As a teacher and instructional designer for the Allen Independent School District in Allen, Texas, I took advantage of the resources available and created many innovative programs.
- Virtual Odyssey (includes student work)
- Young Einsteins Pitch Proposals to Perot (includes student work)
- Gigabyte Grille
- Innovative Instruction Invitational
- Hooray for Excellence
- AHS Tower Crew
While an Instructional Designer in Allen ISD, I was sold into indentured servitude (for a good cause). In 1996 a deal was struck to trade lesson plans for a new intranet product called Educational Structures. The students in Allen received free use of this product in exchange for 6 mini-units (series of four related lesson plans) per grade level. This meant a total of 18 lesson plans from the high school ID. Since these lessons were to be published on the web for the good of teachers, I was willing to add my two cents, however, since intellectual property and authorship were a concern, these lessons do not always represent my most creative work. Some of them are downright boring. Also, technology integration was not a priority. Most of the lessons are here so you can judge for yourself.
- Poets vs. Politicians
- "The paragraph sounds like a hand caressing a freshly waxed green 1972 BMW 2002." Descriptive Writing, Heavy on the Details
- Inventions: Where Would We Be Without Them
- Romantic Poets: The Hippies of the 18th Century
- Dinnertime with the Rich and Sometimes Infamous: A Literary Event
- "To Canterbury They Went"
- America Has a Dream
- "Isn't It Ironic?"
- Setting, Theme, and Symbolism in Wuthering Heights
- It Makes Sense to Me
- Heroic Comparing and Contrasting
- Romeo and Juliet
- With Risk There Is Hope
Probably the most lasting accomplishment that bears my signature in Allen, Texas is the Live Wire. The Live Wire is an unconventional learning space designed specifically for students. I worked with Pam Mack to lead a team of students to design this electronic cafe. Although the atmosphere may not be the same today as it was in the beginning, the structure and decor still reflect a state of the art learning environment.
After leaving Allen ISD, I worked as a designer and grant administrator for the Region 10 Educational Service Center in Richardson, Texas.
Many of the resources which I designed or facilitated now reside on the World Wide Web. As the web is dynamic, many of these sites may appear in a different form than the original.
Currently, I am a student at Stanford University in the School of Education. As I completed my application to the Learning, Design, and Technology program I afforded myself time to reflect on and evaluate my accomplishments through a personal statement.
