Ambassadeurs programma

Matthew Allen began to find his passion for education while serving in the United States Army, teaching classes on a variety of subjects like marksmanship and combat medicine.  While pursuing a degree in athletic training, Matthew discovered physical education as a passion and transitioned to achieving in that degree field.  He graduated from Towson University with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education in 2009.  He later went on to earn a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Pennsylvania State University in 2020.   

Matthew began his teaching career with the United States Department of Labor’s Job Corps program, teaching GED and High School Diploma courses.  In 2013, he became an elementary physical education teacher with Baltimore City Public Schools in Baltimore, MD.  He also serves as a teacher leader in the district’s Health and Physical Education professional development team, which develops, assists, facilitates, and teaches systemic professional development for the district’s Health and Physical Educators. 

 In 2021, Matthew was recognized with the Simon A. McNeely award by SHAPE Maryland for outstanding teaching and service in physical education.  In addition to teaching physical education, Matthew has coached high school football and baseball since 2013. In 2022, Matthew successfully advocated for his school to obtain the first Lü Interactive Playground installed in the state of Maryland. 

“The Lü Interactive Playground is an amazing resource for physical education.  The application of physical education skills being used to reinforce other content areas in a technological and video game-like fashion is a game changer for motivating and engaging students in not only meeting physical education outcomes but also in supporting their learning of other contents in the school.”

Geoff Chaffin began teaching Special Education in 2007 working with students with behavior and learning disabilities. He later transitioned into Career Technology teaching Computer Science, Graphic Design and Video Broadcast. He has been a physical educator in Gainesville, Georgia for the past 4 years. During his career, he served as pilot coordinator for the district’s learning management system implementation supporting blended learning classrooms and helping teachers navigate moving to a LMS.

He also has been traveling to other districts and conferences supporting educators and teaching about various free technology tools teachers can start using today. In college, Geoff was a two sport athlete, running cross country and playing baseball at Truett McConnell College. He graduated from Reinhardt College with a Bachelor’s in Organization Leadership and later received his Master’s in Special Education from Piedmont College. 

“Technology has been a major part of my life as a student and a teacher. I enjoy showing teachers various tools as well as helping students embrace the technologies they have in order to be successful in the classroom. Our students are constantly connected and immersed in a digital world. One of my favorite parts of my Lu system is it allows students to participate in a digital game and be active at the same time. It helps me meet my students in the world they live in. It is the best of both worlds.”

Haitian-born Naïka is passionate about writing, animation, and education. She always strives to make activities fun, educational, and entertaining for her youth groups. She studied in an education program at Dawson College, then continued her studies in the arts and education program at Concordia University. She currently works at the Centre socio-éducatif Lasallien, in Montreal’s Saint-Michel neighborhood. The Center takes a holistic view of child development, following an inclusive approach that focuses on the most vulnerable among them. 

Naïka is in charge of the Espace Teknö, a new project that was born at the Centre Lasallien. In addition to ensuring that the project runs smoothly, she collaborates with several schools and teachers to allow hundreds of children to enjoy tech activities that engage them both physically and academically. The Lü system is a favorite tool of the Espace Teknö to support children in their learning and overall development, since it allows them to use their creativity and imagination to solve fun challenges. 

“Lü is an amazing educational tool! This platform is changing the way kids learn, an approach that I believe is both challenging and dynamic. The kids have fun! They laugh! The variety of applications developed by Lü lets kids enter a world of fun. By participating in an educational game, they have the chance to work on teamwork, coordination, motor skills, and creative thinking. A big thank you to Lü for this opportunity!”

Meghan Earley and Steve Tiberi are Health and Physical Education teachers at Stillwater Township Elementary School in Stillwater, NJ! Stillwater Township Elementary School is located in Northern New Jersey.  They are both in their 13th year of teaching. 

Meghan graduated from Houghton College in upstate New York with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and earned her Health Education degree at William Paterson University.  A devoted student-athlete throughout her academic career, she was inducted into the Sussex County Sports Hall of Fame and the High Point Regional High School Sports Hall of Fame. She was named the Stillwater Township Teacher of the year for 2019-2020 and the Sussex County Teacher of the year in 2021! She believes her greatest contributions and accomplishments in education are those small interactions and small, incremental changes in her student’s physical well-being, their outlook on fitness and their own achievements, and their ability and desire to work with others that all add up to a lifetime of health and success.

Steve graduated from William Paterson University of New Jersey with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health and Physical Education. He went on to earn his Master’s Degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in Sport Pedagogy from William Paterson University. Steve also teaches as an adjunct professor at Sussex County Community College for their Exercise Science Department. He was named Sandyston-Walpack School’s Teacher of the Year in 2017-2018. In 2020, his article titled, “Cooperative Learning in Physical Education and Its Effects on Student Reading Comprehension Scores” was published in The Physical Educator Journal. Steve believes his greatest contributions and accomplishments to education is the ability to help his students realize their potential, guide them to achieve their set goals, and provide students with the ability and confidence to be physically active for a lifetime.

Meg and Steve have thoroughly enjoyed adding Lu Uno to their Health and Physical Education classes. They utilize a variety of different apps on the Lu and they have started a Lu club this year, 2021-2022, at the school for 5th and 6th graders. During the Lu Club, students learned about the Lu, went on virtual tours, and then created apps and presented them to members of the Lu company! Meg and Steve are excited to find new ways to utilize the Lu and are hoping to share their utilization of the Lu with you! Please don’t hesitate to contact them with any questions you may have.

