Members

VirtuED Members

Brad Cornwell
Technology, Media, & Business Teacher
Johansen High School
Modesto City Schools
209.576.4702

Technology and helping others learn have always been my passions. The opportunity to mix the two by preparing students for an ever increasing technological world is why I chose to teach. Over eight years of computer programming and multimedia experience, an Associate in Arts, a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, a Masters in Business Administration, as well as computer certifications and a number of teaching credentials help contribute to the experience and knowledge I bring with me into the classroom and share with students. I’m always excited about integrating new ways and new technologies to help students learn.

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Jim Gain
Supervisor, Instructional Technology
Modesto City Schools
209.550.3300 x5022

My interest in computers dates back to the mid-70s when in high school I took several classes from Frank Vandervort at Davis High School where we learned RPG, FORTRAN and COBOL and our data input consisted of 80 column punch cards. When I got into the education field in Ceres Unified in the mid 80s I had access to the Apple IIe and the awesome new Macintosh computers at the District Office. I then moved to a new school in Lodi and my first year became a member of the District Technology Committee. One of my first assignments was to come to Modesto to see a new technology called the compact disc. This event was hosted by one of my former teachers, Harry Bakker. We were using Laserdisks at the time and the CDs seemed pretty spiffy. My first and only career reprimand from administration was over my excessive use of the school’s new and only Macintosh computer. I went on to train district staff on Microsoft Works and Pagemaker.

I joined Modesto City Schools in 1996 and fell in with the disreputable crowd of Larry Hines, Mike Coats and a district tech named John Newton. Next thing I knew my principal had me co-authoring the Digital High School Plan and Larry snagged me as an Intel Teach to the Future Master Teacher. I now enjoy working with all of the staff in Modesto City Schools as the Supervisor of Instructional Technology. This position allows me the opportunity to be exposed to many types of emerging technologies and to evaluate their usefulness in the classroom. I try to keep up with all of the technologies (blogging, wikis, podcasts, virtual worlds, digital storytelling, etc.) that are part of our students’ lives, including active participation in the MMORPG World of Warcraft as a Guild Master for over 2 years.

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Bob Gausman
Division Director
Technology & Learning Resources
Stanislaus County Office of Education
bgausman@stancoe.org
209.238.1492

Bob Gausman was a high school and elementary teacher for 17 years prior to becoming the technology director at the Stanislaus County Office of Education(SCOE). He supervises departments which provide training and demonstrations to educators on how to use technology in the classroom.  SCOE also provides internet access to area schools, video streaming and web development. The office also hosts a statewide project which reviews new software, video and websites to verify alignment to the state curriculum standards. He is interested in searching for and promotiong new applications to use for student learning…in the past that’s been such things as: handheld devices, PDA’s, video production, student laptops, student response systems, electronic whiteboards…and now: interactive virtual worlds.

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James Hooker
Business Teacher
Enochs High School
Modesto City Schools

I came into teaching from the “real world” of business to make a difference. As I completed my student teaching, I realized the importance of hands on experiences and how in vocational education, we make that connection everyday. Over the past 11 years in Modesto City Schools, I have seen quite an evolution of technology. In just that time, I have seen and experienced the transition from electronic typewriters to working within virtual worlds. We are now seeing students truly engage, and make even more relevant connections to the world they live and play in. They have the opportunities to be creative, collaborative, and to connect to other communities all over the world. I am excited to be a part of a school district that has this opportunity for its students. The goal and dream of the VirtuEd Project is to be relative to every curiculum across the board. To reach students that, for whatever reason, cannot be phyically on campus. The world is now our campus. My classroom has no walls. I look forward to experiencing the full potential of this project, and what it means to our 21st century learners.

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Mark Jeffery
Consultant
California Technology Assistance Project, Delta Sierra Region 6
Stanislaus County Office of Education
209.238.1452

I have been in education for 22 years, preceded by 20 years in retail business sales and management. I enjoy teaching because it is so dynamic – with constantly changing environments, targets, and students. After serving five years as the Technology Coach for Ceres Unified, I joined the California Technology Assistance Project, Region 6, (CTAP6) staff serving a five-county region out of the Stanislaus County Office of Education. In my consultant position I assist districts with future technology planning, grant writing, professional development, and exploring new technologies and educational strategies. I believe that virtual environments offer possibilities of alternative educational delivery to many students with unique needs and/or interests. I am pleased to be included in the VirtuEd Project and look forward to supporting the participants with training and research that will enhance their experience and will further the goals of the project.

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Dave Menshew
Forensic Biotechnology Teacher
Enochs High School
Modesto City Schools
209.550.3400

I am presently a Specialized Secondary Program Coordinator and one of the teachers of the biotechnology/ forensics program at James C. Enochs High School. My interest is to elevate the level of science literacy through creativity in the classroom and motivation of students.

However, teaching wasn’t my first career. I was the president of a successful Central Valley retail chain when a friend challenged me to volunteer with the students at a local juvenile detention center. I found that teaching was far more important than financial success.

I returned to school and earned a teaching credential and later a Master’s in Education. I ended up selling my three businesses, and went into teaching. I have completed the Intel Training, the Challenge Grant Training, along with several MCS courses. I have presented at the ETC! Conference for six years, and have written or co-written more than $275,000 in grants which have brought advanced technology into Modesto area classrooms.

I see virtual education as an excellent method of reaching students by meeting them in their areas of interest both through interpersonal communications and computing. We plan to make virtual education a part of a learning project our forensic students are now doing with there peers in Kyoto, Japan.

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John Patten
Director of Technology And Information Systems
Sylvan Union School District
209.574.5000 x242

Education and learning is about exploring “new” ideas. The label alone, “virtual worlds,” brings up the notion of explorers, excitement, and discovery. All characteristics any educator would want present in any learning environment. In Sylvan Union School District we are always focused on creating the best learning environment we can for our students. We look forward to exploring the learning possibilities with our partners in Project Virtued.

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Kathy Soares
Business Teacher
Modesto High School
Modesto City Schools

I have a BS in Management Information Systems from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. I have 14 years teaching experience, and have been at Modesto High as an ROP/Business teacher since 1998. I currently teach my students using Second Life, Alice 2.0, Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver and Google SketchUp, just to name a few. I am constantly learning new technologies in order to pass that knowledge on to my students. I am always looking for new ways to engage students and keep them interested. However, I always make time to ‘step away from the keyboard’ and enjoy the ‘real world’ with my husband and two young sons.

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Stan Trevena
Director, Information and Technology Services
Modesto City Schools
209.550.3300 x5024

This techology holds a lot of promise for education.  In December of 2006 I was a cofounder of the Pacific Rim Exchange project. This is a virtual cultural exchange program on the Teen Grid of Second Life between Kyoto Gakuen High School in Kyoto, Japan and Modesto City Schools in Modesto California.  This program supplements a real world exchange program between these schools. 

I’ve always had an interest in these technologies going back to the early 90’s.  I’ve BETA tested many of the more popular MMO’s over the past ten years, and have been active with online communities since the early 80’s.  This partnership really holds promise, as it is a diverse group of educators that want to explore virtual world platforms for use in education.  The diversity of the group will be its strongest attribute (+30INT). 

This blog will track the platforms and projects that grow out of this partnership.  We will focus exclusively on open source platforms, starting with Sun Microsystem’s Wonderland. 

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