A Little History

I come from a family of educators.  My mother was a third grade teacher and, later, a Mentor Teacher charged with instructing other teachers in the use of technology in the classroom.  My father started out as a high school English and math teacher before moving into administration and retiring as the school district’s Director of Information Technology.  My sister is a tenured professor at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley.  Her work focuses on how technology, organizational practice and people are intertwined.

I taught my first computer class while I was still in high school.  The instructor mentored me in improving my presentation while I helped my peers learn programming on the Apple ][.  As an adult, I have taught for Pima Community College and for the UA’s Extended University, now known as Continuing Education and Academic Outreach. 

I have pursued a Master of Science in Educational Technology as the next logical step in my progression toward becoming a professional educator.  I recognize that, while I may have expertise in web development and media production, I lacked foundational knowledge in instructional design, evaluation, research methods and learning theory.  The EdTech program has allowed me to fill in many of those gaps and given me the skills to continue build my knowledge after graduation.