Earned an Apple Distinguished Educator Award, Class of 2009

My students and I have won two "Exemplary Use of Technology in the Classroom" awards from the Grundy, Kendall & Will Counties Professional Development Alliance (Illinois) in 2007 and 2008 for my projects that use iLife and QuickTime products. I have also won 2 consecutive "Best Buy Teach Awards" for creative use of technology using many Apple products. My former classes mainly used iMovie, QuickTime and GarageBand. We occasionally used Final Cut Express, Live Type, iPhoto, iPods, and MobileMe. I have attended Apple workshops and classes over the years and try to keep up with all new technology to continually grow and improve my own technology education so I can share with others.

I have taught classes in web design, multimedia, marketing, introduction to computers, and business basics and have taught other technology-based curriculum at other schools in the past. My lessons are available in podcast form for students, parents, and others, to view online, study for tests, review for further knowledge, and many other purposes. I do not teach just from books, I teach from my heart.

I have been using Apple and iLife products for a number of years. I was the advisor for the first regular monthly newspaper from an Illinois alternative (Special Education) high school back in the 1980's and 1990's, and we prepared these issues on Apple IIe computers. I have been involved in technology education and integrating technology in the classroom for many years. I hold a few copyrights on software I have written (Monday Morning Manager and Money Spin as examples) and also wrote the attendance-grading program for the alternative school on an Apple IIe. TK Computer Products is the application, software side of the Company.

Over the years I have developed my own curriculum because technology creates new challenges for teachers, students, and society that cannot be met by just teaching out of books. I worked on Illinois statewide committees (Illinois Career & Technical Education Revitalization Initiative) and task-forces (Computer Applications) over the past few years for improving curriculum and software applications to meet these new challenges. While working with these groups, I have created over 75 digital lessons, some which can be accessed by other teachers from: introduction to marketing to digital photography to podcasting.

Projects I have written, and teach, using technology include: learning about video journalism, video news reporting, public service announcements, making commercials, creating animation, photo slideshows, class DVD's, creating original soundtracks, audio podcasting, video podcasting, digital photography, creative photography, documentaries, how-to videos, monster movies from ordinary items, technology class videos, video book reports, QuickTime editing, audio broadcasting (Internet radio), story-boarding and scripting. I tie into curriculum for Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Math as much as possible. All of my quizzes and tests are online, so even when the students think we are not using technology, we really are using technology. All of my projects and lessons attempt to meet or exceed the National Educational Technology Standards.

I majored in Literature and Communications with minors in Education and Journalism. I am certified in the State of Illinois in English, Journalism, Language Arts, Social Science, Business, Marketing and Computer Education, Business, Marketing and Management, Computer Applications, Computer Science, Technology Education, and Physical Education. I also hold 12 similar endorsements in Tennessee. I generally take at least one technology related course per year and attend numerous technology related conferences and institutes throughout each school year. I have accumulated over 200 hours of college level credit hours plus I am No Child Left Behind Highly Qualified in English, English as a Second Language, Journalism, Language Arts, Reading, Speech, and Title I Remedial Reading.

I have been a full time teacher, professor, coach, and mentor for many years. I have been teaching technology since 2001 using many Apple products along the way. Before teaching technology, I taught special needs students, using as much technology as I could get the students' hands on, in alternative (Special Education) junior high and high school settings. I have grown with Apple, starting with Apple IIe products to Macintosh products and now using iMacs, MacBooks, iPods, iPads and more. I have also been known to teach workshops on Chromebooks as well.

In 2009, I earned a Masters in Education Media Design and Technology and have also been an Adjunct Professor at a local Junior College. I have written a number of apps for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Many of these apps have also been available on the Chrome Web Store.

I have published more than 80 educational eBooks available on the iBookstore. Most are free. Click the link below.

TK Computer Products, 100 Green Street, Suite 265, Loudon, TN 37774