergraduate education.
 * Student teaching in language arts at a suburban public high school in Minnesota where they were experimenting with an unusual block schedule (rotating six different day schedules)
 * Tutoring a dyslexic child in reading at an urban public elementary school with experimental materials
 * Teaching secondary language arts (grades 6-12) at a traditional public high school in a rural district where students at the elementary school were taught in an "open" school style
 * Tutoring a hard-of-hearing high school student in English while he simultaneously worked to control stuttering
 * Tutoring undergraduate students in writing
 * Teaching secondary language arts (grades 6-12) at a rural private boarding school for girls
 * Teaching secondary language arts at a private orthodox Jewish school for girls
 * Developing and teaching an art curriculum for an elementary school's volunteer art program
 * Teaching math in an elementary special education program in a suburban school
 * Teaching writing in a middle school gifted/talented program in a suburban school
 * Co-teaching technology integration with elementary teachers in a school computer lab and classrooms in suburban schools, including technology with preschoolers
 * Teaching math for low-performing math students in a suburban school
 * Partnering with teachers as the Assistant Director of Instructional Technology for a suburban school district
 * Serving as assistant principal for a suburban elementary school
 * Teaching preservice teachers reading, math methods, and assessment courses at a university
 * Providing technology integration coaching and workshops at a variety of urban, suburban, and rural schools

During the journey, Boni earned a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction (with endorsement as a K-12 principal) and a doctorate in Educational Studies with an emphasis on Elementary and a minor in Research. Boni is halfway through her second doctorate in education in an Urban Ecologies concentration with an emphasis on teaching multilingual students in urban settings.

Boni's involvement with computers began in the 1970s when her husband challenged her to learn to program. Although she aced the programming classes, computers were tools, not a fascination. She learned enough to begin a freelance writing career, and found that every time she was subbing in a school office or volunteering for an organization, people guided her to computer-based tasks. Eventually, she learned to be proficient with documents, spreadsheets, presentations, publishing, and other tools just for survival reasons. As an educator with elementary-level children, she developed her own instincts about how computers could/should be used with students. Enticed by an elementary principal, Boni began to try out her technology integration ideas with teachers at an elementary school that had 47 computers for 60+ faculty and 600 students. Her experiences led to her first book on technology integration: //IT's Elementary: Integrating Technology in the Primary Grades// (ISTE, 2007).

Outside of teaching and freelance writing, Boni worked for a cochlear implant company, where she wrote a client newsletter; answered online, telephone, and TTY questions for clients, providers, and journalists; and managed other marketing tasks. She also worked in the nonprofit sector for the green industry (plants), neighborhood associations, and health services sales reps. For the green industry, she wrote a regional plant guide. Her favorite job (and hardest!) was as stay-at-home mom for two children and a menagerie of animals.