About

After nearly 20 years of working in education, I’ve had the privilege of experiencing the full spectrum of teaching roles, from elementary to high school, in inner city to suburban schools, and most in the last seven years, at international schools. It’s been an incredible journey, and I’m excited to share my expertise with you.

Throughout my career, I’ve always had a passion for integrating technology into the classroom to create new and engaging learning opportunities for students and teachers alike. I’ve seen firsthand the transformative power of technology in education, and I’m committed to sharing my knowledge and experience with anyone who is interested in using technology to accelerate learning.

Whatever your role is in education , I invite you to join me on this journey of discovery and innovation. Let’s work together to unleash the full potential of technology in education and empower the next generation of learners to succeed in a rapidly changing world. Are you ready to join me?

Vision

To inspire every child to embrace challenge, collaborate fearlessly, and innovate with technology in a supportive environment.

My Philosophy of Education

I believe that learning is a lifelong journey and that our learners, educators, classrooms and learning material are constantly present all around us, in many different shapes and forms. Everyone is an expert in something and when we take a moment to listen, we open up ourselves to learn from others.

Collaboration is at the heart of education. When we (educators) work together towards a common goal, developed through shared meaning, we can really achieve something special for our learners. When we collaborate with educators and learners, we create an opportunity to learn from one another and to realize our full potential.

Some of the greatest teams I have worked in were made up of a diverse set of individuals. It is diversity that brings new perspectives to a team, and new perspectives allow us to consider the feelings and needs of everybody involved. When we have this knowledge, we can allow ourselves to be innovative and take risks with learning, and follow lines of inquiry for learning. If we model our innovative and can-do approach to education to our learners, it gives them permission to do the same and to jump head-first into learning.

Enthusiasm is what has kept me going back to the classroom time and again. Working with passionate learners and educators has kept me young. It encourages me to bring the latest ed-technology into the classroom and to meet my learners where they are. Enthusiasm is what drove me to become a robotics coach, and yearbook editor, to start teaching media to a grade 10 class and to go back to the homeroom after 7 years. It has also pushed me to pursue a Master’s degree, start an instructional coaching course and start working part-time for ISTE.

Autonomy for both educators and learners is incredibly important, but so is accountability. Take away our autonomy, and we can lose interest. However, without accountability, we can sometimes lose track of what is important. Finding the balance between both autonomy and accountability is not a one-time thing. I believe that it is something that we all constantly strive to find. I do not have an answer for this, but I do know that being open, approachable and above all, being a good listener, is critical. Having said that, so too is being consistent, reliable and genuine.

Finally, empowering learners to design their own learning path is essential. There is no one size fits all education model. Learning needs to suit the learner, rather than the other way around. Having an inquiry focussed curriculum does not give us all of the answers, but it moves us towards more genuine learning opportunities for our learners. It keeps our learners eager as inquiry learning is more in line with what they find interesting.

Throughout my own educational journey, the most important aspect that I have found is to realise the potential in the adults and children that I have worked with. And if they have yet to see this for themselves, then help them get there.