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Winter 2010

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Winter 2010 - Cover Story

Schools of the Future



Debbie Yoshino ’84 has joined ‘Iolani as the information technology instructional coordinator.

Debbie Yoshino ’84

Information Technology Instructional Coordinator

Debbie Yoshino ’84 received a Bachelors in Mathematics & Computational Sciences and a Masters in Computer Science from Stanford University. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Hawaii. Debbie began her career at a local corporation working in numerous positions including one in e-business development. She then started a consulting company which helped schools with strategic planning and curriculum development. She and her husband, Kevin, founded DREAM Team Hawaii, Inc., a nonprofit organization that introduces entrepreneurship and financial literacy to at-risk youth. Most recently, she was a stay-at-home wife and mom to four-year-old Preston.  Debbie served as President of the Iolani Alumni Association and was a Pacific Century Fellow. She enjoys serving in her church’s youth ministry as well as teaching aerobics, and is a certified group exercise instructor and personal trainer.

‘Iolani School is one of 20 schools to recently receive Hawaii Community Foundation grants to fund educational technology and participate in the Schools of the Future program.

The grant supports a school portal and the addition of an instructional technology coordinator. ‘Iolani will receive $70,000 per year for two years and may renew the funding for three additional years.

“We are preparing our students for the challenges that they face in the 21st century while bringing innovation to our established educational curriculums,” says Director of Studies Deborah Hall.

Teachers are planning to conduct pilot programs using technology to enhance their classes. For instance, students enrolled in Chemistry in the Community and Concept Physics may work on semester projects that solve real world problems and utilize web-based tools.

This past fall, Hall and new instructional technology coordinator Debbie Yoshino ’84, along with representatives from other Schools of the Future, visited High Tech High in San Diego, California. The group plans to meet regularly over the next several years to share and discuss issues and applications.

“‘Iolani students are already adept at gathering a lot of information and processing it well,” Hall adds. “The aim is to ensure they are even better prepared to apply real world problem- solving skills to a variety of situations.”

Enhancing Curriculum with Information Technology

Debbie Yoshino ’84 recently joined the faculty and staff of ‘Iolani as the new information technology instructional coordinator. Yoshino received a bachelor’s in mathematics and computational sciences and a master’s in computer science from Stanford University. She also earned a master of Business Administration from the University of Hawai‘i.  She began her career at a local corporation working in several positions including e-business development. She then started a consulting company which helped schools with strategic planning and curriculum development. She and her husband, Kevin, founded DREAM Team Hawaii, Inc., a nonprofit organization that introduces entrepreneurship and financial literacy to at-risk youths. She also served as president of the ‘Iolani Alumni Association and was a Pacific Century Fellow. She serves in her church's youth ministry as well as teaches aerobics. She and her husband have a four-year-old son Preston.

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