Vita. In 1973 I
produced one of the first doctoral dissertations making use of the PLATO computer system at the home of its creator,
the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, which is also the home of the NCSA Mosaic. I was in a program in
Instructional Applications of the Computer and Mathematics Education.
The program I developed for use with my doctoral study involved about 2200 lines of code with about 400 variables--all totally interactive. The program was a computer simulation that involved having the user "teach" a simulated class of students. Ultimately the simulated students either learned or they did not, depending upon what the user did. It was developed in the spirit of a flight simulator originally created in World War II to train pilots.
My interest in computers expanded into uses of graphics. This in turn led to an interest in mental imagery and visualization and uses of transformations and animations, particularly, student-constructed animations as a means for getting in touch with the students' own imagery.
The process that I encountered helped me to move from a teacher-directed learner to a student-centered learner. As I have reflected on the process it has become obvious to me that we should be focusing education around lifelong learning. This then led me to became very interested in MicroWorlds. I like to think of the computer as a tool for thinking, problem solving, visualizing, and reasoning.
Recently, I have been thinking a lot about student-centered learning. Also as students gain more control over their own learning, attention also needs to be give to social constructions.
In my efforts to tie together meaningful educational learning I was recruited as a Pathways Pioneer because I have had my students actively using the Pathways to School Improvement site.
One of my favorite areas of interest is figure skating where young people can excel with their talents. I also have become quite fond of basketball, where people are also excelling.
I was born near two interesting parks. One is Lincoln Log Cabin, which has historical interest; and the other is Fox Ridge State Park, which has nature interest.
Courses that I often teach are:
CGS 4160/CGS 2160: Problem-Solving Applications of the Microcomputer for the Classroom
EDE 4341: Technology in Elemenatry/Middle School
CGS 5112: Using Computer Graphics as an Instructional Tool
CGS 5113: Using Computer Simulations as an Instructinal Tool
EDE 5306r: Current Trends and Issues in Elementary Education (Emphasis: Technology)
MAE 4326: How Children Learn Mathematics
MAE 5318: Topics in Elementary Mathematics
MAE 5655: Computers in Mathematics Education
Among other things I have served on the editorial board of the Journal of Computing in Childhood Education and am currently a reviewer for Journal of International Forum of Educational Technology & Society.
