Marthe Bijman is a writer, literature critic, and marketing communications specialist. She has worked extensively in the mining and information technology industries. She holds a BA degree, BA (Honors) in Literature, BA (Honors) in Journalism, HDipEd in Language Teaching, and an MA in Applied Linguistics and Literary Sciences. She publishes book reviews and analyses on her literary blog, http://www.sevencircumstances.com. Her blog on business writing and marketing is at http://www.red-pennant-communications.com. In collaboration with her husband, she is the author and designer of self-published photography as well as reference and poetry books, featured on http://www.blurb.com. South Africa-born, she now lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.
David Hopkins is an experienced and respected eLearning consultant at Warwick Business School. His work and research centers around the use of appropriate technology for, and with, students, both online and on-campus. From a background in commercial Internet technologies and online communities, he applies his knowledge and experience to eLearning pedagogy to bring effective and appropriate use of technology in effective learning experiences. His current interests and research are based around the use of mobile devices for online learning (for both campus and distance learners) and the use of social media and social networks for effective communication and collaboration between staff, students, and his peers. He is a regular blogger (http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk) on the aspects of learning technology, CMS/VLEs, social networks, and other aspects of the utilization of technology in a pedagogic environment. He started blogging about his experiences and activities in 2008, but has been an advocate of blogging and online communities from as far back as 1999, and his first role was of a web designer.
Prezi has long been David's passion, and he offers Prezi workshops to academic staff and students alike, enabling students to leave higher education ready for the modern office environment, giving them skills and knowledge to incorporate new technologies and new approaches to existing technology in the workplace.
J.J. Sylvia IV is a PhD student in the Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media program at North Carolina State University. He also has an MA in Philosophy from the University of Southern Mississippi and BA degrees in Philosophy and Communication from Mississippi State University. His experience spans the fields of business, education, and non-profits, which has given him the opportunity to develop a unique perspective on the way people use and engage with technology.
His primary research interests revolve around how datafication affects our understanding and our interactions with the world around us. He strives to create new ways of presenting and visualizing this data so that it is helpful and productive for Humanities and Social Sciences. Before graduate school, he managed paid advertising and marketing strategies for an e-commerce site and developed a social media outreach initiative for a non-profit organization. Most recently, he managed AmeriCorps interns who worked to integrate technology in the classroom and built a community around an educational outreach blog, http://www.PhilosophyMatters.org. He can also be found at http://www.jjsylvia.com.
J.J. has reviewed the book, Prezi Hotshot, Hedwyg van Groenendaal, Packt Publishing. He has published chapters in books such as Ethical Issues in E-Business, Daniel E. Palmer, Business Science Reference; Radiohead and Philosophy, Brandon W. Forbes and George A. Reisch; Doctor Who and Philosophy, Courtland Lewis and Paula Smithka; and Supervillains and Philosophy, Ben Dyer, all published by Open Court.