Sharnell S. Jackson is the Chicago Public Schools Chief eLearning Officer and administrator of the Area VII Learning Technology Center for the Illinois State Board of Education. She has served as an educator and administrator for the past thirty-two years and was recently appointed to serve on Mayor Daley’s “Closing the Digital Divide” Advisory Council in Chicago. In addition, she leads an advisory council to revise and update the Chicago Public Schools District Technology Plan.
Sharnell works closely with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) to facilitate a Principal's Technology Leadership Institute (PTLI). Currently, there are seventy-seven new administrators involved in PTLI. The key components of the institute are the National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS-A), data-driven decision making competencies for learning and development, and professional development for administrators, teachers, and students in an effort to impact the teaching, learning, and leading that improve overall student achievement.
Sharnell currently serves on the CoSN Board, the advisory council for Cable in the Classroom, and is a participating member on the ISTE Policy and Advocacy Committee. She has received the NSTA Presidential Award for Science Teaching, Golden Apple Teaching Recognition and is the past president of the Illinois Computing Educators (ICE). Sharnell was also instrumental in refining the Illinois State Learning Standards for Earth and Space Science and has served as a member of the U.S. Department of Education’s Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) that has made her the recipient of numerous local, state, and national education awards.
Sharnell has earned three master’s degrees in education: Educational Leadership from Lewis University in Romeoville; Curriculum and Instruction from National Louis University in Evanston; and Mathematics, Science, and Instructional Technology from Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, the latter as part of a fellowship with NASA’s Classroom of the Future. Sharnell is currently a member of NASA’s Classroom of the Future Master Teacher Cadre.
Sharnell’s proudest accomplishment is being the mother of Jisun and Marty, grandmother of Daja, and wife of thirty-one years to her wonderful husband Martin Jackson. Mrs. Jackson is a true visionary in the area of Technology Integration in education.