Austin, Texas: TCEA is proud to announce that Crystal Fuentes will serve on the organization’s Board of Directors in the newly updated role of membership and records chair for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Fuentes officially took office on April 1, 2025, and will continue her duties at the Board’s first meeting of the new year on April 11.

Fuentes has spent more than a decade serving as a classroom teacher, as well as an instructional technology coordinator, new teacher mentor coordinator, and district testing
coordinator. As a bilingual educator, she has played a key role in delivering multifaceted mentorship and guidance for students and other educators, alike.

Fuentes has served the Clint Independent School District since August of 2014, and remains dedicated to helping not just those in her community, but all of TCEA’s members, integrate technology into their teaching and learning.

“This year’s board is a dynamic one. Each individual is well known in their own field and brings a wealth of prior achievements and expertise. They are truly focused on the needs of our members and how TCEA can better serve them,” said Lori Gracey, executive director of TCEA.

TCEA proudly celebrates the achievements of Crystal Fuentes and welcomes her back for another year of advancing teaching and learning through the use of technology.

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Austin, Texas: TCEA is proud to announce that Cori Coburn has been appointed to the role of president-elect and will serve as the Board of Directors’ vice president for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Having been elected in the fall of 2024, Coburn officially took office on April 1, 2025, and will begin performing the duties of vice president at the Board’s first meeting of the new year on April 11.

Coburn joined the TCEA Board of Directors in April of 2018 as an area director, and has served the organization’s members faithfully since. With nearly two decades’ experience in the education technology industry, she brings a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing educators pertaining to digital learning. Coburn currently serves as the educational technology support manager at Austin Community College, where she helps collegiate educators navigate and integrate emerging technologies into
their teaching and professional development.

“This year’s board is a dynamic one. Each individual is well known in their own field and brings a wealth of prior achievements and expertise. They are truly focused on the needs of our members and how TCEA can better serve them,” said Lori Gracey, executive director of TCEA.

TCEA proudly celebrates the achievements of Cori Coburn and welcomes her back for another year of advancing teaching and learning through the use of technology.

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Austin, Texas: TCEA is proud to announce that Dr. Cynthia Sosa has been appointed president of the organization’s esteemed Board of Directors. Dr. Sosa officially took office on April 1, 2025, and will begin her duties at the Board’s first meeting of the new year on April 11.

Dr. Sosa brings a wealth of experience to TCEA, having served as a teacher, trainer, instructional technology specialist, and higher education faculty member throughout her distinguished career. Dr. Sosa first joined the Board as an area director in April of 2020 and has faithfully served the organization’s network of 85,000 members ever since. 

“In the last few years, the Board of Directors has discussed at length its role, considering the growth TCEA has undergone with its content offerings and membership. We have shifted our priorities to now focus on governance, continuing to have discussions and take action to streamline it. This means updating policies, board member roles, and the nomination and election process,” explained Dr. Sosa.

She continued to say that, “This year, we will develop a strategic plan for the next 5 years, which will give direction to the Executive Director and staff… There are also other conversations that will transpire about the TCEA’s potential impact in the state, nation, and around the globe.”

As the board’s first Latina president from South Texas to take office, Dr. Sosa says that she is proud to serve TCEA’s membership in this new capacity. When reflecting on starting her sixth year on the board, she explained, “I am proud of the work we have accomplished to continue to steer TCEA towards success. I am honored to be in this position and do not take it lightly. I believe in contributing my skills and expertise to support TCEA’s continued growth and impact.”

“I am so excited about Dr. Sosa’s presidency,” said Lori Gracey, executive director of TCEA. “She brings a rich background in higher education and research that will fit in well with the organization’s focus on research-based instructional practices PreK-16. She is also well versed in how to build a strong team to solve potential challenges — it’s going to be a great year for TCEA!”

Please join us in congratulating the 2025 Board of Directors president, Dr. Cynthia Sosa, and in welcoming her back for another year of advancing teaching and learning through the use of technology.

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Austin, Texas: TCEA has officially welcomed its 2025 Board of Directors and will host its first meeting of the 2025 fiscal year at the TCEA World Headquarters this April 11. The current board includes 19 professional educators who work on a volunteer basis to support TCEA’s membership and act as the organization’s governing body. This group includes and is led by five directors who make up the executive committee.

This year’s Board of Directors also follows a new structure for the organization, with updated role descriptions for each of the executive committee’s members and without the title of “area directors”. This change was passed in a vote held in late 2024. 

“With the past year spent on improving TCEA’s board governance model, the board of directors is perfectly set to lead the organization into 2030 and beyond. The board members are strong individually in education, leadership, collaboration, and strategic planning,” says TCEA Executive Director Lori Gracey.

TCEA is pleased to introduce board members selected to begin or continue their service starting April 1, 2025. These individuals will lead TCEA as it continues to advance teaching and learning through technology and better serve the needs of our 85,000 members.

