An Aran Islands selfie.
Even though I am now the Online Learning Curriculum Manager at International Baccalaureate, I am at heart a social studies teacher who has been around a bit. I would also argue that I am the education theory equivalent of an escape artist. What do I mean?
I believe that education is a means of escape from a myriad of constraints. As a passionate advocate for global understanding, I find the more I know, the more I can understand, and the less fettered I feel by fear or ignorance. It is a marvelous thing to see knowledge and creativity instilled in my students in the same way. As a technologist and curriculum designer, I continue my journeys and hope to share new says of seeing with both students and educators. This approach to learning greatly influences my work at IBO, and you can expect me to be involved in projects that promote global perspectives combined with a strong integration of technology.
My work focuses on the responsible use of multimedia and social media technologies in the classroom. I use these technologies to support vigorous curricula. I am a strong advocate of project-based learning, collaborative work, and mostly importantly creativity and critical thinking in the classroom. I believe all students should expect to focus on thinking and doing, and less on listening, even though some activities will be based on listening as a skill. Students can also expect to learn computer-based skills in order to complete their assignments. Being competent in computer use is now as important as learning to write.
I am also very interested in the “gamefication” of the school experience. I have employed a number of game-based methodologies in the classroom, from goal-based assessments to simulations and use of electronic games and media as part of the curriculum. I try my best with the resources given me to create environments that are familiar to students who use computers as part of their daily lives.
My background as an educator is also affected by my personal history. In this introductory video, formatted in the style of NPR’s “This I Believe,” you can find out a little bit more about me. Please follow this link to my Tumblr page, where you can see the video.
If you are interested in resources in technology and learning, please follow the List of Resources link at the top of the page. Please feel free to browse my classroom webpage, MizzQ’s 9th Grade, if you are interested in the kinds of projects I do with my students. Lastly, for a summary of my deepest beliefs on education, please see my mission statement on the What I Have Done page of this website.
teachbygoofyaccent 