Services from Tom March
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A little about Tom
from classroom teacher to
web-based educational designer
Here's this thing called the web. Connect it to classrooms. Can you make the most of it? This was the challenge that led me from the life of a classroom teacher to that of an online educator. And it turns out that most of education is now confronted with the same challenge: what do we do with the Web? Yet many teachers face other challenges many times daily...
I taught for 10 years so I'm pretty familiar with what it's like to try your hardest at the most important job in the world and then add the dimension of fiddling with computers on top of it all. Since 1995, I've been out of the traditional classroom, learning to work the web for education. Read the ozline story to see what we do or check the résumé below (or download a version in pdf).
working for educational reform
through technology-infusion
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SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
- co-developer of the WebQuest strategy with Prof. Bernie Dodge
- Frequent presenter and author on "Working the Web for Education"
- Web Developer and designer of Web-based learning activities
- Recognized at the county level as Teacher of the Year
- Skilled in teaching at the secondary and adult levels
- Proved ability to complete projects of the highest quality
- Expansive knowledge of teaching strategies and learning theories
- Driven to implement innovative approaches to education
EXPERIENCE
2005 - Present:- A Chance to Help
- Non-profit organization started to allow Òthose with moreÓ to help Òthose with less.Ó Students and families in the developed world support refugee students in South Africa.
- 2nd10.com carries the torch from
The Drive for 2005 - An initiative to encourage using the Web in education to make learning more Real, Rich, and Relevant. A 10 year anniversary present to students.
- A New 3Rs
- A Directory of compelling Web sites that make learning more Real, Rich & Relevant.
- Class Act Portal
- A directory for outstanding class Web sites that connect learning to the Real world.
2004 - Present:
Launched edge-ucator.com
- Tom March has facilitated successful in - person Workshops in the US and Australia for over 15 years. With the launch of an online course environment - edge-ucator.com - Tom can support more in-depth and ongoing PD than was previously possible.
2002 - Present:
Launched BestWebQuests.com
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BestWebQuests.com springs from the fact that people have been creating "WebQuests" since 1995. This term has become a buzzword in the world of education. Couple "buzzword" with "time" (as measured in Web years) and you've got an exponential number of WebQuests. Or do you?
Many educators have expressed frustration that some "WebQuests"... aren't. Because time is always in short supply, teachers wanted a place to go where they could know for certain that the WebQuests listed, not only involve some higher order thinking, but require students to "transform information into understanding."
1999 - Present:
Launched Web-and-Flow.com
- This interactive design environment supports educators as they develop Web-based activities for their students. Up to six different formats can be created on a given topic and each includes a teacher's guide and individualized evaluation rubric.
1998 - Present:
Director of ozline.com: online content design & web strategies
- Develop strategies for educators using the Web with students
- Designed and developed Web-and-Flow Interactive as the most advanced tool available to Web-using educators
- Design and develop Web sites for a select group of clients
- Develop and maintain UNICEF's Teachers Talking About Learning site
- Create online learning activities for students via Pacific Bell's Knowledge Network Explorer
- Present in-person workshops in the US and Australia
1999 - 2001:
Columnist - MultiMedia Schools Magazine
- Wrote the monthly column "Working the Web for Education."
1995 - 1998:
Education First Fellow, San Diego State University / Pacific Bell
- Design, develop and implement exciting uses of the Internet and Interactive Videoconferencing for K-12 schools.
- Blue Web'n: contributed design ideas and the matrix structure for this site developed by Jodi Reed
- Filamentality: an interactive Web site for creating Web pages for learning (developed with Jodi Reed)
- Eyes on Art 2.0: a comprehensive Web site supporting a "Learning to Look" approach
- Little Rock 9, Integration 0?: a WebQuest on school desegregation
- Searching for China: a full WebQuest exploring what U.S. policy should be toward China
- Does the Tiger Eat her Cubs?*: a WebQuest on the Chinese orphanage scandal
- Nonprofit Prophets: students partner with nonprofits and create their Web sites
- Black History Month: a series of Web-based activities
- Tuskegee Tragedy: a WebQuest exploring the powerful & their victims
- Donner Online: an introductory scrapbook activity on the Donner Party
- Look Who's Footing the Bill!: a WebQuest on the National Debt
- San Diego Zoo InternQuest: a virtual online internship.
