About Me

Well, I guess I could repeat my introduction here, but you might’ve read that already. If not, here’s a link to my first post on the other blog (which is also this blog). Other than that I’m married, have a son and a dog. I used to sing in a band and play bass in a (different) band as well. I currently play bass in one band and a variety of sythesizers and percussion in another.  I have a flickr account that has some pictures of bands that I’ve seen; I like to think I know how to take a few photos. Prior to that I’ve spent a lot of my life on a computer. I’ve connected with other people through usenet (newsgroups) and message boards mostly, but as a younger man I did dabble in BBS connections on an ancient Apple II at a friend’s house. Admittedly, it was to play Ultima mostly. My first computer was an Apple Macintosh IIci.  I used to blog on Livejournal, then decided to delete it because I found myself not leading a very interesting life, nor having much to say.

Of course, that doesn’t deter me from adding to the signal-to-noise ratio. I am infinitely interested in multimedia instruction, using narrative techniques (film making, multimedia) in education, leveraging web 2.0 social connections with high quality educational pieces and exploring how web design, e-learning and the various audio-visual techniques all combine to engage learners. As a related topic of interest, I’m very concerned about educators creating aesthetically pleasing educational areas on the web and in LMS’s.

My former work is  as an educator for Continuing Education at Mohawk College and as a e-Learning Support team member, doing any number of tasks – ranging from editing and creating Flash based videos to documenting processes for future e-learning workers. I primarily teach web design related courses – Searching The Internet Effectively, XML and Fireworks. In 2010 I chose not to continue teaching as I had reached the point where I felt that I couldn’t grow any more in the position I held. That’s not to say that I don’t have any more growth to do, I just don’t feel that I have the room to do it. I also feel that I am better served completing my own education rather than helping others complete theirs. Selfish? I suppose.

I then worked in a similar support/training role at McMaster University, making sure their LMS is used as well as possible and put out small learning technology related fires. I currently continue to be interested in open source software (what is now being called the Indie Web), open education and the promise (but rarely delivered) of education as a way to improve one’s own life. I am also interested in alternative ways of credentialing and recognizing achievements. More recently I’ve been promoted to Lead Learning Technologist, which in addition to supporting faculty use Educational Technology well, I oversee the small team of supports there to ensure the LMS and other centrally supported tools are functioning as best as possible.

I completed my Bachelor’s of Education (Adult Education) at Brock University in 2018. Throughout that program have decided that I should take a selection of courses through Distance Education, to see what can be done in the field. I have completed a variety of courses in Communications at Athabasca University, as well as several Political Science courses at McMaster University. I hope to focus further on Communication Media courses to augment my personal experience in the field. I do have a Media Arts diploma, from Sheridan College. From there, I decided to like to pursue a Master’s in Educational Technology, at UBC. l see where life goes, sometimes it’s best not to plan too much.

I’ve presented at multiple conferences on such diverse topics as microcredentials/digital badges, best practices third party integrations with the LMS, ePortfolio assessment strategies, teaching using Web 2.0 technologies, and learning outcomes.