2025-2026 Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Dr. Cynthia L. Sosa – President

Cori Coburn – Vice President

Dr. Brian Brown – Past-President

Crystal Fuentes – Membership and Records Chair

Mark Patrick – Finance Chair

Board Members

Alyssa Butler

Dr. Lydia Croupe

Sarah Henderson

Luke Hurst

Jennifer Krnavek

Bill Long

Jessica Mays

Meredith McCune

Dr. Sheryl Roehl

Don Sewell

Tessa Stow

Wacey Tobler

Jacki Wright

Justin Yepez

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The purpose of this course is to familiarize teachers with the newly structured Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TA TEKS) for students in grades 6-8. This course aims to equip educators with the knowledge and tools necessary to integrate these standards effectively into their teaching practices.

Throughout the course, participants will engage with a detailed learner profile for grades 6-8 students, emphasizing their common interests, learning characteristics, and key developmental milestones. This insight will serve as a foundation for exploring how to weave the TA TEKS into core subject areas, creating a seamless integration of technology applications with traditional content areas. Teachers will have the opportunity to review and discuss various lesson plans and activities designed to foster crossover learning. These resources will not only cover the content area standards but also incorporate the technology application standards, ensuring a comprehensive educational experience for students. Teachers will also review relevant assessment strategies that are applicable to grades 6-8 students regardless of how the TA TEKS are deployed at their campus. Formative assessments, rubrics, choice boards, and more will be covered to help educators build confidence in their ability to effectively guide students to mastery in the new TA TEKS. By the end of this course, educators will be well-prepared to enhance their teaching methodologies with the inclusion of essential technology skills, fostering a more engaging and effective learning environment for their young learners.

Why Learn with TCEA?

• Our courses are streamlined for efficient and lasting learning. 
• We share ideas and resources that you won’t be able to find anywhere else.
• We also offer ideas and techniques based on years of experience in professional development, integrating educator feedback to always meet the needs of course participants.

Self-Paced, Online Course

This course is a self-paced, online program. Participants can begin anytime and go at their own speed throughout the program.

Upon enrollment, you will receive a program invitation email from TCEA’s learning management system that will give you access to the self-paced course. Within the course, you will find modules that must be moved through in sequential order.

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The Claude AI for Educators course is a game-changer. It’s fast-paced and packed with practical skills. You’ll master prompt engineering. Create killer lesson plans. Craft precise rubrics. Design spot-on assessments.

Learn to use Claude for writing and resume updates. Analyze documents like a pro. Generate Plotly.js, JS-based presentations, and Mermaid diagrams effortlessly. Use Claude’s Projects and Artifacts features (and publishing).

Understand AI age restrictions and policies. Teach students responsible AI use. Build AI-integrated lessons that spark engagement.

Explore Claude’s advanced features. Compare it to other AI tools. Choose the right tech for every teaching scenario.

This course is your ticket to the cutting edge of EdTech. Short. Sweet. Powerful. Ready to revolutionize your classroom? 

NOTE: Claude offers its feature set for free but is limited in use. Purchasing a subscription ($20 a month) is strongly recommended to get the full benefit of this course. Subscription to Claude Pro is NOT included in the cost of this course.

Why Learn with TCEA?

• Our courses are streamlined for efficient and lasting learning. 
• We share ideas and resources that you won’t be able to find anywhere else.
• We also offer ideas and techniques based on years of experience in professional development, integrating educator feedback to always meet the needs of course participants.

Self-Paced, Online Course

Claude AI for Educators is a self-paced, online program. Participants can begin anytime and go at their own speed throughout the program.

Upon enrollment, you will receive a program invitation email from TCEA’s learning management system that will give you access to the self-paced course. Within the course, you will find modules that must be moved through in sequential order. The modules can be found below.

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Austin, Texas:  The Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) proudly welcomes Bill Long to its esteemed board of directors as the new TCEA Director of Areas 15 and 18. Long, currently serving as the director of technology and cybersecurity coordinator at Harper ISD, brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his new role. Stepping into his 2-year term, he joins 21 peers to support TCEA’s mission of advancing teaching and learning through technology.

With 18 years of experience as a technology director in PreK-12 education and over 30 years in IT, Long brings a unique blend of expertise to the TCEA Board of Directors. In addition to a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and a Master of Education in Learning and Technology, his extensive list of certifications, including Microsoft MCSE, MTA, CompTIA Linux+, Project+, Security+, and Network+, underscores his dedication to staying at the forefront of technological advancements. 

Recognized for his strengths in technology, networking, and cybersecurity, Long is poised to make significant contributions to TCEA’s mission of empowering educators to integrate technology effectively in teaching and learning. Reflecting on his appointment, Long shared his thoughts, stating, “Two critical skills for our youth today are ‘out-of-the-box thinking’ and ‘information validation.’ Technology can give you the answers, the question is how to use them.” This sentiment emphasizes his commitment to fostering critical thinking and digital literacy among students. 

Long is involved with TCEA as an active member and has served in various capacities, including as a former Special Interest Group (SIG) member and SIG president.  Executive Director of TCEA, Lori Gracey, expressed enthusiasm about Long’s addition to the board, stating, “We are thrilled to welcome Bill to the TCEA Board of Directors. His extensive experience in education technology and cybersecurity will undoubtedly enrich our efforts to support educators. Bill’s passion for empowering students with the skills they need to thrive in a digital age aligns perfectly with TCEA’s mission.”

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