After graduating from the University of Sherbrooke in physical and health education in 2000, Jacques returned to his hometown of Matane to begin his teaching career. Since then, he has been teaching at the Monts-et-Marées school service center. Jacques has been a physical educator at the École Mgr Belzile in Saint-Ulric for 12 years, during which time he has had the opportunity to teach his two children. Driven by the desire to always give his students new experiences, he has been incorporating more and more technology in his classes over the past several years.

His school, École Mgr Belzile, has earned recognition including winning the 2019 Phÿs World Championship title, being named LÜ’s most engaged school in 2020, and most recently, winning the 2021 LÜ Challenge. He is responsible for the Grand défi Pierre Lavoie’s Petite Expé program at the Saint-Ulric cross-country ski club and is responsible for Make-a-Wish/Rêves d’enfants at the Éperviers de Matane, a social group focused on children. He loves being able to help young children.

“Teaching through movement is my calling! The introduction of technological tools has really taken teaching and learning to the next level. The Lü system brings that breath of fresh air and should be seen as an effective and motivating educational tool that helps us enhance our teaching strategies.”

Alex Rouse is currently an Elementary School Physical education teacher in Maryville, Tennessee. Alex got his bachelor’s and master’s degree from Carson Newman University in Education. After College, Alex played in the NFL Europe league for a year and then was a practice squad player in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals. 

Alex has been a Physical Education teacher for 7 years and a Behavior Specialist for two years previous to those 7 years. Alex is motivated bythe building of personal relationships that allows his teaching to be more effective. 

His vision has allowed him to grow as a cross curricular physical education teacher, who uses subject material in general education classrooms and roll it over effectively in his gym. The innovative role and incorporation of the LU has also allowed him to be recognized for his teaching methods and pilot program of the LU interactive playground in Tennessee public schools.

“Teaching PE is the best job in the world, and now because of the LU I have been able to be looked upon as more of a classroom teacher, effectively motivating students in a way no one else in the building can.”

Kevin Terry is an elementary school physical education teacher in Nashville, TN, where he lives with his wife and two sons. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Lipscomb University, and played on the men’s soccer team. Kevin played competitive soccer and also officiated soccer from his childhood through college. In addition to his teaching career, Kevin has also been a professional soccer referee in the MLS for ​eleven years. 

Kevin has been a physical education teacher in Nashville for twelve years. He taught Health and PE, and coached soccer at a high school for two years. Kevin has taught at the elementary level for the past seven years. During his time, he has raised over 60 thousand dollars through grant-writing to build a physical education program at his school including roller blading, bicycles, a ninja warrior course, and archery. Kevin is passionate about providing opportunities to his students that they might not otherwise experience. He loves to make health and exercise fun and engaging in order to create a passion for lifetime wellness. 

“I consider the Lü Interactive Playground to be the game changer in the physical education world.  It takes any ordinary lesson and increases students’ engagement and desire to play as well as have fun.  We utilize our Lü not only during physical education, but we also hold schoolwide events such as our quarterly spelling bees, math competitions and before/after school programming.  Before the Lü, I was teaching in the “dark” ages and now I see the light!”

Jason Watson is currently in his 5th year teaching physical education in Pasadena, Texas. He initiated his teaching career studying Early Childhood Education at the University of Toledo in Ohio. At Toledo, Jason played shortstop on the Rockets baseball team. 

After putting school on pause and playing baseball professionally in the Arizona Diamondbacks Organization, he finally returned to teaching. Relocated to Houston, Jason taught kindergarten and second grade before making the transition to physical education. In 2015, he was honored with becoming the Pasadena ISD District/Region 4 Elementary Teacher of the Year. His passion for getting kids physically active definitely led him back to the gym where he’s been teaching since 2015.

“It is clear that teaching PE is what I am supposed to do, and using products like the LU to support my students learning is what makes teaching physical education such a blast!”

Ben has been a physical educator and has integrated technology in his classes for over decade at all levels, primary to secondary. He has a passion for technology and how it can be used as a tool to enhance the student learning experience in physical education and health. Ben was the Colorado High School Physical Educator of the Year in 2016 and is the technology coordinator for SHAPE Colorado, the health and physical education professional group.

He provides technology workshops for educators of all grades across the western United States and works with university programs to provide technology experiences for upcoming educators. 

He has a Bachelors in Exercise Science and Kinesiology from University of Northern Colorado and a Masters in Education from Walden University focusing on Integrating Technology in the Classroom. Currently he teaches at Bennett Ranch Elementary School in Falcon, CO and has a Lü UNO installed that is used everyday for every grade level and class.

“We need to meet kids where they are and on their interests instead of saying “this is the way we’ve always done it.” My favorite Lü apps to work with are Chrono, Gaia, Pila, Beep, Target, Dojo, Twins and Mineword.”

Emily has been teaching physical education for the past 8 years in Florida, where she lives with her husband and four children. She is currently the head of the physical education department at a K-8 charter school and previously spent 3 years as the school’s athletic director, becoming one of only a handful of female athletic directors in the state. Although she enjoyed the challenge of running an athletic program, she missed the classroom. She thus moved back to teaching full-time and sharing her passion for movement and play with her students. 

In addition to teaching, Emily coaches archery through the National Archery in the Schools Program and succeeded in having her 2020 elementary archery cohort placed 2nd in the state of Florida. As a college student, she also played volleyball at Southern Virginia University and was named NSCAA first team All-American. Having completed her bachelors degree in recreation management and youth leadership at Brigham Young University, she then received a masters degree in organizational leadership focusing on the teacher leader from Waldorf University.

“We love our Lü Düo! It has transformed our classroom into an immersive and interactive space that we all love. We have enjoyed creating our own wörlds to complement our curriculum. The students are more engaged, more excited, and more active. We love to see their faces light up when they enter the gym. Thanks Lü!”