August 28, 2002

I have been asked to write a letter of support for Soterios Lallas' nomination for Internet Educator of 
the year.  I do so without reservation.  I believe Mr. Lallas is an excellent candidate for your award.

I have known Mr. Lallas for the past seven years.  During that time, he and I have become co-directors of the Western Wisconsin-Upper Michigan Junior Science & Humanities Symposium, colleagues in the preparation of pre-service teachers, and friends. As part of his duties for the Western Wisconsin-Upper Michigan JSHS, he took it upon himself to create a web page for our program.  It has served us well as a recruitment tool as well as a source of information for our participating teachers. In addition, Mr. Lallas has set-up an on-line discussion forum for our teachers via e-mail.  This has helped in the communication among our participants as  we cover such a large geographical area.

I also have the distinct pleasure of bringing my middle level/secondary pre-service science teachers out to Westby High School to be treated to an afternoon of Mr. Lallas.  He shares with them his drive for excellence in the use of educational technologies in his classroom.  My students leave class that night imagining what the possibilities are for their future classrooms regarding technology use.  Many of these students request to have Mr. Lallas as a cooperating teacher for their student teaching experience so they can have the opportunity to utilize technology in their teaching.  He not only touches the lives of his students in his use of technology, but also the lives of untold other students through his work with our pre-service program.

As the parent of a high school freshman, I sincerely appreciate the time and effort Mr. Lallas puts into keeping his website up to date with assignment information.  This assists parents in their work to support their son or daughter's learning. 

Thank you for the opportunity to write a letter of support for someone so deserving.  Please call me at (608) 785-8144 if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Judy Beck, Associate Professor
Department of Educational Studies
(608) 785-8144   beck.judy@uwlax.edu