Professional Biography

On July 1, 2005 I retired from my position in Gaston County Schools as Academy Coordinator at the Highland School of Technology after thirty years in public education.  My desire is to  preserve projects as resources for educators and students.  I will continue to support projects and create new resources for students and teachers.   

I taught middle school science for twenty years before becoming the Lead Teacher in Instructional Technology for the Gaston County School System in 1997.    From 1999-2001 I was a member of the Teachers Connect team in my role as an Educator-on-Loan to the Department of Public Instruction.  In this position I worked with instructional technology initiatives across the state and with the DPI Curriculum and Instruction Division.  In this role, I worked with a team of very talented educators to design and implement models of effective integration into instruction and have:

• Coordinated Town Meetings that bring experts into the classroom through desktop videoconferences.  To train teachers, I developed an online course, Connectivities: Desktop Videoconferencing.
• Designed a week-long session at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, NC Online Connections, which produced Netivities, three online projects for students
• Created the model WebQuest for NCWISE OWL, This Land is Your Land, and training model for a train-the-trainer for WebQuest development.
• Co-designed with Carrie Kirby - Connectivities: Active Learning on the Web
• Networked teachers involved in the Classroom Assessment: Linking Instruction and Assessment project through online collaboration.

I conducted two-week Math and Science Technology II (MAST II) sessions during June 2001 and 2002 at UNC-Chapel Hill.  Teachers learned to use the workstation approach to integrate Math, Science, and Technology. The course strengthen the technology knowledge of these teachers and helped them apply technology to their instruction in restructured, workstation-based classrooms. Several excellent scavenger hunts and technology enhanced workstations were produced.

• MAST II - June 2001
• MAST II - June 2002

I serve as the current webmaster for MidLink Magazine.  The mission of MidLink is to highlight exemplary work from the most creative classrooms around the globe.  During the past five years I created and facilitated three online projects:

• Positively Trashy - 2001
• Notable Neighbors - 2001
• If Stones Could Speak - 2003-05

As a classroom teacher for twenty years, I practiced "real life" project-based learning utilizing current technologies.   In the fall of 2000 I returned to the classroom where I taught eighth grade mathematics at Mt. Holly Middle School on the Sharks Team. Sharks Team Digital Portfolio - 2000-01.   

In the fall of 2001, I became the Academy Coordinator for the Communications and Information Academy and the Director of the Academy of Finance at Highland School of Technology.  I worked as Academy Coordinator for the Computer Engineering Technology, Network Administration, Finance Pathways and with assisted with instructional technology on the school level.   At Highland School of Technology I worked with students and teachers in the development of Advanced Studies/Senior Project, E-Mentors, advisory boards/community involvement, and a school-wide emphasis on digital portfolios.

I am the webmaster for the North Carolina Teacher Academy.  Since 1995, I have been actively involved with NCTA as a trainer in instructional technology and a member of  the writing teams for the offerings in Technology Integration and Classroom Strategies that Work.  I have also facilitated Web 2.0 sessions at the NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

In 2003, I complete five years as a Pioneer Mentor.  In this role I presented at state, regional, and national conference strategies for integrating technology into instruction. 

I graduated from UNC-Charlotte in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in Science and completed a Master's of Arts in Middle School Education in 1981 from Appalachian State University.   In 2002, I completed studies at UNC-Chapel Hill in the Carolina Online Teacher (COLT) program sponsored by LEARN NC.  I have created an online courses that include; WebQuests and Digital Portfolios.  I taught the Honors Physical Science for LEARN NC and continue to work with online Follow-Up for NCTA Technology Summer Sessions.