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As a pre-teen, I would often accompany my father to Columbia University’s Apple computer lab where he was learning LOGO.  I was his guinea pig for experiments in technology and learning that he picked up from reading Seymour Papert’s “Mindstorms”.  From this early experience, I developed a deep love for programming and the use of technology in the learning process.  This passion for technology continued to grow as I moved on to high school where I mastered Pascal and FORTRAN and also helped teach technology workshops for teachers.

I spent my undergraduate years at the University of Michigan studying Aerospace Engineering. This included a range of computer science courses, several of which exposed me to an emerging technology called the Internet.  I graduated, magna cum laude, with a degree in Aerospace Engineering but quickly returned to my true passion, teaching.  Initial experiments using the Internet to support collaboration between my K-12 students and others around the world led to a series of positions at the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at Stevens Institute of Technology.  During my eight years at Stevens, I led projects, including a $10 million U.S. Department of Education initiative, to innovate science education through the use of the Internet and train teachers on how to adopt these innovations.

My work with the Internet led to a professional interest in the emerging field of distance education.  From this experience came the decision to earn my master’s degree in Educational Technology Leadership through The George Washington University’s pioneering online ETL program.  At the same time, I became part of the Stevens’ WebCampus initiative and was one of the first to develop and teach an online graduate course for this landmark program.  In 2003, I moved on to Marist College, an early leader in use of open-source technologies and distance learning, and worked on several initiatives aimed at innovating the teaching process using technology.  One of these, called IdentityQuest, used social podcasts developed by students in Marist’s study abroad program to enrich their online learning experience.  This project won a 2006 Campus Technology Innovator Award and was presented at EDUCAUSE.  

While at Marist, I also gained my first deep exposure to open-source software.  After attending the 2005 Sakai conference in Baltimore, I immediately purchased and read “The Success of Open Source” by Steve Weber and was hooked.  I realized that there could not be a better match for my education, experience and passions than a “mashup” of an online collaborative learning environment with a development model that drives innovation.  Not surprisingly, I often felt the same energy and excitement working on Sakai as I did at age 11 “playing” LOGO with my Dad.

You can learn more about my professional background on our Expertise page.