- Support the Education First Sites
- Publish, present, and videoconference on ISDN technologies.
1994 - 1997:
Instructor in the College of Education: San Diego State University, CA
- EDTEC 470 - "Technologies for Teachers" in the credential program
- EDTEC 596 - "Interdisciplinary Teaching with Technology" in the credential program (team taught with Prof. Bernie Dodge)
- EDTEC 572 - "Technologies for Course Delivery" in the Masters program
- Develop software, handouts, and Websites as needed
1991 - 1995:
Interdisciplinary Team Teacher: Poway High School, Poway, CA
- Co-created pilot: The R.E.A.L. World ("Reality, Education And Learning are One")
- Work as a member of a team to create interdisciplinary projects
- Coordinate and oversee the program's community outreach component
- Secure grants for financial support
- Meet regularly with colleagues from Hewlett-Packard to integrate "real- world" skills and to design mentoring opportunities
- Teach English/Humanities to "at-risk" 9th/10th grade students
1991 - 1994:
Technology Mentor: Poway Unified School District, Poway, CA
- Serve as liaison between the district office and our four secondary schools
- Chair a similar interest group on multimedia
- Coordinate and lead in-service training on multimedia
- Present demonstrations at conferences and technology fairs
1989 - 1993:
Chairman of the English Department: Poway High School, Poway, CA
- Chief writer of our successful application for recognition as one of America's "Blue Ribbon Schools."
- Wrote grants for and facilitated departmental in-services
- Chaired curriculum revision and reform committees
- Served as a key player on the district English Curriculum Committee
- Created schedules for all English courses and a staff of 20+
- Acted as liaison between administration and teachers
- Brainstormed school-wide solutions with the administrative staff
- Facilitated department meetings
- Maintained morale and cooperation among staff members
1986 - 1995:
English Teacher: Poway High School, Poway, CA
- Teach students ranging from those mainstreamed from special education classes to those in 11th grade honors. I have taught most of the courses offered in our department
- Develop and share curriculum units
- Teach using a variety of strategies, ranging from the Socratic method, to interactive video presentations, to technology-infused group projects
- Sit on a variety of committees: Ethics Policy, Homework Policy, Steering Committee for Strategic Planning, etc.
- Teach a self-designed course entitled Multimedia Workshop
- Role-play as literary characters: Bartleby the Scrivener, Reverend Dimmesdale from The Scarlet Letter, Jay Gatsby, the young Ernest Hemingway, etc.
- Organize an annual Honors Evening of student performances
EDUCATION
- Master of Arts in Educational Technology, SDSU, 1993, 3.94 GPA
- Teacher Certification, San Diego State University, 1986, 4.0 GPA
- Bachelor of Arts in English, University of Wisconsin, 1981, 3.65 GPA
- University School of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1977, Second Honors
AWARDS & SCHOLARSHIPS
- STARS Society Award, Classroom Connect, 1997
- Golden ROM Award, San Diego Computer-Using Educators, 1997
- Selected as a Pacific Bell Fellow, 1995
- California Educational Initiatives Grant for The R.E.A.L. World ($10, 780)
- University Scholar Award, San Diego State University, 1991
- Teacher of the Year, Poway High School, 1991-92
- Teacher of the Year, Poway Unified School District, 1991-92
- Teacher of the Year Finalist, San Diego County, 1991-92
- Phil Halfaker Award, Outstanding Student Teacher, SDSU, 1986
- Brabyn-Wackman English Scholarship, University of Wisconsin, 1980 / 1981
PERSONAL HISTORY
PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
- The New WWW: Whatever, Whenever, Wherever - Published in ASCD's Educational Leadership
- A new world of personalized, device-delivered digital content and functionality hovers just over the broadband horizon. The New WWW - offering us whatever we want, whenever and wherever we want it - may seem like just an extension of our already-technology-enhanced contemporary life. In some ways, it is. But such a wireless stream of media gratification is actually a radical departure from typical human experience. And as tantalizing as this ready access to our hearts' desires may be, it creates great challenges for our children. To counteract the New WWW's potentially harmful impact on youth, educators must use technology to create learning experiences that are real, rich, and relevant.
