Overview
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About Me
I am an Associate Professor of Human Resource Development at
Clemson University, specializing in the
application of social learning technologies such as 3D virtual worlds and
web-based applications.
I am interested
in the use of innovative instructional strategies and emerging media to make
education a more pragmatic and relevant process for both learners and those who
facilitate them. I believe learning is a social process, occurring
primarily in groups and in activity. I believe the role of technology is to help us both
manipulate and to make sense of the world around us. I believe the greatest opportunities
learning technologies present us today are the abilities: (1) to create communities of learners
around important problems in ways previously unavailable, and (2) to allow members of those
communities to build mutually-beneficial relationships through shared interest, tools,
experience, and expertise.
My teaching and research are guided by my belief in social constructivist theory. I enjoy teaching and research and look for opportunities where one can inform the other. As a researcher, I am compelled particularly by the ways people build systems to develop and to share expertise. As a teacher, I strive to be as relevant, as accessible, and as useful as possible to each of my students. I believe, as Parker Palmer notes, that to be truly effective as educators we “must be willing to join life where people live it.” My personal pedagogy reflects my belief in student-centered, reality-based, problem-driven, and expertise-oriented methods. Most important, I believe that learning is a self-owned process and that teaching is a facilitative act.
My BackgroundI was born in Brooklyn, NY, and raised in Raleigh, NC. I graduated from Appalachian State University with my undergraduate (English/Secondary Ed) and masters (Educational Media) degrees, and then from the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education with a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology.
I was an assistant professor at Lehigh University in the newly-created Technology-based Teacher Education program from 1998-2001. In 2001, I returned to Appalachian State as an assistant professor in the Instructional Technology program. In 2007, I received tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor. In 2008, I left my alma mater and joined the faculty at Clemson University's Eugene T. Moore School of Education in the Department of Leadership, Counselor Education, and Human and Organizational Development.
I am married and a father of four young children. Having both sons and daughters that are school-aged provides me unique perspective into the world of learning. As both an educator and a parent, I see each day the powerful roles teaching and environment play in how learners -- both young and not-so-young -- develop.
Feel free to read the following synopses of my:
- educational philosophy;
- teaching experience;
- research and development activities; or
- professional service.