Eileen Barnett graduated from the Computers in Education program at then Lesley College and later enrolled in the master’s program. In 1989, as she was getting ready to graduate from the master’s program, she saw a job posting for the Educational Software Specialist in the Computer Center at Lesley. She applied and was offered the position. That was in August of 1989. In 1991, she became the Center’s Director. She is currently the Director in Lesley University’s Instructional Computer Center as well as the Educational Software Specialist for both the on-campus and off-campus collections and director of the emerging University Software Distribution Center. 

She has helped develop Instructional Computing into a first class Educational Technology Preview Center. The center’s collection has over 2100 titles of PreK through college software and peripherals. The collection supports all of the University’s schools, undergraduate and graduate. It is also open Monday through Friday to any educator in the New England area. There is no charge for this service.  

Her leadership skills are evident in the way she mentors the graduate study students who work in the Center, and she has built a team out of the students and employees who work there. She has both an in-depth knowledge of educational technology and also has what seems like a limitless amount of energy and enthusiasm when it comes to seeking out new and innovative applications. Each month she writes a thorough and interesting update on the newest software acquisitions and industry news. She is the Chair of The Educational Software Preview Guide Consortium that publishes an on-line Guide that so many educators have come to depend upon. 

She is most proud of the impact she has had on the many Lesley students with whom she works on a daily basis - students who have worked in the Center and those with whom she has interacted in the many classes and workshops she has taught.  

Her ability has been recognized outside of the Lesley environment. She currently sits on the advisory boards of several companies and organizations including Educational Resources and Teacher Street. It is through the efforts of Eileen that the Lesley Instructional Computing Center has become an Educational Technology Preview Center. She is an energetic and productive member of The Educational Software Preview Guide Consortium and an Apple Distinguished Educator. 

Eileen’s advice is highly valued. Her suggestions and opinions have been published in the Boston Globe, Family PC and numerous other professional and internal publications. Her focus is always on sharing the most up to date information about software, as well as evaluation tips and purchasing guidelines. She is knowledgeable about all areas of software, but early childhood and software developed for young women has been a particular focus. 

Eileen also holds the title of Educational Software Specialist for the collection of software that travels around the country, serving Lesley’s off campus students in 18 states and online. This is a monumental task, involving complicated logistics, a knowledge of the software and hardware that gets transported, and the academic issues that emerge with faculty and their needs. She meets with all of the Technology in Education faculty to make sure that the software the students use is appropriate for their course and a reasonable addition to the collection. 

Eileen has directly, and indirectly, had an impact on thousands of teachers, who, in return, have had an impact on hundreds of thousands of students.