- The Learning Power of WebQuests - Published in ASCD's Educational Leadership
- A well-designed WebQuest combines research-supported theories with effective use of the Internet to promote dependable instructional practices.
Published in MultiMedia Schools
- Ten Stages of Working the Web for Education
- Find yourself or your school on this continuum. This interactive article can help you plan your or your school's professional development sessions.
- Discovering Your Topic
- The Importance of Keeping Things in Context. Textbooks, encyclopedia, and other traditional sources are great for getting to the content of the courses you teach. Use the Web for that trickier bit of re-contextualizing the topic in the complex mesh that is the World (Wide Web).
- Wouldn't You Rather Gather?
- Skip Search Engines and Find Sites Faster. Because it's a challenge, we often think we need to learn sophisticated, arcane, search strategies. Happily, the Web has matured enough that if you know where to go, you can frequently skip the search and harvest links others have already found for you.
- Thinking Through Linking
- Finding Education's Name for the Web. Al Gore got us thinking about the Web and "The Information Super Highway." This was helpful in mobilizing interest and resources, but the expression is more detour than road map for those involved in promoting the Web's use in education.
- Link Like You Mean It!
- Selecting Web Sites to Support Intentional Learning Outcomes. Depending on the learning goal you have for a Web-based activity, you probably want to look for sites that support that approach. Learn about Info Rich, Emotive and Perturbing sites among others.
- Are We There Yet?
- A parable comparing technology integration to a family auto vacation
"ISDN in the Classroom," presentations at the Spring & Fall Computer-Using Educators Conference, Palm Springs, 1995 and the California School Librarians Association, 1995.
"Nonprofit Prophets: a telecommunications-based community action project," article in The THE Journal, December, 1996
"What's on the Web?" cover article in the July/August 1995 Computer-Using Educators NewsLetter.
"Reflections on a Drive-By Caning," article submitted for the "My Turn" column, Newsweek Magazine, New York, NY.
"Using R.E.A.L. World technologies," created and led this in-service to train teachers on Microsoft Word, PageMaker, and Persuasion, Poway High School, 1994
"The R.E.A.L. World Community Outreach Project," presentation at the Computer Using Educators Conference, Palm Springs, CA, 1994
"Computer-Guided Writing," Master's thesis, 1993, SDSU
"The Writer's Guide," a guided-writing software program designed with Bernie J. Dodge, San Diego State University, 1992 - 93
"Computer-Guided Writing," presentation at the Computer Using Educators Conference, Palm Springs, CA, 1993
"Teaching in the R.E.A.L. World" presentation at the Computer Using Educators Conference, Palm Springs, CA, 1993
"The Art of Teaching," a multimedia-enhanced keynote speech presented at the Poway Unified School District's "Mentor Dinner," Rancho Bernardo Inn, 1993
"Class Acts with Simple Stacks," presentation at the California League of Middle Schools, Monterey, CA, 1992
"Teaching in a Multimedia World," presentation at the Computer Using Educators Conference, Palm Springs, CA, 1992
"Going Hyper," designed and led this in-service training, Poway Unified School District, 1992
"Comp 2: A Rad Plan," wrote a grant and chaired the committee that created a semester-long curriculum for 10th grade students, 1992
"The New American School," presentation to the Poway Unified School Board, 1991
"Technically Speaking," a monthly column in the Poway High School Principal's Newsletter, 1990 – 91
"American Studies," wrote a grant and chaired the committee that created an interdisciplinary handbook of primary source documents bridging U.S. History and American Literature for 11th grade students, 1989/90
"Teachers' Pets," poem published in the No Street Poet's Voice, San Diego, CA, 1988
"His Boy Elroy," a full-length motion picture screenplay, © 1985
"Hey, Hey, We're the Busboys," concert preview, Phoenix New Times, 1983
"Donald Fagan: The Night Fly," record review, Phoenix New Times, 1983
"Problematic Plasmatics," reflection & record review, Madcity Music Guide, Madison, WI, 1981
"Sax Solo," poem published in The Madison Review, Fall, 1980