Biography

Employment

Social Studies Teacher, West Hills High School (1996-present)
Educational Technology Consultant (1997-present)

Education

• Masters in Educational Technology, SDSU (2005)
• Single Subject Teaching Credential, Social Studies with a Supplement in Photography, San Diego State University (1996)
• BA History, University of California, San Diego (1994)
• Minor in Visual Arts/Photography, University of California, San Diego (1994)

Awards, Grants, and Publications

• Modern World History and Western Civilization, Teaching-Point Publishing - Two entire courses with daily lesson plans, notes, worksheets, and tests (2005).
• NEA Innovation Grant - $5000 grant to implement Propaganda Video Project. (2004)
• SDCUE Grant Recipient - $2500 grant to implement Propaganda Video Project. (2004)
• Best Buy Grant Recipient - $2500 grant to infuse video projects into my world and United States History classes (2003)
• Internet Educator of the Year, Western Region - Annual award presented by Classroom Connect (2001).
• Journalism Teacher of the Year, San Diego County - Annual award presented by the San Diego Union-Tribune and the San Diego County Office of Education (2000).
• SDCUE Grant Recipient - $1500 grant to integrate images into the world history curriculum. Project included the creation of the web site, A Viewing Guide to World History (2000).

Professionally...

Currently I teach Advanced Placement and College Prep World History at West Hills High School in San Diego. Other classes I've taught include United States History, Applied Arts World History, Humanities, Journalism, Geography, and Technology Fundamentals. I have also published my world history curriculum through Teaching-Point, a small educational company in Florida. It is available for purchase at the Teaching-Point web site. This past summer I develped materials for a PBS documentary on Andrew Jackson.

In addition to teaching students, I have been able to spend time teaching teachers how to utilize and integrate technology in their classrooms. It all started the summer after I completed my teaching credential, I was hired by SDSU professor Bernie Dodge to created example web-based activities and assist teachers develop their own WebQuests through the San Diego City Schools Triton/Patterns Projects. I ended up working the next five summers for Bernie, creating curriculum, leading sections of the summer workshops, and helping tie up loose ends. That has lead me to numerous other staff development opportunities that I've listed in the Workshops section of this site.

The highlight of my involvement in staff development came when I lead a group of teachers at the 2001 Teach the Teachers Collaborative in Ojai, CA. Unfortunately, the organizers were unable to secure financial support in time to hold future summer workshops.

I also seem to spend a considerable amount of time sitting in front of my Macintosh Mac Book Pro (had to get that in there) creating web pages for my history classes, workshops, friends, and various educational organizations. A listing of those sites can be found in the Web Design, Workshops, Online Lessons, and Ed Tech sections of this web site.

Background

I have called San Diego home for most of my life. I spent time at both of the major public universities in town, UCSD and SDSU. Academically, I have been drawn to the study of history. This interest has been responsible for bringing me into the field of education; there can be so much taken and learned from history when presented in the right light. To understand our history, and the history of others, is to better understand ourselves and those with whom we interact. During my time in college I worked as a photojournalist at the UCSD Guardian, the SDSU Daily Aztec, the North-County Blade Citizen, and the East County Daily Californian. This experience gave me a taste of the media and let me see into the high, low, and ordinary moments of people's lives in the communities of San Diego County. A couple of highlights included shaking President Clinton's hand and taking pictures of the my favorite band, U2, on their Z00 TV Tour. To check out some of my photographs from my photojournalism, follow this link.

Other Interesting Things...

My favorite pastime is spending time with my wife and children. When I am not chasing my children around, I am probably taking pictures (with my new Nikon D70!) of them or catching up on some sleep! It also seems like my house has also become a primary hobby - both inside and out. I also enjoy traveling, spending time outside, and reading.